As a college professor of business, a consultant, and an industrial-organizational psychologist, Dr. Brian Cawley finds fulfillment in working with undergraduates. He believes that discovering what makes each of us unique and building strong character are keys to effective leadership – and in fact keys to making a positive impact on the people and situations we touch. Here are some of the lessons he has learned about work and life:
Be Aware and Build Character. In one of the classes that Brian teaches, he focuses on character strengths and virtues. Self-awareness is critical, Brian believes. Knowing yourself and what you can contribute helps you find your calling. To this end, Brian uses the VIA character strengths framework (wisdom, courage, temperance, humanity, justice, and transcendence). You can take a free VIA virtues assessment here.
Give and Receive Feedback. Another tenant of Brian’s belief system is the need to be skilled in both giving and receiving feedback. It is important to be able to share information with others about their impact, but also to listen with humility and take action based on learning new truths about ourselves.
Pay Attention to Your Trajectory. Brian and his wife regularly talk about their intentions and their path. In fact, they even did their own couple’s retreat recently in order to think deeply about their direction together and as a family. He sees the importance of intentionality and tiny changes in a trajectory making a big difference. It’s like setting a course from NY to London. If you’re one degree off course, you won’t get there. Brian and his wife are planful about reflecting and based on this reflection, they set a course and then check regularly to make adjustments and ensure they are on course.
Do What Gives You Intrinsic Value (or, you don’t have to play the trumpet). Brian actually started out as a music major playing the trumpet at a college in Minnesota. With a mom who was a high school choir teacher, he came by music naturally. However, Brian learned a music major wasn’t for him. He quickly realized that in order to succeed at his goal of playing professionally, he would have to practice 4-5 hours a day. Adding the extrinsic rewards of grades and evaluations to what he had found intrinsically rewarding, caused him to begin to dislike the trumpet. As an alternative, he chose economics, and then business instead. In the realm of business, he realized his favorite part was the people side and he transitioned into psychology where he’s enjoyed his career ever since. His wife is also an industrial-organizational psychologist as is his father-in-law, so Brian still keeps his interests in the family.
Don’t be Afraid to Make Changes. After college, Brian went on to work for a large financial organization, and then two management consulting/HR companies (CEB/SHL Talent Management and Corvirtus). After being there a number of years and retaining teaching and research appointments along with his consulting, he became restless and knew he wanted to make a change. He wanted to stretch toward expressing his faith more directly through his career and entertained multiple teaching positions from Utah to Seattle. Ultimately, Brian came to Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan and he couldn’t be happier.
Forget the Money. Happiness is more important than money, for sure. When Brian and his wife had their second child, his wife decided to stay home to be a full time mom and their family income was cut in half. It was cut in half again a few years later when he decided to move from a corporate job to a collegiate job, but he would make the same decisions all over again. The wealth of happiness and family is so much more important than monetary riches.
Be Intentional. Brian has a future orientation and he recommends ‘growing in your areas of inclination’. He says that he wants to be intentional about where he spends his time based on what’s most important to him where he can contribute the most and where God is moving in positive ways. He sees growth as a long term investment of change over time.
Emphasize what’s Unique. Most of us have a bias about how they are similar to others, says Brian. But it’s actually more helpful to consider how you are unique. Through reflection, we can learn to identify what makes us different. In fact, our best ability to lead and contribute comes through whatever it is that makes us distinct.
Don’t be Afraid to Drive in the Fog. How do you know your calling? Brian says that it’s a process and it’s not easy to figure it out. Sometimes it’s like you are driving a winding road in the fog but you just need to keep driving one mile at a time, learn from your experiences, and have faith.
Overall, Brian emphasizes the need to be the best version of yourself. There is so much compartmentalization in society, but true work-life integration comes from integrity and authenticity. It comes from living with virtue and building character. No one can be *you* as well as you can. So be yourself.
Would you like to tell your story? If so, let me know by emailing me at tbrower108@gmail.com. Why? One of the foundations of Bringing Work to Life is abundance: the idea that it is possible to find fulfillment, have it all, and avoid the trade-offs between work and life. After all, work and life aren’t separate things to be placed in containers, but part of an integrated whole of a satisfying life. Another foundation of Bringing Work to Life is the idea of multiple right answers. As we’re all seeking ways to bring work to life – and bring life to work – we can learn from each other’s unique solutions and stories. I’d love to learn about your story!
Tracy Brower is the author of Bring Work to Life by Bringing Life to Work: A Guide for Leaders and Organizations.