Purpose-Fit, Not Values-Fit

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Culture fit means hiring and having people who are aligned with a company’s values. To proponents of this, values are the foundation of a company. They are the pillars on which a company stands, operates, and grows. To them, it is what determines how a company does what it does. This is about employees conforming and adapting to the ways the employee expects them to.

The major goal of working should not be how to get people to conform to what their employer values, but instead to unlock the human potential needed to build a company that builds a better world.

What is wrong with culture fit is the word conformity. Conformity leads to mediocrity. Conformity is about going along with a set of people to feel you belong while losing your identity. It makes you depend on your outside for motivation. In cultures where people are expected to conform to the values of the group constantly, they end up frustrated, burnout, and stressed.

When people conform to the values and behaviors of a group, it's hard for them to turn around and challenge the status quo. By conforming, they are expected to join the group in maintaining the status quo. Non-conformity is about challenging the company’s norms, values, and rules. Those that don’t conform are seen as outsiders, disloyal, and rebels. They don’t fit the culture.

When people conform to the values, beliefs, and behaviors, they also conform to groupthink. It's hard for people to imagine new things. They are afraid of being punished for being different from the group. If Imagination and the ability to take risk makes one different from the group, it is avoided. Work becomes all about survival not the cultivation and unleashing of human potential.

Value fit can limit the potential of the people in an organization. It’s more like the crab mentality. Crab mentality is the pattern of behavior exhibited by crabs when they are trapped in a bucket. Anyone can easily escape, but they get undermined by the group. Any crab that tries to escape will suffer the wrath of the group. This is exactly what happens when people conform to values as culture fit. It is called Tall Poppy Syndrome in humans.

Employees who exhibit this syndrome cuts down on anyone who tries to be different from the group in behavior, values, mindset, and beliefs. Anyone who tries to be different gets cut down or punished. Being fired for not fitting a culture is being asked to leave because you are different from the group.

Employees will attempt to reduce the self-confidence and sense of belonging of a fellow employee who tries to behave differently from the group out of envy, resentment, spite, conspiracy or competitive feelings to halt their impact. It affects performance in the long run.

Instead of culture fit, companies should begin to think of aligning their people to a purpose. Purpose is the heart of a human-centered culture. Unlike people who fit the value of an organization and need to be motivated each day, those who fit the purpose of the organization, don’t require motivation. That is because they are inspired by the purpose of the organization. People who are inspired are self-motivated.

Purpose is the foundation for self-actualization and self-fulfillment. When the organization attracts people by its purpose people find meaning at work. When people are inspired by a purpose and a cause that is bigger than life, they will give their all, work harder and perform more than a group of people who are uninspired. Value conformity is not enough to inspire the human soul.

I haven’t done research on this but I think that organizations that have purpose-fit employees are more innovative and will perform far better than organizations that seek value fit. Innovation occurs when people find meaning at work and want to make meaning. They come together to work because they want to make the world a better place.

It's hard for innovation to happen without a grand and higher purpose that unites people. The purpose of the business should be to change the world and make it better with the products they develop. Focusing on a common purpose ensures that everyone makes decisions for the company's best interest.

Values-fit means people are united on the process, not the outcome. Purpose is the outcome companies seek. It is the reason they exist. When people are agreed and are aligned on the reason the company exists, they will do everything in their power to ensure they reach and actualize their purpose. Purpose inspires people to unleash their potential and ingenuity in the workplace.

Purpose drives innovation and keeps everyone inspired and engaged. When people are led by a purpose, they innovate for the customer and increase the value of the company in the marketplace.

Instead of deciding on the set of values, you want your people to conform to, why not decide on a purpose they will be attracted to. Start and end with your why. When people are aligned for a purpose, they bring their strength to the table. The purpose gives them a similar mindset as everyone and they come with their unique capabilities to collaborate and create value. Why does your organization exist to do in the world?

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