Recently I published a post on Purpose-washing and questioned if it was just the new green-washing. I hope I didn’t sound too judgmental, as I do believe many leaders genuinely want to bring purpose and meaning to their people and their company (and their own lives too.)
It takes courage for leaders to declare they will invest in purpose as the most vital driver behind performance and profitability and it takes courage to go against the dominant profit-at-all-costs culture of capitalism.
I don’t believe leaders mean to purpose-wash. They are just grappling with the monumental task of unlocking, articulating and bringing purpose to life in their people.
So how does a company go about unearthing their new purpose?
Firstly, it’s done through co-creation and co-ownership. When everyone from every corner of your company has a hand in creating the purpose (not just your execs, consulting firm or ad agency) they accept accountability, they make it their own and they become committed.
Secondly, the actual purpose statement must be real and actionable. A purpose statement like ‘to create a better future’ is lofty and impossible to activate. What does it actually mean? How do we actually do that?
However, a statement like Safety Culture’s “to make safety a way of life in the workplace”, is clear, precise and meaningful. It gives employees a reason to turn up to work every single day. Employees are not just building great apps. They’re saving lives.
(Incidentally, every 15 seconds someone dies from a workplace incident or illness and 153 people are injured. That’s 6300 people each day. Safety Culture is working to reduce that number. Now that’s a reason to go to work everyday!)
Powerful purpose statements are built using a clear framework that includes three core elements; a verb/doing word (to make), an intention (safety a way of life) and a beneficiary (the workplace). There’s an essential framework to creating a deeply meaningful purpose statement that will stand the test of time and that will engage all stakeholders. (I call this a Collective Purpose).
Purpose is about intent. It’s about ‘why’ we do what we do. Purpose has the power to transform a culture and it’s where every change and culture program must start.
In my next post, I’ll share how you bring purpose to life. It’s about behaviour and it’s where the power of a Manifesto has a big role to play.
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My purpose is to unearth a higher purpose in people and organisations…just like yours. I do this through The Purpose Project, a workshop program using human-centred design principles to help you articulate and activate purpose in your company. I help you:
- Co-create a meaningful company purpose statement using a proven framework and a deep understanding of higher purpose and it’s purpose.
- Unearth the behaviour you require in your company to activate purpose by co-designing and then producing your company Manifesto.
- Develop personal Purpose Maps for each employee that ties directly into the company purpose and that enables them to bring their own purpose to the workplace.
