Purpose leadership

1. Purpose leaders

When Dr David Cooke became the managing director of Konica Minolta Australia, he noticed that not many employees felt pride or engagement. When he later volunteered with his daughter in Cambodia, he was exposed to the horrific reality of sex trafficking there, including many young girls. As David says, once you see this painful reality, ‘you cannot unsee it’. David became a human rights advocate, fighting against all forms of human trafficking and modern slavery, and shifted the entire company to do the same. The result of his leadership was remarkable. Employee engagement grew exponentially during the years of his leadership. He was not more than a purpose-driven leader. He enabled others to act with purpose and impact and find meaning in their work.

Leaders, including in business, have a significant role in working together with everyone to set the organisation's purpose and enable everyone to take part in achieving this purpose. You don’t have to be the CEO of a company to be such a leader.

2. What leadership is and why it matters

As too many business leaders focus on quarterly profits and shareholder value, let’s remind ourselves what leadership is truly about.

The word leader comes from the old English word l?dan, meaning ‘to go before as a guide’. It is the person marching before the tribe, even in the dark and through the storm, leading the way and providing everyone with a sense of safety, belonging, and meaningfulness.

The role of a leader is to elevate others to their full potential. To evoke possibilities and inspire meaningful work. When we recently explored the idea of happiness here, we referred to the Aristotelian concept of Eudaimonia. This profound happiness stems from fulfilling our human potential and living a life worth living as it leads to flourishing. A great leader will also look into how they can instil this within others, helping them to live such a life and achieve profound happiness. Such leaders can come from all levels and corners of companies and societies and all walks of life.

3. Purpose vision

Purpose leaders have a vision and a moral imagination, striving to create a better world or improve some of its parts. They can see a reimagined tomorrow and share it in a way so compelling that others can imagine it, too. An influential leader can paint a vision in such vivid colours that not only can everyone see it, but it becomes a goal to collectively work towards a purpose and a source of meaningfulness at work. It's called a "vision" for a reason - everyone should be able to "see" it.

When many organisation members share the same horizon and the desire to sail towards it, it acts as the mechanism that puts everyone in the same boat. Visions that create meaningfulness are never about becoming the best in the market or providing excellent service. Instead, they focus on bettering humanity. Instead of focusing on being the best in the world, they focus on being the best for the world.

When many organisation members share the same horizon and the desire to sail towards it, it acts as the mechanism that puts everyone in the same boat

Having a solid purpose and vision and inspiring others to work together towards it is such a powerful connecting tool, more than all the team-building days combined. This purpose can unite, activate, inspire and elevate. It can achieve many “positive workplace outcomes” that companies strive to have, from job satisfaction and employee engagement to commitment and retention. It can have a spillover effect and make people’s lives more purposeful and meaningful, even outside work. More importantly, it can connect people to do meaningful work and create a positive impact.

Sometimes, it just means leading by example, doing significant work, and having a positive impact for others to see. Like Nelson Mandela said: ‘As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.’ Purpose can act like the light of the candle that ignites other lights without having to lose any of its brightness. Now, that's the kind of leadership we need in our world today.

?