We all have the opportunity to create new identities and roles that are more in line with our abilities, aspirations, and purpose. It may be the right time to start a new journey if you want to live a life that is both exceptional and meaningful. After studying the life of Ignatius Loyola, and spending two decades helping executives make career and personal changes, the author discovered that people who succeed in transforming their lives into richer and more fulfilling lives do so by paying attention and aligning six key areas. These are capability (the skills you bring), connectivity (the relationships and reputation you have), credibility and credibility, contemplation (a willingness to look at the big picture), compassion (for others), companions (people who make your life better and more enjoyable).
Many people are looking for a way to slow down or stop the Covid-19 pandemic. Others, however, see this as an opportunity to reset, recalibrate and reinvent.
We all have the unique opportunity to create new identities, jobs, and roles that are more in line with our abilities, as well as our personal goals and purpose. If you want to live a life that is both exceptional and meaningful, I can offer some guidance on how to go about it.
It is often helpful to look back at the past when planning for the future. Ignatius of Loyola is the founder of The Society of Jesus. Also known as The Jesuits, this story is one of my favourite trauma-to-triumph stories that Ive thoroughly studied. However, this legacy was not established in 1521.
Pivot Points
Ignatius was an orphan who had become a soldier and active in Spanish court social activities. He was literally hit by a cannonball on May 20, that year. He was left with one broken leg and one injured. After he recovered, Ignatius discovered that the fractured bone in his right leg hadn't healed properly and would need to be rebroken and reset in an anesthesia-free procedure.
Ignatius could've lowered his ambitions if he was hurt, unemployed, and without a mentor. Instead, he grew them. He made a commitment to himself from his recovery bed that he would get well again and make an impact in the world.
He spent nearly a year soul-searching in caves and worked to clarify his purpose over the next few years. After that, he wrote the Spiritual Exercises. This religious text emphasizes self-reflection as well as choosing the path of the greatest good. He had decided to become priest but didn't have the necessary Latin knowledge so he returned to school at 33. He first studied grammar in Barcelona with young men, then he sought the best academic training at the University of Paris and Alcal Salamanca. There he focused on training and recruiting a remarkable group of people who were high potential for his mission. In 1540, he started the Jesuits, an order of religious men with the unique vow to travel anywhere in the world.
He and his colleagues managed to establish more than 30 colleges within a decade. This created the largest network of higher education in the world. The Jesuits were confidants to European monarchs and China's Ming emperor, Japan's shogun, as well as the Mughal Emperor in India. The work went on well after Ignatius' death in 1556. In the late 18th century, there were more than 700 Jesuit institutions spread across five continents. They still have a significant impact on the world today.
I spent more than 30 years as an executive search consultant. I counseled people in pivot points such as Ignatius's. These are situations where regular people, just like the Jesuit founder, must decide what the next step should be. Every day I made it a point to supplement my work as a consultant on talent acquisition and leadership development with a meeting with someone who was looking for a new job, unhappy with their current one, or just plain curious to begin a new chapter.
I had the pleasure of having deep conversations with over 4,000 people who were aiming to change their future. I gained so much from their experiences. I discovered that Ignatius and others who used these pivots to achieve richer, more meaningful lives filled with excellence, happiness, and personal success, did so by paying close attention to six crucial dimensions. I call them the six Cs.
The Six Cs
The first three are connectivity, credibility, and capability.
Capability.
This includes your abilities to perform specific jobs and roles as well as your skills. These will vary depending on your particular field of expertise, such as financial, marketing, and operations knowledge. Ignatius had new goals and ambitions. He decided that learning Latin and theology was a must. He also committed to doing it with students who were half his age. These are the threshold competencies. They are the skills that allow you to play and keep playing the game. For example, knowing how to do accounting is essential for anyone who wants to pursue a career in business.
Other general abilities that are becoming increasingly important for leadership roles include self-awareness and emotional control, drive, empathy and social and political awareness. They also help with teamwork, conflict resolution, and inspiring leadership. These competencies are mostly related to our ability manage our own relationships and ourselves.
While Ignatius was working with his companions to learn the curriculum, he knew that mastering these soft skills was the key to their long-term success. The Exercises, which are still widely practiced in large numbers around the globe today, are a means to overcome oneself and to manage one's life so that there is no temptation to attach to others.
These capabilities are more important than IQ and have been proven to be the most distinguishing competencies for senior leaders, as Daniel Goleman demonstrated in 1995's bestseller Emotional Intelligence.
Credibility
It is important to have a good reputation. This is what others say about you after they leave the room or Zoom. First, you need to have a track record of success.
This was something Ignatius had to learn the hard way after he was twice put in jail for delivering the Exercises while not being a priest. He decided to continue his formal education and pursue academic excellence together with his followers. He moved from Salamanca, to the University of Paris. This was in those days one of most highly regarded higher education institutions, drawing the brightest minds from all over the globe. Our credibility is enhanced by our educational and professional experience. We should strive to excel in these areas.
Excellence, according to Peter Drucker, is achieved by those who are passionate about their strengths. Today's hyperconnected world is where clients and employers are just a click away. It has never been easier to do what you enjoy, what you love and for what people will pay. In my early years, I worked for an Argentina-based corporation. Next, I moved to Europe. With modern communication, I was able to return home and work globally for a professional services firm. This also allowed me to travel frequently. Today, I am happy to work mostly from home (with a few occasional trips) and with clients around the globe on projects that I care deeply about.
Independentity is another pillar of credibility. It means being intellectually honest, and eliminating any potential conflicts of interests, real or perceived. A good friend of mine once told me years ago that while I was a partner in a search firm, I wouldn't be seen as a credible thought leader on talent. Before I could end my love for the company, I realized that I needed to slowly reduce my involvement. Although it was difficult, I felt more free, independent, and credible after the decision.
Connectivity.
This means creating new opportunities, spreading your work and learning from the best.
There will be times when you need to expand your network, such as when you are unemployed, unhappy, or looking for a job. I recommend that you do this in a systematic way. Make a list with 100 contacts, including potential employers and sources. Then plan your outreach. You can read more about it in this article.
Normal times call for a more focused approach. I would recommend that you focus on just one or two networks to spread your work and create new opportunities. My case involved primarily the 69 Egonzehnder offices in 42 countries. I was there for many decades. Slowly but surely, I began to cultivate my Harvard Business School network, reviewing my key contacts regularly, and making sure that they are always in my thoughts.
These relationships should be more than just social media messages. It is easy to spend too much time on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. These platforms are not only useful for strategic purposes, but they can also be a distraction from building meaningful and lasting professional relationships. My favorite leaders spend a lot of time talking to and writing to their most important connections wherever they may be.
Ignatius, a master of this art, was almost 500 years old. His handwritten letters took months to reach his intended recipients. However, historians have retrieved nearly 7,000 of them from all over the world, from Asia to South America.
These three Cs are strong complements to each other and create a powerful virtuous cycle: connectivity generates opportunities that further enhance our capability. In turn, this increases our credibility and opens up new possibilities through better connectivity.
These three Cs should be aligned and developed to lead to greater career success and financial success. However, there is a chance that we will still struggle to find meaning and passion at work. Many people who are seemingly successful do not feel fulfilled. Three additional Cs, contemplation, compassion, as well as companionship, surround the three I have already mentioned.
Meditation.
It is crucial to reflect on your life, career, relationships, as well as the wider world, in these hectic times. It was also important during Ignatius' time. He arrived in Manresa on March 25, 1522 as part of his pilgrimage to the Holy Land. His intention was to only stay for a few more days. He ended up spending eleven full, transformative months there. He spent many hours each day alone, praying, and meditating in hospice. This allowed him to reflect on the best practices for following one's inner moral compass. These were revolutionary concepts at the time, including not dictating specific times for prayer or meditation (as many major religious orders do still), but instead focusing on mindfulness in everything we do, no matter where we are.
We too need to take a moment to listen to our inner voice in the midst of the noisy, busy world. However, different practices can work for different people. It is not easy to put down my phone first thing in the morning, but it has been very effective in reducing stress levels and improving focus. My smartwatch has been set to remind me to meditate for a few minutes every day. This helps me focus and reduce stress. To keep me energized and positive, I walk briskly at least once per day. Any kind of contemplation, secular or spiritual, can improve your mood, energy, and performance, as well as your immune system.
Show compassion
Recent research that examined more than 3500 businesses with over 50,000 employees found high levels of compassion to be predictive of efficiency, productivity, and lower turnover rates.
Although Ignatius was a soldier, he got into an argument with a Muslim man on the way to Manresa. He considered killing him. However, he found himself soon at the hospice caring for the sick and strengthening his compassion muscles. One of the hallmarks of personal greatness is caring deeply for others.
However, it is equally important to practice self-compassion. Ignatius was initially terrible at this. Ignatius would fixate on small mistakes and then confess them. He didn't hesitate to put chains around his neck to keep him from making more. He realized that instead looking at the negative, he should be looking for the positive. You will be able to help others if you feel positive about yourself and take care of your body.
Although I was a student of Ignatius' life, it took me over 50 years and the support of a great therapist to finally learn self-compassion. Do not hesitate to seek professional help if you don't love yourself well, be it a coach, therapist or confessor.
Companions
These are the few people who we consider close friends (personal, professional, romantic, or platonic) on our journeys. It is impossible to do it all alone. The best leaders I have known are meticulous about surrounding themselves with the best people and encouraging them to become better every day. They have a tight circle of confidantes that keep them honest and push them when they need it.
Ignatius was a master at surrounding himself with supportive and strong companions. He spent many years pursuing stars, like Francis Xavier, who he would later send to India, China and Japan to share the Christian faith. He invested heavily in their development after identifying high-potentials. Juan Polanco is another example. He sent Juan Polanco to Paris at the age of 13 to study philosophy and literature. After a remarkable education, Polanco moved to Rome nine years later. He became an apostolic secretary, and after only two years, he was appointed notary of the Holy See. Ignatius spent the next year coaching and training Polanco, then he immersed himself in best-practice education, job-rotation training, and even taught him how to run a school in Tuscany. Polanco was appointed secretary of the Society of Jesus after five years. He served the first three global leaders of the order for 25 years.
The Ignatius profile of a superior General, which was outlined in the Constitutions of Jesus Society of Jesus, contained four key characteristics that I have used in my talent management/development work. He spoke of great intelligence and judgment. This was both for practical and speculative matters. He wanted strong engagement, both internal and external, that combines severity with love, compassion, and unterred determination. This is how he saw one's ability to persevere in the face of all kinds of contradictions.
We spend two decades on our educations, but few people take the time to search out wise, inspiring individuals who can help us. Eight specific practices can help, as I have described in this article. These include proactively looking for these key advisors and genuinely helping them. And, just like Ignatius asking them what they should do, not being afraid or embarrassed to ask. Many of Ignatius' letters to family and friends end with variations of the lifelong question Quid Agendum. He also sought advice from his most trusted colleagues and friends.
This Moment is Yours
The Society of Jesus was founded in a complex and rapidly-changing world, somewhat similar to ours. As we forge new global connections through the internet, Gutenberg's printing press revolutionized information dissemination in Ignatius time. Meanwhile, voyages of discovery established permanent links between Europe and the Americas. As our current views on the roles of governments and companies in society are being challenged, Ignatius's belief systems were also being challenged. Most notably, the Protestant reformers who criticized the Roman Catholic Church.
Ignatius survived the turmoil, but was hit by Covid-19 and lost his job, mentor and career. This man, whose name is derived from the Latin word "ignis", which means fire, transformed uncertainty into opportunity. He rekindled his passion, became a better person, and made a difference.
I urge you to take this opportunity to examine your purpose and cultivate the six Cs as the pandemic continues. Ignatius's most famous advice is to act as if all things depend on you. Trust God, laugh, and then go out and light the world on fire.
