Photo by Billingham
In the book “It’s not what you sell, it’s what you stand for” (the books website is here) by Roy Spence Jr. with Haley Rushing, is an interesting chapter, “stewards of purpose” which discusses the importance of purpose in leadership…
“The primary responsibility of a leader in a purpose-based organization is to build, nurture, and sustain the core purpose of the organization… By far the number one driver shared by the masters of purpose is the desire to make a difference… Having a definitive conception of the difference you are trying to make in the lives of all your stakeholders will drive all the tough decisions that need to be made and ensure maximum alignment between all the constituents required to pull it off.”
The authors further discuss the critical role of leaders as the stewards of purpose, the book show how leaders as stewards of purpose are guided by the following six stewardship principles.
- Make it job #1 to be the torch bearer of purpose: “In every purpose-based organization there is a key leader who carries the torch of purpose and values and ensures that the organizational culture is living it every day… The key point is you can’t delegate the creation of values and purpose to some middle-management function. The leaders at the top of the organization need to unequivocally believe in the values. They need to live them.”
- Believe in purpose before profit: “Purpose-driven leaders genuinely believe in the purpose of the organization and the values on which their culture is built beyond any profit-driven motive.”
- Use purpose to create alignment and drive performance: “One of the primary jobs of any leader, at any level in the organization, is to ensure that the energy of every employee is being utilized in the most constructive way possible… As a leader, the energy you have to spend getting people aligned around a purpose is inversely related to the level of awareness that the world has of your purpose. the more the world knows what your organization stands for, the more you will attract individuals who are in alignment with the goals of the organization.”
- Keep in mind what you’re fighting for: “What are we fighting for?… After thirty years of helping organisations grow their business. I’ve sat at the table with a lot of CEOs. Those who talk about winning in terms of financial performance alone are like and day compared to those who talk about winning in terms of making a difference in the lives of their stakeholders. And… rarely do those fighting for shareholder value achieve the kind of performance achieved by those focused on making a meaningful difference.”
- Use purpose, not just personality, to lead: “…truly great leaders don’t use their positions to coerce people into doing the work that needs to be done – they inspire commitment by appealing to the fundamental desire for work that has meaning… The leaders we’ve met didn’t set out to become great leaders. They set out to fight for a cause they believed in, to revolutionize industries. to make a difference and become great leaders in the process.”
- Do right by your purpose: “There is nothing less motivating to employees, and more disappointing to consumers, than leaders who are not willing to make the hard decisions that need to be made to fulfil the purpose of the organization in a meaningful way. Doing right by your purpose requires three things: knowing your purpose, putting your purpose before yourself, and having the courage to do what needs to be done.”
The need for a meaningful purpose to guide organizations and people into the uncertain time we are facing in these time has never been greater. As a leader it’s your responsibility to seek and find the purpose for your life and business. The will require that you set aside a significant amount of time and energy to explore and find a purpose that fills your heart with passion.
- Do you have a purpose that you are pursuing for your life and business?
- Are you behaving as the torch bearer of that purpose?
- Have you aligned your resources behind your purpose?
- Have you made that tough decision that is demanded of you by your purpose?
Technorati Tags: Purpose, Vision, Book, Passion, Leadership, Management, Business, Marketing, Stewardship, Principles
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Great piece. I would argue that every successful organization has at its root a “noble cause” or purpose that is the organization’s true north. Those that remain successful through turbulent times are the organizations that stay focused on that purpose – those that, as you put it, “put purpose before profit.” In fact, this is the true nature of capitalism: the market rewards those people and organizations that create the most good and useful products and services in a way that is sustaining. The reward that the market provides is profit. Although it seems that we’ve had this somewhat backward for about the last 30 years or so, I sense that the pendulum is swinging back toward balance. Posts like yours reinforce that swing and pull toward that balance, and I appreciate them very much!
I think that without purpose, without goals and objectives, an organization, division, department, and/or team has nothing to work toward. We learn from High Altitude Leadership that without group objectives, individuals within the group will turn to self-interest. Why? Because they don’t have group goals to work toward achieving.
We had a Presient elected in the U.S. based on a purpose that raised people’s morale, helped them believe in the future, and gave them hope. He leads by purpose. And, although I’m not a big fan of how government practices “business”, I am excited about the possibilities….
Language and President Obama’s approach to building momentum behind the Purpose are inextricably tied. I love the way your post addresses both of these so nicely.
Would be fun to cross-post sometime…. I enjoy reading your material. Would love to hear your thoughts on some of my writings…www.elevati-inc.com/blog.
Thank you!
Tanya