Purposeful Business Leadership

Purposeful Business Leaders have a strong message rooted in their values and courage in abundance. They are the most respected and admired Business Leaders and arguably the most successful.

The Traits of Purposeful Business Leaders

They have exemplary moral courage and are steadfast in their support for their employees and customers understanding when the team succeeds, they succeed. Purposeful Business Leaders swiftly run marathons where others struggle and begrudgingly go the "extra mile".

They have a deep understanding of customer problems and pain points, the frustrations and challenges of their teams, and bottlenecks in the market. They are solution and relationship focused who take ownership. They work hard and lead the way in solving issues, improving quality, enhancing service delivery, and uplifting the customer and employee experience.

Removing Barriers Unlocks Opportunities

Equality campaigners have campaigned for the removal of barriers for decades. While this is the right thing to do, it also drives employment and business growth, and transforms them into opportunities for your employees, customers, and business. It's a WIN, WIN and WIN.

Here are three simple ways you can remove barriers:

?? Identify the major roadblocks and obstacles in your business.

?? Understand how it negatively impacts your employees and customers.

?? Listen to the people experiencing the barriers and take action to remove them.

Where Leaders Go Wrong

Being purposeful is the basics of authentic business leadership. It's not that hard to do it, but some get it badly wrong. Some leaders want to impress others instead of expressing who they are. They are often virtuous coming across as superior and wanting to show they are doing the right thing, supposedly setting an example but doing the exact opposite.

For example, a Head of DEI promoting how their company supported LGBTQ+ employees deleted my comment asking how the company supported their LGBTQ+ customers. My question wasn't a gotcha. I am customer (soon to be former customer) of this business and was keen to know what they were doing for customers.

A Purposeful Leader Getting it Right

Apple investors have rejected an outside shareholder proposal to end the tech giant's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts. Many companies are buckling to external pressure and dropping commitments. Their CEOs unconvincingly try to explain why are abandoning previous customer and employee promises and brand statements.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has stated that the company has "never had quotas or targets," but that its DEI programs are key to its corporate culture guided by "dignity and respect for everyone." Tim said, "Our strength has always come from hiring the very best people and then providing a culture of collaboration."

Storytelling Amplifies Your Purpose

We all share stories. Customers share stories about their suppliers and employees share stories about the workplace. Storytelling is the most impactful form of human connection. When you add purpose to your stories it resonates with others, accelerating their understanding and rapidly conveys your message in a simple and straightforward manner.

Here are three tips to add your purpose to storytelling:

?? Explain your why and how you it makes the world for your employees and customers.

?? Share relatable personal anecdotes reflecting common experiences.

?? Include others and make them feel part of the story

Ready to become a more purposeful Business Leader?

My book "Courage: Your Right Hook" is packed full of insights, tips and my story of purposeful leadership driving positive global change in sport.

You can buy it now on Amazon