How can you develop a sense of purpose to stay motivated in strategy?

Everything starts with WHY. As Simon says, always start with WHY and FIND YOUR WHY Here are my some observations from people who found their purpose - They are simple - They are grounded - They value people - They stay calm and composed - They do not entertain drama - They are action takers

First, start with vision. If you and your leadership don’t have a clearly defined vision of the value you want to create within your organization and the market, then that’s where you need to start. Second, replace problem solving with Future Solving. Problem solving is the craft of getting rid of what you don’t want, whereas Future Solving is the craft of getting what you do want. Future Solving begins with the question of what future we want to create, then asks the question: "What would have to be true to reach this future?" Then "What would have to be true for that to be true?"—working backwards from the future to the starting point of today, with a clear line of focused investments.

Clarify Personal Values: Identify your core values to align them with your work. A sense of purpose stems from work that resonates with personal values. Define Long-Term Goals: Set meaningful long-term goals. Knowing where you are headed provides a sense of direction and purpose in your strategic career. Connect with Organizational Mission: Understand and connect with your organization's mission. Aligning your personal goals with the broader mission fosters a sense of purpose. Identify Impact: Reflect on the impact of your work. Recognizing the positive influence your strategic contributions have on the organization can be motivating. Continuous Learning: Cultivate a mindset of continuous learning. Challenging yourself with new skills

Discover your purpose in strategy by understanding the problems you aim to solve, identifying your audience, and connecting your work to a larger vision. Define your values and passions. Record your answers to serve as a motivational guide, giving direction and meaning to your efforts. Stay inspired by embracing your "why."

First, deeply understand who you serve and the root problems you are solving for them. Next, explain how your solutions advance societal interests beyond purely financial measures. Finally, genuinely convey what motivates you to address this specific issue based on formative personal experiences, aligned passions, or core beliefs that drive your commitment to enacting change in this space.

Aligning vision and goals is the key to keep everyone engaged and motivated. Have the team be involved in a visioning exercise and have the create a roadmap to reach reach this goal, as well as the KPI's which make sense and hold everyone accountable. Make regular updates on progress a part of team meetings. Share KPI's - be transparent. Focus on root cause not blame and close gaps promptly.

As a goal-oriented professional, I have always wanted to grind it out, power through, and get it done. I found that I often missed the many wonderful encounters along the way. Rather than see each problem as an obstacle to overcome, reframe the event as an encounter for you to a) learn valuable lessons; b) experience shared adversity; and c) make a cherished memory to carry with you the rest of your life.

I am a strong advocate for celebrating small wins during the process. Very often celebrations are left for when the target is finally met! I have discovered however, that celebrating small wins along the process does not only make the journey enjoyable but also creates a strong bond within the team! It also gives motivation to keep going as each step seems to be rewarded!

Have a bigger picture in your head. Bigger aspirations and ideas you believe in. Find the relation of everyday items and events with this bigger picture. It will give you confirmation, extra feedback or an antithesis of your believes. Not only will it give your a sense of belonging but it will make your trajectory an enrichment of your inner beliefs.

Seeking feedback is a crucial step when preparing a new strategy or adjusting to ongoing changes. There are many avenues for receiving feedback, but one of the most important aspects is being open to it. In strategy preparation, you are betting on an uncertain future, and this bet is based on current and past information. There will be numerous opinions about what to do in the future, how to align your strategy, and which data is reliable. However, being humble and opening yourself up to feedback is the most important trait, and this is also true for corporations. Ego is the killer of good and sensible strategy

Be alert for implicit feedback, there is more of it and it might be insightful than whatever people tell you. Rejection, alternative views, choices made that impact your environment, what can you derive from them? There is more than meets the eye.

Being a part of strategy team you must be "Jack of All Trades" since you have to drive initiatives that align with the vision of the company and very often tend to be cross-functional. Also, what works is being selfless and helpful. You can definitely call in a favour with the person you have helped in the past. This also leads to strong network for the future.

Surely strategy exist only in practice, and practice for a company only exist based on the people and actions the organization actually does to deliver value. This means that strategy is not self centered in one person, but on the strategy coalition of leaders of the organization that act together to be coherent with the strategic choices.

Have a mindset of continuous improvement, learning, and growth – for example, how could you turn your best-performing campaign from last year into new content types to share across channels? Identify what is working well and embrace it. You can do this by talking to customers, observing interviews, and staying in-tune with metrics that matter in your domain. When you put more effort behind what is working, and retire or rethink what isn't, your wins will stack faster and faster over time.

In my experience, cultivating a sense of purpose in strategy involves questioning general assumptions, embracing uncertainty, and finding motivation in the journey itself rather than fixating solely on predefined goals. This approach allows for adaptability and fosters a more resilient and enduring sense of purpose in the ever-evolving landscape of strategic endeavours.