Igniting Purpose: The Catalyst for Transformational Leadership

In today’s dynamic and ever-changing business climate, purpose is not a “nice to have” extra or something we embrace when we “get around to it.” It’s an imperative business strategy. People increasingly insist on engaging in work they find meaningful and aligning with an organization they can believe in and that allows them to express their own values. Moreover, Generations Y and Z, who will comprise 60% of the workforce by 2035, insist on these must-haves to perform at their best and stay. You can unleash enthusiastic engagement, creativity and innovation, and high performance when you learn to ignite purpose across all stakeholders in your organization.?

Detect and articulate your organization’s purpose

A study from PwC revealed that 79% of business leaders believe purpose is key to success, yet only 34% say their company has clearly articulated its purpose.?When it comes to purpose, this is a “full body” workout. In other words, finding your organization’s purpose is what I like to call a “wild, alive scratching” effort to articulate just what it is you do and situate why anyone should care. That means that your purpose statement is never simply crafted from the top leaders, neatly printed on placards for employees to occasionally look at or try to recite. Rather, from the bottom up, side to side, and top down, together as a full team, your purpose is felt in the bones of everyone and thus can easily be remembered, lived, and socialized to customers and fellow colleagues. It is from that place that your purpose statement can fully emerge and begin to take its valuable place in your strategy and operations.

Thread your purpose deeply into your culture and live it daily

With a clear purpose statement (and ultimately, an according mission, vision and values set), the next step is to fully embed them into your daily culture and operations. The language you use to communicate in your organization is a direct reflection of your purpose and what you do in the world. Those action words convey to your people how to behave and communicate themselves – to each other as coworkers and to your customers and suppliers. Embed reward systems in your culture to thank and showcase your team members when they live the company purpose. Symbols are a powerful way to show and constantly remind people of what your purpose is and why it’s important. I worked with a financial services marketing company whose purpose is to provide financial education to underserved communities in America and help protect their families’ legacies through insurance products. I still remember seeing, and being dazzled by, the enormously tall and imposing Optimus Prime figure in the Dallas office front lobby when you walked in. Just as this Transformers franchise figure is the leader of the heroic Autobots who are the sworn protectors of humanity and Cybertron, the tall statue in the field office served as an inspiring reminder of what the company was out to do – protect and support the “little guy” which fueled the team’s passion and commitment to their work.

Continually measure and monitor your purpose to keep it deeply operationalized

Purpose can seem “squishy” or strangely “conceptual” to many people, so it’s critical to measure how it’s lived in your organization. What gets systematically measured gets focus and action. Perform a simple three-question survey across your organization each quarter to gauge the extent to which your organization is living its purpose by asking: a) the extent to which people agree that management’s behavior is consistent with the purpose, b) the purpose of the organization is aligned with the team members’ values, and c) that colleagues’ behavior is consistent with the purpose of the organization.? These measures will indicate precisely where you need to focus your efforts to keep purpose serving as your operational imperative -- whether your management needs to better steward it, you need to change your recruitment practices to attract those who better align, or you need to fortify your full team and enroll them in the purpose in their everyday behaviors.?

Here are some additional strategies to embed purpose more deeply into your organization:

1. Start your regular meetings with a few minutes connecting with the team and inviting them to share and celebrate how they or someone they wish to celebrate has lived the company’s purpose.
2. Recognize and celebrate regularly your team members for living the organizational purpose in service of your mission.?
3. Bring in customers who have been touched or served by your products or services into your organization to share their experience so employees can directly experience how your purpose is lived and feel its vitalizing connection.?
4. Work to develop yourself as an inspirational leader who can cast a compelling vision of the future for the organization and how its mission lifts and serves your community today.?
5. Enroll ALL stakeholders into your organization’s purpose to “visioneer for a greater purpose” among you all. Conduct a retreat or gathering each year or so to bring in representatives from all your stakeholder communities (employees, suppliers, investors, customers, employees, etc.) and share your purpose with them, look for ways your purpose aligns or expands their own or draws on their values, and now you have created what I call your “Parliament of Purpose” -- and all cylinders are firing.

Commit to activating purpose in your organization to nurture its future and radically enliven its present. The resulting sentiment this effort produces will start with you, as you come into work with a spring in your step and feel lit up from the inside out, knowing you are part of something that is making a contribution to your community and customers. Then, watch as your revenues climb, customer satisfaction levels rise, your team is passionate and looking for new ways to delight them, and investors flock as you outperform your competitors.??

Sources:

4 Reasons Purpose-Driven Companies Outperform The Competition

DPMC | Driving Purpose and Missions Collaborative Foundation

Global Workforce Change by Generation: Current and Projected 2035