Purpose Beneath Performance Inquiry
Trace a visible strategy back to the belief and purpose it is meant to serve.
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~ongoing to results
- Steps
- 7
- Confidence
- 90%
The Purpose Beneath Performance Inquiry starts with a visible activity—speaking, selling, teaching, or leading—and tests whether that activity is the actual goal or only a strategy. The leader then identifies what the performance enables other people to believe, feel, or do. Repeated phrases and lessons are examined as clues because people often give others the message they themselves need reinforced. Finally, the leader looks for evidence that the message has already become real internally; genuine resonance with an audience suggests more than clever presentation. The output is a plain-language purpose that sits underneath the activity and can guide future leadership choices. The inquiry turns external success into self-knowledge while exposing places where performance has become disconnected from conviction.
Origin
Jim Zartman guided Jasmine Star through this inquiry by asking whether performing was her goal or strategy, what she used it for, and what she was telling others that she also needed to hear.
Core principles
- 01A visible performance can be a strategy rather than the true goal.
- 02Repeated public messages often reveal a belief the speaker needs reinforced.
- 03Credible work usually reflects something already experienced internally.
- 04Purpose clarifies what a leader is trying to create through a strategy.
- 05Self-discovery strengthens leadership rather than distracting from it.
How to run it
- 1
Name the performance
Choose a visible activity in which you regularly lead, teach, sell, or influence others.
Pro tip Start with an activity where people consistently respond strongly.
Watch out Do not assume the most visible activity is your underlying purpose.
- 2
Separate goal from strategy
Ask whether the activity is the end itself or a vehicle for producing something deeper.
Pro tip Complete the sentence, 'I use this activity to...'
Watch out Status, applause, and revenue can obscure the effect you actually value.
- 3
Identify the effect
Describe what the activity helps other people believe, feel, or become. Make the effect specific enough to recognize in practice.
Pro tip Use audience reactions as evidence rather than relying only on intention.
Watch out Avoid abstract purpose statements that could describe any leader.
- 4
Listen for recurring messages
List the phrases, principles, or lessons you repeat across different audiences and situations.
Pro tip Review recordings or transcripts to notice patterns you miss while performing.
Watch out A polished catchphrase is not automatically a deeply held belief.
- 5
Turn the message inward
Ask what you are saying to others that you also need to hear or reinforce in yourself.
Pro tip Notice emotional resistance; it may reveal the belief carrying the most meaning.
Watch out Do not confuse self-reflection with proof that every message is true.
- 6
Gather embodied evidence
Look for situations where the message has already operated through your decisions, work, or influence. Accept that growth can be genuine even when it remains incomplete.
Pro tip Use concrete outcomes and trusted feedback as evidence.
Watch out Do not dismiss real evidence merely because self-doubt persists.
- 7
State the purpose
Write one direct sentence describing the deeper purpose served by the visible strategy and use it to evaluate future choices.
Pro tip Prefer language that changes decisions over language that merely sounds inspiring.
Watch out Purpose without corresponding behavior becomes branding rather than leadership.
In the wild
Jim asked Jasmine whether performing was her goal or her strategy. She identified performance as a strategy and said she used it to help people believe in themselves. The conversation then surfaced that her recurring encouragement about effort, dreams, failure, and regret also reinforced her own need to trust herself.
→ Jasmine connected her public work to a deeper purpose and recognized evidence of the belief already operating through her.
A manager repeatedly tells employees that they can solve difficult customer problems without waiting for permission. Applying the inquiry, she realizes that coaching autonomy is her strategy for creating confident decision-makers—and that she must also stop second-guessing her own judgment.
→ She gains a clearer leadership purpose and aligns her own behavior with the message she teaches.
Common mistakes
Mistaking the medium for the purpose
Speaking, selling, or managing may be the mechanism through which purpose operates, not the purpose itself.
Using inspiration without evidence
A compelling message becomes more credible when the leader can identify where it has already shaped real behavior or outcomes.
Turning reflection into self-rejection
The inquiry should integrate new insight rather than force allegiance to an old identity or classification.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for leaders, speakers, and creators whose successful work feels disconnected from their internal sense of purpose.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal for urgent operational decisions that require immediate factual analysis rather than reflective inquiry.
From the transcript
“Is performing the goal or the strategy?”
“So what are you saying? That you know, you need to hear.”
“whatever the gift you need to give yourself, you're naturally going to give to others. And that means that's one of the ways you actually…”
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