What is the story of purpose?

It was a few weeks ago that I attended the Brilliant Women Boardroom session to talk about The Story of Purpose. Since then I’ve had a couple of people message me about what purpose led leadership means, and this week someone asked me to write an article on personal purpose… so here it is.

Do you know what purpose is?

It’s the reason for which something is done or created, or for which something exists. So when I talk about leading a business that has a clear purpose it’s my view that the CEO’s job is to get the organisation clear on why it exists.

What is personal purpose?

It’s an overarching sense of what matters in our lives, and we experience purposefulness when we strive of work towards something personally meaningful or valued.

Jack Canfield quotes “Clarify your purpose – what is the why behind everything you do? When we know this in life or design, it is very empowering and the path is clear”. This is something I really believe in, that having clarity in your life gives huge energy. Activity without purpose drains you and that in turn means you’re less effective in your job.

Creating strong links to an individual purpose benefits individuals and companies alike, especially in times of adversity. A guidepost helps people face into uncertainties by helping them make better decisions as they navigate through them. People with a strong sense of purpose tend to have better resilience when they live their purpose…. This really does mean much more than just a set of words.

People who find their individual purpose tend to get more meaning from their roles, making them more productive and more likely to outperform their peers. McKinsey recently ran a study which showed a positive correlation between purposefulness of employees and their company’s EBITDA. https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/igniting-individual-purpose-in-times-of-crisis#:~:text=Individual%20purpose%20can%20be%20thought,something%20personally%20meaningful%20or%20valued.

Here’s a fact: personal purpose doesn’t just have business benefits, it’s good for your health too. A study (Purpose in life as a predictor of mortality across adulthood – Patrick L Hill and Nicholas A Turiano, 2014) found that purposeful people live longer and healthier lives:

-      2.5 times more likely to be free of dementia

-      22% less likely to exhibit risk factors for stroke

-      52% less likely to have experienced a stroke

When looking for your next role, consider that aligning an organisation’s purpose and your personal purpose has mutually reinforcing benefits. Where there is commonality and trust is strong, it encourages people to stretch out of their comfort zones and to achieve more; organisations can also more easily pivot in times of challenge where there is deeper alignment.

Research on employee engagement unequivocally suggests that people perform better when they are motivated. But there's still widespread debate about whether traditional motivational strategies, like "stick and carrot," really work. According to Dan Pink, intrinsic motivation is based on three key factors: Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose.

Pink’s work on purpose identifies that people may become disengaged and demotivated at work if they don't understand, or can't invest in, the "bigger picture." But those who believe that they are working toward something larger and more important than themselves are often the most hard-working, productive and engaged. So, encouraging them to find purpose their work – for instance, by connecting their personal goals (personal purpose) to organisational targets using OKRs can win not only their minds, but also their hearts.

This presents a huge opportunity as people recognise their own strengths and motivations when determining or defining their own purpose.

The morning I presented at the Brilliant Women Boardroom session I was talking to my children in the car about what I was doing that day. I told them that I was presenting on purpose and they asked me what it meant, and asked why I was talking about it. My son, my youngest child, immediately responded that he wanted to save all the animals on the planet and be a zoologist. His overwhelming need to make things better led him to respond with clarity and conviction. My older daughter found it harder to articulate what she thought her life purpose might be. After some debate my son told her that whilst he was going to save the planet, she might live to entertain it with her dancing, artistic talents and musical performances. A funny anecdote but it got me thinking that even at a young age our lives have meaning and being comfortable in your own skin, and with your own values, is important.

I can share that my purpose is strongly rooted in growth and helping things to grow. My motivations are mapped heavily to growth, I take personal pleasure in growth related hobbies such as gardening and I am fulfilled by helping my children grow and colleagues develop. It took me a while to find my purpose and be comfortable translating this into something I could well articulate, and align it to my career journey. For example, this allowed me to accept NED roles aligned to my personal purpose.

If you’re considering your personal purpose, the following questions may be useful:

Can you articulate your personal purpose?

How does this apply to your work life?

Is your purpose tangible in your job?

Who supports you with your purpose?

If you’re leading a business and are thinking about the organisation’s purpose, these questions might help:

What is the truth about your market or sector context?

Based on this, what is the opportunity that exists for your business to fill or solve?

To succeed, what can you do to capture this opportunity?

Your business exists to do………. what?

The principles of what you offer are..... what?

The way in which you will do this is….. what?

The vision for your future is……. what?

Why will someone choose your business?

What does this look and feel like?

Want to find out more? Drop me a message.