Gaining Career Purpose Through Lightning Bolts: Examining the Strength and Psychological Foundations of Work-Related Epiphanies

Abstract

Epiphanies—sudden realizations that transform how people see themselves—have the potential to infuse people’s personal and professional lives with a renewed sense of purpose. Yet, the prominence and potency of epiphanies as purpose-giving vehicles has largely been overlooked in management and organization studies. In the research reported here, we investigate epiphanies and their psychological foundations. Specifically, we build and test theory on what types of individuals, psychologically speaking, are more likely to experience epiphanies of greater strength related to their work and careers. We evaluate the strength of the work-related epiphanies that people experienced over the course of their lives (Study 1) and in the context of a leadership development program (Study 2) and a leadership coaching workshop (Study 3). Consistent with our theorizing, we find that people who engage in a form of mind wandering known as “problem-solving daydreaming” are more likely to experience work-related epiphanies of greater strength. Furthermore, we find that people who engage in problem-solving daydreaming are especially likely to experience work-related epiphanies of greater strength when they possess a form of curiosity that compels them to solve their problems (“deprivation sensitivity”). Work-related epiphany strength, in turn, transmits this conditional effect onto people’s sense of purpose in their careers via psychological tension resolution. These results illuminate psychological phenomena underlying sudden shifts in how people view themselves and open new windows into how a heightened sense of career purpose can emerge among individuals on a managerial career path.