Creating team purpose for clarity and focus

Purpose in the world of sport is a simple proposition. It’s essentially about winning—winning the set, winning the half, winning the game, winning the tournament. Winning is the name of the game in sport.

In the world of business, purpose is more complex. There are myriad moving parts in organizations, and everyone is a small cog in the wheel of production. Ultimately winning is the purpose of business too: more sales, more revenue, more customers. Each person in an organization has a specific job to do—defined by a job description—but unlike sport, there are several score boards, mostly out-of-sight and often, out-of-mind.

Graham Kenny, in his Harvard Business Review article: Your Corporate Purpose Will Ring Hollow If the Company’s Actions Don’t Back It Up, states that

Purpose looks at the organization from the outside to consider the difference that a business makes in people’s lives.[i]

Creating purpose is based on how others outside the team benefit. This differs from the sport’s world too. Winning a game will surely satisfy a sporting team’s supporters. But the sport team focuses entirely on itself and its execution. If they play better than their opposition, they win, and the supporter is happy. Purpose in business is giving the end-user what they want. The focus is external to the team and the purpose can vary, depending on the needs of the end-user.

What is the value a team generates for its customers and stakeholders? is the key question for the business team. After understanding the needs of its end-user, a team can begin formulating its purpose. Operational activity within a team is obviously important, but only to the extent that it meets the requirements of the team’s end-users and stakeholders. The team’s relationship with its stakeholders is therefore critical to success.

Employees aren’t however always clear about their purpose. Using the forest analogue: Jobholders can’t see the forest for the trees. Day-to-day they have their head pressed up against a large tree and can’t see the surrounding forest. So, the leader’s job is to pull the jobholder back from the tree long enough for them to see the forest.

Preferably, everything that is thought about, said, and done in a team environment (operational activity) is on purpose, either directly or indirectly. All decisions are made through the prism of team purpose. Resolving problems, overcoming challenges, and facing dilemmas ought to be purpose driven. Roles and responsibilities should be shaped around team purpose. Conflicts are resolved with purpose in mind. Expenditure decisions should be evaluated against purpose. Priorities are to be in sync with purpose. Learning and development experiences are sought out and designed to build greater capacity to better met purpose. This is what should happen, but it’s not always, as we know.

Operational activity starts with a clear purpose and direction. If people don’t know where they’re headed, anywhere is good enough.

Three famous purpose statements

To refresh the world in body, mind and spirit. (Coke Cola)

Apple is committed to bringing the best personal computing experience to students, educators, creative professionals and consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, software and Internet offerings. (Apple)

Our aim is to make the best possible ice cream, in the nicest possible way. (Ben & Jerry)

Notice these purpose statements all have three common traits:

• Their value proposition – What’s the value they are adding?
• Their target market – Who are the people they are targeting.
• Their channels/methods – How do they intend to go about achieving that value proposition to the target market.[ii]

We all face innumerable distractions every day. Some are significant, most, less so. Distraction is always relentless and sometimes seductive. Other teams we work with can have different agendas and priorities, and these can change without notice, and in a blink of an eye.

Busyness is virtuous. If one’s busy—with their head down and tail up—they often avoid getting into strife. Busyness can take priority over attention to purpose.

What’s more, we’re addicted to the urgent over the important. If deadlines are being meet, we claim to be efficient. But the real questions are: Am I effective? Am I doing the right thing, at the right time, with the right people, in the right way? That’s being effective. And being clear and committed to purpose is the precursor of effectiveness.

Knowing the purpose is only the starting point. Buying into purpose is even better. Purpose in action is complicated for the jobholder, let alone the team.

Would you like to know how to commit your team to purpose?

Join me on Friday 28th of August for 30-minutes on a special broadcast (free-of-charge):Creating team purpose for clarity and focus.

REGISTER NOW

We are bombarded left, right, and center by myriad distractions. How do we keep teams focused? Creating team purpose is a characteristic of high performing teams. Join me to discover how purpose is fostered and maintained in turbulent times.

REGISTER NOW

Dr Tim Baker is a thought leader in leadership development and performance management, best selling author, and international consultant. having consulted across 21 industries over 18 years, Tim has discovered what makes people tick. To find out more, go to WINNERS-at-WORK Pty Ltd. How do the teams you leader measure up against these eight characteristics?mmon: speed. Speed is an enabler for agile performance.

[i] Kenny, G. (2018). Your corporate purpose will ring hollow if the company’s actions don’t back it up. (August) Harvard Business Review.

[ii] https://www.leadershipgeeks.com/team-mission-statements/