Purpose-Driven Leadership and How to Leave a Legacy You Can Be Proud of
- Brainz Magazine
- Jun 9
- 9 min read
Updated: Jun 13
Karen is a leadership academic, coach and author who specializes in coaching leaders who want to make a positive difference and leave a lasting legacy.
Do you ever feel a quiet pull toward something deeper, like there’s more you’re meant to contribute, but you can’t quite name it? You’re not alone. Many people sense a calling beyond the roles they play or the goals they’ve achieved.
This article explores why discovering your leadership purpose isn’t just a nice idea, it’s essential for lasting fulfilment and meaningful success. You’ll learn how to uncover what truly drives you and how to shape a leadership legacy that resonates long after you’re gone.
Whether you're 30 or 70, it's never too early or too late to define or redefine your purpose. A life of passion, clarity, and impact begins with that one powerful question: What am I here to do, and how will I be remembered?
The art of balancing ego, purpose and values
Most of us won’t be remembered for our leadership, not because we weren’t capable, but because mastering the balance between ego, purpose, and values is a rare and difficult art.
So what do these three terms mean in the context of leadership?
Leading through ego
Ego is our sense of self, who we think we are. It’s not something we’re born with; rather, we construct it over time, shaped by our caregivers, authority figures, culture, and life experiences. Ego is focused on survival, asking constantly: What do I need to do to survive and get ahead?
In Western societies, we’re often rewarded for achieving what I call the Six Ps: power, profit, prestige, pleasure, popularity, and protection. Climbing the social ladder by attaining these markers can make us look “alpha,” much like dominant animals in a tribe.
Yet few people are truly motivated by the Six Ps. Leaders like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, or Oprah Winfrey may have attained wealth and power, but when they started out, their deeper drive was purpose, not the trophies that followed.
Ego is useful, of course. It gives us the drive, passion, skills and competencies we need to succeed in the world.
But when we solely chase ego-based goals, we often find ourselves on a joyless treadmill. There’s always more to gain: more money, more status, more recognition. The “nice house, nice car, nice holidays” lifestyle is competitive, draining, and never quite enough. Ego is essential for survival, but it ultimately limits our potential. If we’re to live fully and lead meaningfully, we must transcend it.
This is when deeper questions emerge:
Why am I here? What’s my purpose? How can I make a difference?
When these questions arise, they signal a shift from ego-driven ambition to a more authentic, expansive self. Psychologists call this ‘the second half of life transition’.
So, what does identifying your purpose involve, and why is it important?
Leading through purpose
Imagine yourself in your 70s or 80s. What will you be proud of? What stories will your children tell about you to their children?
These are the questions of purpose.
Purpose turns our attention outward. It’s about serving others, our communities, our planet, and the next generation. And yet, discovering your purpose can be challenging.
Why?
It may conflict with your current lifestyle and require sacrifice, especially the Six Ps.
It’s rarely obvious. It takes deep reflection to identify moments when you felt truly fulfilled.
It’s emotional work. You may confront parts of yourself you’ve avoided, including regret.
Others may resist your change. People who benefit from your current identity may fear what your transformation means for them.
Despite the difficulty, those who pursue purpose often find:
They don’t need to upend everything. Many are already partway there.
The energy and joy of purpose are revitalizing. It makes life vibrant again.
The satisfaction is profound. Living your purpose brings meaning and a legacy that endures.
In order to find your purpose, you need to understand and identify your values.
Leading through values
If purpose is what you’re here to do, values are how you do it. They’re the inner compass that guides your decisions and actions. Some are inherited and come from our inner motivations; others are learned and shaped through life.
Take two leaders who start to explore their purpose. At the beginning, their purposes can look quite general. In this case, both leaders have identified their purpose as ‘helping others succeed’. However, one identifies her core values as risk-taking, influence, learning, and entrepreneurship. This helps her refine her purpose as follows: to help small businesses succeed in order to create more economic opportunities for people in the community. Having clarified her purpose and values, she decides to create an organisation that pairs successful entrepreneurs with small localised businesses that want to grow.
The other leader values education, knowledge, independence, and initiative. He decides to join the board of a local high school and teach young people how to set up and run a business.
Values help you to craft your purpose in ways that make your leadership yours.
Without values, purpose can become exploitative, even harmful.
Values ensure that your legacy is not just bold but good.
Finding the courage to balance ego, purpose and values
Purpose gives us our "what," the reason we exist.
Values guide our "how," the principles we choose to live by.
Ego contributes our "competence," the drive to succeed and make things happen in the world.
Great leaders learn to balance all three. But many don’t. Too often, ego takes the lead—because exploring purpose and values can feel unsettling, even frightening. It requires courage, vulnerability, and deep self-inquiry. And so, many avoid it.
When ego dominates, we get leaders who climb high but leave little behind. Their careers may look impressive from the outside, but their lives feel hollow, devoid of meaning or legacy. Their stories are not ones we tell to inspire future generations.
One story, told to me by a colleague, illustrates this perfectly. After a major corporate acquisition, the incoming CEO walked into the boardroom, locked eyes with each executive, and declared slowly and deliberately: “I am going to make you extremely rich.”
That, he announced, was his purpose and it quickly became the company’s.
Did he succeed? Probably.
But we groan at stories like this. We know there are far too many of these kinds of leaders. People may envy their wealth and power, but they are not admired, and they do not go down in history as one of the greats.
Further down the hierarchy are other, quieter forms of misalignment, leaders tasked with advancing missions they don’t believe in. Perhaps they’re promoting ultra-processed foods, marketing high-cost drugs available only to the privileged, or selling plastic products that harm our planet.
They are driven by the ego-purpose of others and are too afraid to explore what their own deeper purpose might be.
It takes real courage to break that pattern. But only by finding the strength to balance ego, purpose, and values can you live and lead in a way that is whole, integrated, and deeply satisfying.
And only then can you leave behind the kind of legacy your children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren will admire and be proud to carry forward.
How do you balance ego, purpose, and values?
Below is a powerful process to help you align your ego, purpose, and values so you can create a meaningful legacy you’ll be proud of.
1. Commit
This is a creative and deeply personal journey. It takes time, emotional energy, and courage. You’ll be asked to face uncomfortable truths and challenge long-held beliefs. There may be moments of resistance, doubt, and uncertainty. But the rewards are immense: a life rich with passion and purpose, and the knowledge that you’re contributing something truly worthwhile to the world.
To ground yourself, consider repeating a daily affirmation: “I am creating a life of meaning that I am proud to pass on to future generations.”
2. Record
Keep a record of your thoughts, feelings, insights, and even your dreams. Journaling is a common and powerful tool, whether through writing, sketching, or voice notes. But if maintaining a journal feels overwhelming, find a different way to capture your journey. You might prefer sharing reflections with a trusted mentor or buddy who can remind you of your progress and patterns.
3. Find an independent buddy, mentor, or coach
Our egos love to see us as good, competent, and admirable. While this is natural, it often creates blind spots in aspects of ourselves we fail to see or acknowledge.
We may also suppress our golden shadow, our greatest potential, because it calls us to step out of our comfort zone and into visibility or impact.
A skilled mentor, coach, or peer can help you:
Recognise ego-driven behaviours that once served you but now limit you
Unearth your true (not conditioned) values
Identify strengths and gifts you've developed through ego but can now offer in service of purpose
4. Draw a life timeline
Start by sketching a timeline of your life. Include key moments of joy, pain, triumph, and challenge. This simple visual can be remarkably revealing. It shows how your experiences have shaped your sense of self and often uncovers glimpses of your true purpose, those shining moments when you felt fully alive.
5. Identify deeply satisfying moments
Think back to moments, big or small, when you felt especially fulfilled. They may relate to work, home, creativity, or relationships. These are emotional “breadcrumbs” leading you back to your authentic self.
Examples:
Teaching your child to ride a bike
Building or creating something from scratch
Solving a tricky problem at work
Supporting a friend through a crisis
6. Distil what made them satisfying
Explore why these moments mattered. A supportive partner or coach can help you drill down with questions:
What exactly gave you that deep sense of joy?
What was it about the empowerment in your child’s eyes that moved you so deeply?
What times during the project did you really feel alive? What were you doing exactly?
This process uncovers recurring patterns tied to your inner purpose.
7. Look for common themes
As you analyse your meaningful moments, patterns will emerge. Perhaps many of your stories involve:
Inspiring people to commit to a bold, ambitious goal
Supporting those who have come from under-privileged backgrounds to succeed and flourish
Getting to the core of the issue by asking challenging and probing questions
Don’t worry about perfect wording, just focus on the essence.
8. Identify your core values
Your values will start to surface through this process. These are your non-negotiables, the guiding principles behind your decisions and your joy.
Common examples:
Empowerment
Integrity
Growth
Creativity
Service
Justice
Expertise
Interestingly, even values like Power are often misunderstood, but are noble when channelled toward service rather than ego.
Use a values list to spark your thinking. Circle those that resonate, then refine your list to your top five or six. These values become your internal compass, your soul’s DNA.
9. Craft your purpose statement
In Find Your Why, Simon Sinek and his colleagues suggest a simple yet profound format:
To [contribution] so that [impact]
A meaningful purpose always involves serving others or creating a positive change. For example:
To help leaders develop conscious awareness, courageous decision-making, and compassionate action, so they can leave legacies they can be proud of (this is my why).
Avoid confusing ego goals (e.g., “to get promoted”) with soul goals (e.g., “to empower others to thrive”).
Feel free to personalise the formula. You can also add the ‘how’ you are going to achieve your purpose:
To help leaders develop conscious awareness, courageous decision-making, and compassionate action, through coaching and leading workshops, so they can leave legacies they can be proud of.
Seek inspiration from the mission statements of leaders you admire.
And if you’d like a fun way to find your why, follow this exercise suggested by Simon Sinek himself.
10. Be Inspired by Real Examples
Take Whitney Wolfe Herd, founder of Bumble. Herd decided to step down as Chair of the company she founded due to a set of personal and business challenges. Having left her own company, Herd describes how her ego was stripped away and she had to dig deep to redefine her purpose and reconnect to her core values. Having recently been invited back as CEO of Bumble, her revived mission is bold and purposeful: "To end misogyny and create a kinder internet in all corners of the world."
Her values of kindness, accountability, equality, respect, and growth are lived, not just stated. As she reclaims her leadership at Bumble, she’s shifted focus to fostering self-love, recognising that hate often stems from unhealed pain. The new motto of Bumble is ‘the love company’.
Her mission has evolved, as will yours.
This process is not a one-time event; it’s a living, evolving journey. Your ego isn’t the enemy; it’s a teacher. Your values are not fixed; they are refined over time. And your purpose is not a destination; it’s the path you walk, moment by moment.
True leadership leaves a legacy
Although we have used famous leaders as examples, you don’t need to be famous to leave a legacy. True leadership is about how you live, what you serve, and how you uplift others.
Ask yourself:
Am I living from ego, or transcending it?
Have I found a purpose that truly energizes me?
Are my values clear and do they shape how I lead? How do I know?
Start your journey today
Leading from purpose may sound like a big step, but the rewards are enormous. You’ll connect to the spark that gives life meaning. You’ll feel proud of the legacy you are leaving behind. Whether you're just starting out, going through a life transition, or a mature leader wanting to check progress, everyone can benefit from a ‘purpose audit’. If you're ready to embark on the adventure, contact me for a chemistry meeting. Because your legacy won’t be defined by what you achieved, but by what you stood for.
Read more from Karen Blakeley
Karen Blakeley, Conscious Leadership Coach, Academic and Author
Karen set up and led the Centre for Responsible Management at the University of Winchester Business School. While there, she taught, conducted research, published books and hosted talks by renowned leaders at the forefront of responsible business. Since leaving academia, she has focused on coaching leaders who want to make a positive difference. Her last book, Leading with Love, looked at how leaders can build their personal and organisational influence, lead with compassion and leave lasting positive legacies.
