Connecting Our People with Purpose: Part 2

Wandering around aimlessly is exhausting. We can all likely relate to times in our career where we’ve sat in front of a computer, plugging away, and wondered, “Why am I even doing this?”

Having direction, goals, and an overall purpose makes work and life in general, simply invigorating. It transforms everyday tasks from tedious to vital. It gives us each a sense of place, of belonging.

When it comes to the work we do in HORNE Government Services, finding purpose isn’t a hard thing to do. Roughly 70 percent of our team has been affected by natural disasters, and lived through the aftermath. Now, faced with people, communities, and clients that are recovering from disasters throughout the country, our team can honestly say that we’ve walked a mile in their shoes. We are reminded each and every day of the struggles of recovery, so we hitch up our bootstraps, get in the trenches, and live out our mission of making recovery as painless as possible for others.  

By nature, our team is focused on numbers and results. While we know our purpose, it’s easy for our view to get clouded in our day to day dealings. Although we make it a priority to approach our work with empathy, at times we can get so focused on results that we lose sight of our real purpose – to serve others and to impact lives.

Just recently, I introduced our team to the Butterfly Effect through this video.

It’s good to be reminded that our butterfly wings have the ability to change our world for the better, whether it’s simply helping out a coworker, or changing communities as a whole. Our butterfly wings are powerful and we are flapping them every single day of our lives, both at work and beyond. Whether an administrator or partner, associate or director, we’re all a crucial part of the bigger picture.

HORNE’s butterfly wings have helped communities rebuild, helped individuals get back on their feet, and helped families move into houses that will be a home to generations. We don’t know what our wings will do. We just know we have to flap them with the intention of serving each other, our clients, communities, and our world.

About the Author
Neil Forbes champions the government services team at HORNE as their partner in charge.  He is a servant leader with a heart for people and compassion for the communities his team serves.  His non-traditional path into public accounting brings energy and insights that make us better every day.