Podcast: Purpose starts with being human

An In Good Company podcast with Roger Kastner, Organisation Development Strategy Lead at Starbucks and host of "What Do You Know to Be True" podcast

Purpose starts with being human

We often talk about purpose as something we think about. It's a goal we define for ourselves from the outside: I want to reach that milestone, we need to clear that threshold, I have to do this. But what if the sense of purpose begins from within, from inside you? Then leadership of others would have to start with self-leadership. Our guest this week has passion for how people experience career reinvention by aligning what they're best at with their sense of purpose. In this episode of In Good Company, Roger Kastner explores how nervous system regulation, relationships and personal strengths shape the way we show up at work and in life - and how leadership flows through them. 

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Batman's cape is a bit flashier and easier to recognise, but how many of us see the actions of everyday workplace heroes who champion self-leadership and human connection all around us? Roger Kastner helps us to see these actions and the very real influence they have on whether people thrive at work. Join Roger and Dan in exploration of how our nervous system, our relationships, and our so-called superpowers shape not just how we perform, but how we find meaning in what we do. 

In this episode, Roger and Dan discuss:

• Nervous system self-regulation and leadership
• Internal family systems and performance
• Flow, joy and flourishing at work
• Why humans will find a way to the centre of AI
• Identifying and using your superpowers

Watch the full episode here:

Why is the human side of work, how we feel, connect, and behave becoming so critical for leaders right now?

There's a lot of things in play at the moment between just the state of the world and how much that is seeping into the workplace. I've never believed in this idea that we need to check our emotions or ego at the door. It's not possible, that comes with us when we come into the workplace, when we come into the conference room, when we go into that one on one. And so the more we try to ignore that human part of us, the more it's going to fight back and the less capable we're going to be to deal with our nervous system when our protection patterns start being activated. We need to be showing up physically, emotionally, spiritually aligned with the actual intention of what we're there to do.We need to be able to identify the emotions we're feeling, the state that we're in - name it to tame it. 

How can leaders show up to get the best out their people?

We all know that leader that when they walk in the room, their presence just calms the room and builds everyone's confidence in them. And one leader I was talking to recently described that before they walk in the room, they choose their intention, thinking about the topic, what they're walking into and how they need to show up to best support the team in that moment. They decide on a feeling to convey and how to embody that feeling through tone, through body language, through questions. It sounds like a lot of extra work, but it could take less than 30 seconds to do. Reset. Be aware. Be intentional.

Where do leadership superpowers come from, and how do I start using mine?

I noticed a pattern of how superpowers are created. They all start with an unmet need. Something happened or something was missing. Then there's the discovery of an action. That action begins to address and attend to the harm or the hurt that comes with that unmet need. That feels good and that drives curiosity. So we do that action over and over again and we start turning that into a talent. Once we start doing that talent with the intention of being in service of other people, then it becomes a superpower. Our superpowers reveal themselves in relationship with other people - but it's one of those things that's really hard for us as individuals to identify. Easiest thing? Ask a good friend, "What is my superpower?" Then look at your calendar for tomorrow and figure out, when does my superpower get to show up? Where are there opportunities for me to bring that to life, to be more creative, to have more appreciation, to bring more laughter? How do I show up with intention, with that embodied sense of feeling that I want to convey to everyone else? Today, ask a friend, look at the calendar, and then intentionally show up to that opportunity where you get to shine.

Bonus insight: What are the secrets to staying well regulated at work?

When we run into something that we perceive as a threat, our nervous system detects that threat before we're even consciously aware of it and starts activating our physical being to address that threat before we're even consciously aware. Dick Schwartz will talk about self energy. And that self energy has eight qualities that look like confidence, calm, curious, compassionate, creative, clarity, courage, connectedness. When I say those words, I can feel that in my core. I can feel what those feelings feel like when I'm in that presence. When I'm dysregulated, I don't feel like that at all. There's a certain electricity that's going on that's vibrating at a frequency that's telling me I don't feel safe. Let's take some breaths. Let's figure out why we're activated there. Let's figure out how to get back to one of those eight Cs. Usually curiosity is the gateway drug to the self... asking questions, because then we get out of the animal brain and into the human brain.

Listen to the episode on Spotify