Finding Greater Purpose in Community Leadership

By Deborah Lynn Blumberg

When we have purpose on the job, it’s easier to meaningfully connect to with our work, co-workers, residents, and our city’s mission and goals.

Purpose can go a long way toward enhancing well-being and serving our communities. But since the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s been a post-pandemic “purpose slump,” according to branding expert and public speaker Amanda Brinkman. People are reevaluating the meaning in their work and life. They’re asking themselves: How does what I’m doing matter? What is my true purpose?

Part of the problem in discovering one’s purpose is that it can be easy to get bogged down by daily tasks that sometimes make work feel like a day-to-day grind — activities like endless meetings and emails, preparing regular reports, or performing other repetitive tasks. Another issue, Brinkman said, is that for many people, the concept of purpose feels too vague, esoteric, or “macro.”

“Sometimes we make purpose so ominous that it’s almost intimidating,” said Brinkman, who grew up in Minnesota. “It’s almost too big, and it feels like it’s really far out there.”

People then run the risk of sinking into “purpose paralysis” if they’re not careful, she said, or getting stuck and not even knowing where to start when it comes to finding and identifying their purpose. City leaders and public employees are not immune to this potential pitfall.

Doing well by doing good

To avoid purpose paralysis and instead find purpose in their job and in their communities, city leaders and public employees should start by shifting their thinking. Purpose needs to be less of a macro concept and more of a micro one, Brinkman said.

“It’s about how are we showing up in every interaction that we have,” she said.

Brinkman is the keynote speaker at this year’s League of Minnesota Cities Annual Conference in June. Her “Do Well By Doing Good” philosophy has been a common thread throughout her diverse career. It’s the idea that companies can support and make a real positive difference in their communities while also growing their bottom line.

Currently, Brinkman is the CEO of production studio and consultancy Sunshine Studios, which tells brands’ stories. She started her career in the creative agency space and has worked on campaigns for brands like BMW and Sony. As the chief brand officer of Deluxe, to reach small businesses, she created an Emmy-nominated series “Small Business Revolution,” which streamed on Hulu — notably, Season Six took place in St. Paul.

While the bulk of Brinkman’s work has focused on big brands and small businesses, the lessons she imparts apply seamlessly to cities, civic communities and leaders, and workers, too. Brinkman shares tips on ways in which city leaders and employees can find the purpose in their work.

Know that cities can improve residents’ quality of life

After the isolation that many people experienced during the pandemic, there’s a pent-up want for in-person connections, experiences, and community. “The pandemic showed us what a human need we have,” Brinkman said. “We’re designed to be collaborative and connected and to feel like we’re a part of something bigger than ourselves.”

Cities play a pivotal role in helping to make these connections a reality by creating safe spaces where people feel like they’re at home and like they truly belong. “What greater purpose could there be than helping to create this sense of community, which everyone is so hungry for right now?” Brinkman said.

She recommends a few approaches to create safe, welcoming spaces:

1. Make sure all voices get heard. Community leaders must be very intentional about including everyone in their community in programs and spaces. It’s often not enough to say everyone is welcome. To truly diversify the table, she said, we often need to specifically reach out to certain groups that have historically been left out of the conversation.
2. Lean into what makes neighborhoods great. People want to gather and feel like they know their neighbors, Brinkman said. It’s that small-town quintessential feel you want to replicate to the extent that you can — when you recognize your local coffee shop owner at the school play or run into your kid’s soccer coach at the gym. Even if you’re in a suburb of a larger metropolitan area, she said, ask yourself, how are you creating these environments in which people feel they’re connected to each other?
3. Support small businesses however you can. When we tell people why we live where we live, we don’t cite the big box stores or national chains in the area, Brinkman said. We talk about the third-generation pizza shop or bowling alley you frequented as a kid, places that are locally owned. City leaders can encourage small business ownership, whether it’s through zoning or easier licensing. It’s also about supporting businesses long term with the right infrastructure and resources. “Maybe you do a shopping bingo card over the holidays, or it’s a small business scavenger hunt,” she said.

Understand your purpose is not your job or daily tasks

For people who are having trouble finding their purpose and believe their job may be to blame, Brinkman said it’s probably not. Our purpose is us, it’s within us, she adds.

“We can keep moving around, but the uncertainty will follow us,” she said. Instead, how we are is our purpose. “All we can focus on is how we show up. For ourselves, for others, in the world. Our purpose is how we help others best in our daily lives,” Brinkman said.

For example, while meetings or making copies may sometimes seem mundane, it’s about how those tasks fit into the bigger picture and purpose. As a municipal worker, “you’re creating that sense of community for people, and that’s so needed right now.” No matter your role, she adds, ask yourself, how does my work ladder up to something bigger?

“It all makes a difference,” Brinkman said. “It’s part of this ripple effect toward a greater outcome and every step is necessary.”

Small actions during your day can help to fuel and further your purpose

Finding one’s purpose isn’t an introspective intellectual exercise, Brinkman said. Instead, it’s about action. Doing. As we go about our daily work, it’s the little choices we make as we interact with other people that’s our day-to-day purpose in action.

For example, when we help a frustrated resident resolve an issue, do we put on a grumpy face or do we look the resident in the eye, smile, say hello, and add that we’re happy to help them?

“We will affect everyone we encounter every day,” she said. “Do we tear them down or do we choose to build them up?”

Other examples might include complimenting a co-worker or sending them a note simply to tell them something you respect about how they work.

“We’ve all been to a coffee shop and had two different people taking our order,” Brinkman said. “One is loving life, adding to your day, and helping you feel joy in the very simple task of ordering coffee. The other acts like you’re inconveniencing them. This shows that how we approach our job and work is paramount to experience.”

Positivity is an active choice, she adds, and we have to train our brains to look for the good things in life.

Realize that nothing great has been done alone

No one person is going to cure cancer, Brinkman said. Instead, it will be a combination of the family who raised the researcher, the research up until that point, philanthropy and grants to build the lab, and people to organize the rollout of the new treatment.

The same logic applies to cities, she said. No one person is going to make a community a place where people want to live, it takes a village and a group of diverse individuals working toward a shared, higher purpose.

“Everything that’s done is done by a team,” she said. “It’s never just one person. We all bring our own skills to projects that help us work together as a team and over time hopefully move society forward.” City leaders can nurture this by structuring teams and job functions so employees are best equipped to use what they’re naturally good at in their work. Leaders also serve a crucial role in helping staff members to clearly see how their specific talents and skill sets fit into the bigger picture and how they add up to a greater purpose.

“People in park maintenance are just as much a part of making that community great as the mayor is,” Brinkman said. “In both towns and cities, everyone plays a role in creating a place that people truly feel at home in.”

Deborah Lynn Blumberg is a freelance writer.