Do we make sense of our work? And to our life?

Let me introduce myself, I’m Cristina Sanz and I’m 26 years old. Despite my youth, I have considerable experience in the hospitality sector. From extras in nightclubs to 3 * Michelin restaurants; from 3 * hotels to 5 * luxury hotels.

Throughout these 7 years of experience in the sector, not everything has been a path of roses, but it has been precisely the stones that I have found along the way that have made me turn that frustration and disappointment into the desire to fight and to be passionate about my profession, defining with each step where I want to go. Because after all, the best way to successfully develop a profession is to feel passion for what we do.

A few months ago, an expert in Leadership Competencies recommended me the book “Man in search of meaning”, by Viktor Frankl; Austrian psychiatrist who lived in Auswich concentration camps and in his pages details the importance of finding meaning in life in order to survive. Extrapolating this issue to our jobs, with the experience of Frankl, it is shown that people who know what is expected of them and what they expect themselves from life, are the ones who survive and do it in a stronger way and with more happiness. It is for this reason that for any company it is essential to be clear about their objectives, values, mission and vision.

Both companies and workers, we should see that the direction or path we are marked is compatible with our values. Only in this way is when we can give the best of ourselves and feel happy with the tasks we develop. When we understand what is the meaning and value of what we do, we contribute the maximum of ourselves and contribute in a personal way. The ideal point is one in which the values, objectives, mission, and vision of the company are aligned with us as workers and individuals. The renowned Doctor Alonso Mario Puig explains that the true potential of a person is activated when he discovers the objective to which to go. The key to companies should be to inspire since in this way we workers feel freer to discover and grow by ourselves.

One of the clearest and most important characteristics of a good leader is that of looking for what the team members have in common so that the points of the union that exists is reflected. Once this level is achieved, the workers discover that if they help each other they are able to achieve the objectives more quickly and efficiently.

Finally, I would like to emphasize that it is essential for companies to wake up, to see that it is necessary for the worker to discover that within their organization there is an interest in him and that the company is unable to achieve the objectives if it is not with the commitment, dedication, and enthusiasm of the worker. In my opinion, all companies, regardless of the sector or its size, should ask themselves: What do I want to contribute to society? Who can I help with my services/products? Do I do it in an ethical and sustainable way? Is my team excited and committed? Where do I want to go? How can I improve?

To all of you, I encourage you to do an interior job and ask yourself what your goals and mission are. What excites you? What do you love? How do you want to contribute your bit in this world? And if these answers are fulfilled with the position of work that you occupy. If not, what can you do to make it an affirmative answer?