Purpose- start now!
There is much being spoken about Purpose and purposeful organizations. Organizations which are able to narrate a larger reason to exist beyond the pursuit of profits are said to be purposeful. Similarly, individuals who can find a reason to work which goes beyond the subsistence and salary needs are said to be closer to finding their purpose. Some organizations like Unilever are encouraging its employees to bring their purpose to work or find their purpose while at work. How does one do this? Here are some thoughts
- Ensure employees are in roles where they have an opportunity to apply their most special talents. When this happens, the possibility of a sense of purpose emerging is much higher. Easier said than done though.
- Have each employee to craft an “Everyday I live my purpose by….” statement. Have their managers help them fine tune it. Make it part of how employees introduce themselves. May be have it on their sleeves and shirts as badges.
- (Over) Communicate “what are we here to do” and how does that impact the world. Narrate it as stories. Encourage your people to find their own narratives and stories of the difference that they want to make to society and humanity at large
- Encourage diversity and let “Be Yourself” be the driving motto. The more we let individuals be themselves, the higher the chances they want to work purposefully for your organization
- Promote initiative and ideas- let your organization become a canvas for expression.
Am sure there are many more possibilities. It's amply clear that there are organizations which are beginning to live this journey, purposefully. They seem like ones which will own the future. Time to go beyond bell curve debates.
20+ years in HR Transformation | Talent Strategy | Aligning Strategy, Culture and HR | Executive Coach (PCC) | Worked across continents solving key challenges involving People and Culture
6 年Loved the soul of your message which is clearly pointing out that organisations need to do more than claiming to be purposeful. What's equally important is are they connecting the dots between the larger purpose and what employees do everyday and how customers perceive that purpose. Like Starbucks says, inspire the human spirit one cup, one person, one neighborhood at a time. Maybe organisations in future will extend this purpose beyond themselves, their people and include societies, nations and larger ecosystem, all together.