Leading With Purpose Amid Uncertainty

I have been a fan of Arsenal football club for many years. That introduction always sets off a flurry of often sympathetic and occasionally congratulatory noises depending on what my team has been up to in the last few weeks. I will come back to Arsenal in relation to the topic of purpose later on. When I am not watching Arsenal or working, I read on management and leadership, a field that has intrigued and interested me for over 20 years.

In preparing for my presentation in a recent event, I revisited the central role having a clear purpose plays in the success of individuals and organizations. The concept of a purpose led organization has been around in management studies for a while. Terms and phrases such as “beyond profits” or “purpose over profits” have sometimes created the wrong impression of a binary field in which being purpose led was generally at the expense of profits. While this may apply in certain short-term tradeoffs, the vast body of work on this subject suggests that purpose-led organizations are also the most profitable in the long-term and the most sustainable. To be clear, purpose is not the same as goals, objectives or mission statements. Purpose is a higher-level aspiration. Robert E. Quinn and Anjan V. Thakor in a recent HBR article https://hbr.org/2018/07/creating-a-purpose-driven-organization, refer to this higher-level aspiration as creating energy and morale within the organization and driving long-term profitability and superior shareholder returns. They articulate the hard truth that “many executives apply conventional economic logic that views employees as self-interested agents and design organizational processes with this in mind”. The choice that faces leaders and managers especially in the business world is whether to double down on this traditional thinking, or embrace an authentic higher purpose that connects to deeply held aspirations in the hearts and minds of employees.

Deloitte in a 2019 article headlined “Purpose is Everything”  https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/topics/marketing-and-sales-operations/global-marketing-trends/2020/purpose-driven-companies.html, state that purpose-driven  companies witness higher market share gains and grow three times faster on average than their competitors, all while achieving higher workforce and customer satisfaction. There is a strong case therefore for organizations to seek, articulate and implement a higher purpose that informs their values, ethos, missions and objectives. This process has sometimes been referred to us “connecting the head and the heart” within the organization. When well implemented, a clear purpose resonates with the executive as well as the teams and creates a culture of ownership, accountability and trust. This in turn leads to an engaged and innovative workforce that delivers for its customers consistently and reliably.

Outside the business and corporate world, perhaps the most amazing example of a purpose driven life is the life Nelson Mandela, that iconic leader that South Africa gave to the world. He spent all his life (including 27 years in prison) fighting for a higher ideal of equality and justice. Before his sentencing in the infamous Rivonia trial of 63/64 he made a timeless statement thus "I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." Reading this statement, even in history books creates a feeling of deep connection with his fight for what was right. Many years later as a newly elected president of South Africa, he read this quote and aren't we all grateful that he lived to see his vision come to life. In the rest of Africa, the war against colonialism was won largely because it was led by purposeful leaders such as Mwalimu Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya and others. These leaders had a rare clarity of purpose which connected deeply with the African people in the pre and early post independence period. In the USA, the civil rights movement was/and still is driven by this drive for a higher ideal. In the business world in Africa, there are a number of excellent examples of businesses that do a great job of tapping into these higher ideals and connecting with important topical areas such as the environmental and health issues, participating in education and participating in clean energy among others. The HBR article above shares some good global examples as well.

In the sporting world I recently attended a virtual event in which Eliud Kipchoge, the first man to run a marathon in under two hours spoke about his conquest. He spoke about his greater purpose in life to inspire the human race, that "no human is limited". Because of this basic and inspirational truth, billions of people many of them not sports men or women cheered him on. He tapped into a fundamental human truth that we all fight to overcome our limitations . His goal "run a marathon in under two hours" assumed a universal human dimension because of his overall purpose captured in the phrase "no human is limited"

The logic of purpose is however not always linear. Often, there are short-term trade-offs that put the organization to test. In the Covid19 pandemic, organizations have faced the tension between short-term cost cutting measures (often necessary for survival) and the long-term purpose of the organization for instance in playing a positive role in a global community ravaged by the pandemic. Banks for instance have faced the twin objectives of maintaining a healthy asset book while at the same time having to reschedule debt on an unprecedented scale.

Back to Arsenal football club, a previous manager, Arsen Wenger had a personal philosophy based on “bringing the thrill of beautiful football to every fan”. His purist approach to the game was sometimes at the expense of good results and the jury is still out on whether the overall purpose was achieved. Having a consistent playing philosophy has worked much better across the channel in Barcelona.

In conclusion, an inspiring and clearly stated purpose that speaks to the higher calling of each team member is an overriding requirement in the post-pandemic world. The North Star guides individual and organizational efforts towards sustainable success in an uncertain world.