Providing a Clear Purpose for Each Team Member

Leading with a clear purpose, whether that’s drawing from the power of having a clear purpose for why and how we lead the team members who are counting on us or through how we provide that same kind of clear purpose for each individual on the team, is often some of the most important work we’ll do for our organizations! As critical as both those things are though, we can’t stop there and expect every single person to automatically fall right in line. We need to be just as intentional about connecting the purpose of the organization with the things that matter most to them.

As John Maxwell explains “The Law of the Chain,” chapter five in The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork, he shares that “the strength of the team is impacted by its weakest link.” As accurate as that is, even a potentially strong team member can become a weak link if they don’t have a personal connection to the organizational purpose and aren’t finding fulfillment in the work they’re doing. Remember what I shared before about looking for a high bridge with fast moving traffic underneath when it felt like all I did in my full time role was check boxes to comply with gubermint regulations? Burnout is a very real thing and it can take hold of the best of us when we don’t have a clear purpose we can work toward.

As leaders, we’re certainly responsible for identifying our own purpose and for defining the overall purpose for the teams we lead. But to get the best results possible, and to truly serve each team member, we’d do well to connect that overall purpose to the things they draw fulfillment from as individuals. As I make that statement, I have no doubt that more than a few crusty old executives just swore at me - and not all of them did it under their breath! While I realize even the idea of helping each individual on our teams find fulfillment will wreak of touchy-feely-ness to some, it’s something we can do to earn authentic influence and be genuine in how we lead our teams.

Make no mistake though, I’m not about to suggest that this will be easy on any given day. Doing this effectively will require us to know and understand how each individual is wired, identifying the things that really tug at their heart strings… And to take a page from the GI Joe playbook, “Knowing is (only) half the battle!” Then we’ll need to be sure to communicate with them in a way that gives them all they need to grab hold of the company’s purpose while connecting their involvement to a purpose that means just as much to them! We’ll work through that in very specific detail later on. Right now, just know that the most effective way I’ve found for doing this is based on a simple approach for understanding and applying The Model of Human Behavior. As we move forward with this idea, we’ll look very closely at what you and I can each do to identify our own purpose and keep it top of mind then we’ll take an equally focused look at the specific steps we can take to learn to recognize the purpose that matters most to every individual we lead and make sure it’s top of mind for them too! Stay tuned…