Competent Leaders Tie Tasks to Purpose

When we’ve done the work to create the kind of atmosphere that great people want to be a part of, because they see the impact our organization makes and they have a desire to be involved in something that matters, and we’ve invested the necessary energy to have at least a foundational level of competency in the tasks each of those team members are responsible for each day, we have the opportunity to begin connecting their individual job duties directly to our overall purpose. Earlier, I stressed how important I believe it is for a leader to paint a clear picture of the definite purpose their company (or even their department within a larger company) is focused on achieving, and I emphasized how critical it is for us to articulate that purpose routinely. Here’s where I’ll challenge you to push the envelope just a bit more!

With what we understand about each team member’s role, we can work to provide specific examples of how the things they do to exceed expectations plays a direct part in fulfilling that purpose. Quite honestly, we’d do well to be just as intentional about tying their excellent performance back to the mission, vision, and values of the organization as well. That said, there will also be times where we’ll need to discuss poor performance; as undesirable as this is for every leader who genuinely cares for the people on their teams, it’s part of what we signed up for. When that time comes, it’s just as important for us to define how the subpar behaviors are not in line with our mission, vision, or values AND what this is doing to prevent the organization from achieving its definite purpose.

As effective as it can be to consistently talk about the company’s purpose - as well as the mission, vision, and values that should be guiding us to that purpose - there’s one more thing we can do as leaders to earn best-in-class engagement from our teams and help each individual get value from the process. We can help them develop the same kind of clarity around their individual purpose as we have for our own or for the entire organization. Then we can begin connecting all the dots.

We’ll start looking at exactly how we can help them latch onto their own definite purpose soon. As difficult as it may sound now, I assure you that they’re already showing and telling us what it is. Working to capture that with them is as simple as recognizing what to look for!

Before we do that though, I’ll reemphasize something I said before: purpose matters to some of the best people in every industry. And while it’s never just about the pay, anyone in a leadership role who isn’t willing to provide fair and equitable compensation for the people putting their heart and soul into pursuing the organization’s purpose and driving profitability does not deserve to be called a leader or have great team members who follow them. With that in mind, we’ll take a quick look at the power of purpose in business, and how that can create the profitability necessary to provide for those amazing team members, before we dig into the specifics of identifying our team members’ individual purpose.