In Prague, I met head hunters to find a job. Their question was: “What do you want to do?” OK, I knew what I did. I managed people and developed businesses across different cultures and countries, but how could I know what I will do in the future.
On the way to meet the x-teenth head hunter my friend Francois called me, “What are you doing Laurent? Why don’t you become yourself head hunter?” I thought he was joking, “Are you crazy, Francois?” 2 hours later, I had a job offer to become a head hunter. I accepted the job and now had a new question: “How can I help managers to find their way?”
As general secretary of the association of leaders “IAM-Potential,” I came in contact with Laurent Falque, Chairholder of “Meaning at Work.” Through Laurent, I met his co-writer Bernard Bougon, who coached me to express my “reason of being.” The reason of being can broadly be defined as what we bring to society/others as individuals. Essentially, it helps to define our vocation, our calling in life. The reason of being is deeply in our heart. It is not a dreamed ideal.
After 45 minutes of discussion with Bernard, I found my reason of being: Activate initiatives for the common good for people to find their reason of being. With this in the back of my mind over the next days, I noticed that it helped me to make decisions and was a confirmation that this reason of being was me. I was able to make clear and quick decisions, without hesitation and doubt. By removing doubt, I limited concerns, anxiety and ultimately stress. All of this helped me to avoid desolation in my life.
Together with Bernard, my mission has become to learn and better understand how I can help managers to define their reason of being. At a high level, this reason of being should be centered around a personal core talent / competence inherent to the person. This talent needs to have a clear direction and vision on how the person desires to contribute to the common good for society/others.
A reason of being should be structured in 1 crisp and concise sentence, including only 1 active verb of contribution and no words like “and,” “or,” etc. Once defined, your reason of being should then be validated in the following days by facts and experiences within your everyday life that bring you peace and put your mind at ease.
When managers are looking for a new job, this is usually a time where they are the most open to expressing their reason of being. It gives them direction in their life and career path, which ultimately helps them to find a job they are passionate about. For me, it is extremely important to understand the past experiences of the managers to help them to express what is their reason of being. This helps me, as a head hunter, to find them the right match in terms of company environment and connect people with their calling in life.
My wife moved to Prague and is teaching at the French school