The last piece of the purpose puzzle lies within the organizations out there. Small or large, companies are more and more cautious about the impact they make, on the variety of stakeholders, if customers, employees or the world in general. More of them are joining the purpose revolution as they see it is absolutely critical, in order to stay relevant in the market and achieve high performance with the right talent.
In one of its studies, Imperative proves that purpose-oriented organization will achieve 600% higher performance over 10 year, are 68% more likely to experience revenue growth and will benefit from 50% bigger leadership pipeline. But it’s not only Imperative who points out the significance of purpose. Also the E.Y. Beacon Institute and Harvard Business School show that companies that lead with purpose and have purpose-oriented leaders and employees are more likely to outperform competition and grow their profits while driving meaningful impact.
But how can you infuse more purpose into your organization?
#1 POWERFUL PURPOSE STATEMENT
Define an inspiring company purpose statement, which goes beyond maximizing shareholders value. A “Why”, linked to making the world a better place. An inspiring vision your employees can easily associate with and will be proud to be part of. The impact you, as an organization, want to make. How?
- Craft a powerful purpose statement; co-creating it with your stakeholders and if you already have one – review and validate it, defining what is the ultimate purpose of your business.
- Communicate your purpose statement; on your website, promo materials, within your stakeholder net, internally and with your customers, investors, suppliers…
- Align your business practices with your purpose statement; always checking if a specific action is a in line with your overall big vision.
#2 HIRE FOR PURPOSE
Stop hiring purely based on the number of skills and years of experience in ones CV. Hire purpose-oriented talent and from the beginning, create an immediate sense of belonging. Hire not only those that are aligned to your purpose statement and to your core values, but those that are driven by purpose in general. Those, driven by their core intrinsic motivation to have a meaningful career. How?
- Create a purpose-full job advert, going beyond the required skills and experience.
- Include purpose-related questions in interview process in order to verify if the individual is driven by money, status or purpose.
- Assess the purpose drivers of the interviewee in order to tailor the role to the candidate.
#3 ONBOARDING FOR PURPOSE
As the first 90 days on a job are critical to the success of a new employee, assure purpose-full onboarding. Empower each new employee to connect to their new team and colleagues. Help them develop ownership for their success and growth, making their job deeply fulfilling. Build psychological safety from day 1 and assure flawless integration within the team and the whole organization. How?
- Create a purpose-full onboarding, co-framing goals to be meaningful and personalized.
- Connect their work with the impact they are making, defining their role and potential for contribution clearly in the context of a new team.
- Introduce them to RIG and purpose power-ups, in order to give them a tool to maximize their fulfillment in the job.
#4 PURPOSE-RICH CAREER DEVELOPMENT
As lack of career development is one of the main reasons people leave, focusing on purpose-rich career development is key. Help your employees to develop a growth mindset and take ownership for their continuous learning and development. Don’t focus on only boosting their skills and strengths but also developing their EQ (emotional intelligence). How?
- Set up purpose-based Mentoring program, assigning mentors to mentees based on their purpose drivers, matching who, why and how they go about making impact.
- Develop purpose-full individual development plans, focusing on continuous growth and development being aligned with their potential for impact in the company / world.
- Unlock unexpected career pathways within your business, innovating your approach to L&D, offering them self-development techniques or experiential learning opportunities.
#5 MANAGER & TEAM DEVELOPMENT
Create harmonious relationships and inspiring working environments where teams thrive. Create purpose-driven teams, where team managers are able to boost team’s ambition for impact and define a clear path to make it a reality. Increase self-awareness across the team removing biases and blind spots, while creating a culture of trust, empathy and innovation. How?
- Set purpose-driven team goals, being inspiring for all team members and then celebrate the impact made once achieved.
- Define intrinsic rewards to authentically motivate every team member.
- Analyze the purpose differences across the team spotting the minorities, the strengths and the blind spots to be addressed.
#6 PURPOSE-ORIENTED LEADER DEVELOPMENT
Use purpose to develop authentic and conscious leaders who will serve as the role-models for the individuals and teams within the organization. Boost their ability to inspire (rather than engage) and direct diverse teams, build tribes within the company and drive innovation in the fast-paced VUCA environment. How?
- Assist leaders in crafting an inspiring narrative about the intersection of their personal purpose and the organizational purpose, based on purpose-full story-telling.
- Support leaders in developing a productive mindset focusing on empathy, courage, curiosity and humility.
- Help them spot strategies that align to the purpose of the organization keeping company values and long-term goals in mind.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
What is, from your experience, the most powerful action? Which one is the most difficult one?
NOW IT’S YOUR TURN!
In case you want to make sure your organization outperforms competition and boosts its profits in the long term, take action in creating a purpose-oriented business. What action can you take this week, month or year?
MORE PURPOSE
If you are interested in the research behind purpose and its implications in the workplace, get your copy of the Purpose Economy written by Imperative’s founder Aaron Hurst himself.
For more information about Fortuny’s work around Purpose for individuals or organizations, read on here.
