The Lightmaker's Manifesto

How to Work for Change without Losing Your Joy
by Karen Walrond

I read this book immediately after hearing the conversation between friends – Brené Brown and the author – discuss their experiences with pivots in their career and the decision to incorporate what I think of as activism into their work.  This conversation and book was foundational to me as I left the organization I worked for nearly 17 years and was determined to incorporate a higher purpose into my work for the remainder of my career.  

The Lightmaker’s Manifesto: How to Work for Change without Losing Your Joy by Karen Walrond, is a wake-up call for anyone who is committed to purposeful careers – and the Great Resignation is highlighting that many are seeking to do just that   The book incorporates real experiences of how people – many of whom are celebrated for their activism - developed their purposeful careers and highlights the obstacles that they overcame.  The author also focuses on gratitude, kindness, integrity and self-care, the latter of which many overlook – but it is needed so as not to develop resentment and veer off course.

How You Can Apply This: You do not need to be a professed activist to incorporate purpose into your work.  Like many of the books that I review, the Appendix at the end of the book (The Lightmaker’s Manual) serves as a way for you to develop your personal, purposeful career road map.  It is grounded in gratitude, kindness, and curiosity and commences with creating small, but daily habits that will enable you to focus your lens and develop patterns.  One of my favorite discussions centered on the points one should reflect upon using  SPIRE – Spiritual Physical Intellectual Relational and Emotional  - as part of the evaluation process.  Spark statements can be small, but igniting so that you can make impact.  And sparks are contagious and can create engagement amongst your team if you share the embers.

Additional Materials For Reinforcing What You Learned:  If you want to reinforce what you gained from this book by listening to a podcast, you might enjoy: Brené Brown’s conversation with James Rhee on Kindness.  This moving, hour long podcast dives into how he turned his experiences in the corporate world to revitalize a struggling company that was built on empowering an underrepresented community.  He further speaks about the concept of accounting goodwill and where his experiences continue to take him through his form of activism and empowerment.  To learn more about Red Helicopter and view his Tedx, please click on this link.

You may also want to conduct a deeper dive by reading the Harvard Business Review articles on Purpose Driven Leadership; How to Cultivate Gratitude, Compassion, and Pride on Your Team; and Put Purpose at your Core.  The latter article is a deep dive into how businesses pivoted and thrived by doing so and it includes a link to a podcast.

Lastly, listen to and watch IAWA’s own Katherine Kat Staton describe how she carved out a niche in aviation law that is equally courageous and inspiring as part of IAWA 101 – Connect. Inspire. Lead series.

This book review was written by Shelley A. Svoren, VP – Leader Development for IAWA and who is the CEO + Founder of Infinite Branches.  You can DM her on LinkedIn.