Finding Purpose — The Founding Story of Organizations for Impact
By Christine Yip, Founder of Organizations for Impact
“ It was there that I first felt a passion for my work and a connection to my colleagues. Each and every one of us cared about people and work and worked hard to understand how we could make work better.”
My early years can be quickly summed up by one word — change. My father’s job in the telecom industry took us all across the country. We lived in three provinces and went through five city moves by the time I entered the 6th grade. While this meant new schools and friends for my sister and I, it also quickly taught us the central role work played in our day to day lives. By the time I got to University I had a keen interest in psychology and enrolled in the Bachelor of Science Psychology program at the University of Western Ontario. During my studies, I continued to work when I could. I worked as a bartender, a server, and a supervisor at a Salon and Spa chain. The combination of psychology and work was always top of my mind, if not explicitly, in my conversations with my co-workers and managers. Following graduation, I wanted to continue to learn about the application of psychology at work and was accepted into the Industrial and Organizational Masters program at the University of Guelph. It was there that I first felt a passion for my work and a connection to my colleagues. Each and every one of us cared about people and work, and worked hard to understand how we could make work better.
Once I finished my Masters degree, I landed a job in a Big 5 management consulting firm. I worked with companies across Canada to design and implement employee programs and organizational change initiatives, with a focus on improving business outcomes. Eager to deliver results, I was doing what many high achieving new grads do in a highly competitive environment — working harder, longer, taking on way to much and not asking for help when I needed it. It didn’t take long to build a reputation for myself across the firm as someone who goes above and beyond and puts in whatever hours necessary to get the job done. I was extremely valued, and it felt good, but after a few years, I started to burn out. I had quickly become the subject of my own field.
At the time, I didn’t know I was burning out. The irony is that I had studied stress and burnout in my masters, but hadn’t grasped what it would feel like to go through it myself.
Why do they keep giving me projects with timelines that are too tight to deliver on? Why does everyone keep giving me more work when it is clear I have too much on my plate?
With no time to find answers, I continued to roll up my sleeves and work through it. Over time I started to feel resentful, angry, and helpless.
It took some time but eventually my motivation and sense of purpose in my work completely disappeared. I finally hit my endpoint, and after being convinced by the company not to quit, I decided to take a leave of absence.
Through my firm I had made a few friends in South Africa. Through them, I connected with a grassroots youth program based in Soweto, Johannesburg called Kliptown Youth Program. They were small and growing and needed support with some organizational and management issues they were facing. I had one conversation with the Executive Director, booked a flight, and left to Johannesburg a few weeks later to help. Looking back, I often feel that my time there helped me more than it helped them. My work there showed me two important things. First, there are a lot of amazing people out there working to improve people’s lives all over the world, no matter how much they have for themselves. Second, that I am capable of contributing and making real positive change in how people live alongside these individuals.
“I learned that addressing social issues is much more complex than the work of doing business and, in our society, it is often difficult to tease the impacts of these two worlds apart”
This idea of making social change propelled me to enter the London School of Economics’ Social Policy and Planning Masters program. We dove deep into the history of poverty and disadvantage, how discrimination is addressed across countries, and how welfare policy and social assistance has evolved over the years. Through this experience, I learned that addressing social issues is much more complex than the work of doing business and, in our society, it is often difficult to tease the impacts of these two worlds apart. When I graduated and returned to Canada, I landed a contract at a policy think tank in Toronto where I worked on policy issues around charity regulation, social innovation, social security, and multiculturalism.
It was here that the idea for Organizations for Impact started to form.
In my policy work, issues relating to ‘work’ continued to surface. Discrimination at work, labor and management practices at work, and the future of work. While the conversations in the policy space were filled with intelligent discourse and debate, there was something glaringly missing. As policy leaders and experts in the field continued to discuss problems and solutions to make work better, it was business as usual for those who worked at the ‘frontlines’ of many of these issues — HR practitioners, business leaders, and everyday managers. While it is unfair to say that these voices were not present, the connection was minimal, the language was different, and the solutions did not always align. While it was frustrating to see both sides continue to talk past each other on shared issues, there was a clear opportunity for change. An opportunity to bring together business leaders, policy makers, and HR leaders to find practical solutions to make life better for people at work.
“It is clear that people are hungry for change in how we work. They want solutions that make work more inclusive, more empowering, more meaningful, and less stressful.”
It was clear to me that I could help. The problem was very few organizations were working at the intersection of these issues. So I took the plunge and decided to go out and build something on my own. After months of research, coffee chats, and a lot of personal soul searching, Organizations for Impact was born. An organization focused on identifying and implementing practical solutions to make work better: better for people at work, better for organizations who want to reach their goals, and better for our collective social well-being.
From my experience, it is clear that people are hungry for change in how we work. They want better solutions that make work more inclusive, more empowering, more meaningful, and less stressful. We know the data, we know the issues, now it’s time to make changes. Organizations for Impact is a vehicle to make this happen. While we are still a new player in the space, we are filled with purpose, ideas, and energy to make a difference — and we are excited for the journey ahead.
To learn more about who we are and what we do check out our website at www.orgsforimpact.com. If you want to learn more about how to make work better follow us on Twitter @orgsforimpact and keep an eye out for our next blogpost where we will be sharing our own insights on how to make work better!
