Verbalizing the Purpose They’re Driven By

Please don’t mistake me referring to something as being simple for thinking that I’m saying it will be easy. Even when we’ve invested the time to listen to what our team members are telling us and we’ve paid close attention to what their behaviors are showing us, we’ll still need to be incredibly intentional about how we provide them with a clear picture of how their work builds to a definite purpose - one they can measure as part of their own journey as well as the organizational purpose we’re working with them to achieve together. If this were truly easy, anyone with the slightest bit of authority that comes with a title or position would already be doing it. But with a practical framework for doing this, it can indeed be simple. The reason I call attention to the difference is that it will require focused effort, effort that’s far too often brushed aside as being too complicated or as taking too much time. My argument for taking this approach though will always be that, while time and effort will be necessary, it’s still significantly easier than what we’ll end up fighting through long term to achieve even mediocre results if we don’t do it! And that falls right in line with any other aspect of leading effectively - as I worked to detail throughout What’s KILLING Your Profitability?...

By asking the right questions and listening closely to the responses over time, coupled with studying the daily behaviors of our team members, we should be able to develop a clear picture of what makes them tick. Learning why they’ve chosen their current role, some of the more important things in their personal lives, and what they would like to be doing in the years to come - as they’ve shared through conversations as backed with their action - we should be well on our way to really understanding what gets them out of bed each morning as well as the things that light their fire. 

Assuming we’ve been thorough in putting our own definite purpose to words, we should have a baseline that supports us in doing the same thing for them. By combining what they’ve provided for us, through their words and deeds, with what we’ve come to understand about them as individuals, we should have some clarity around the definite purpose in their life - at least as it stands at the given point in time. Our work, as leaders, then becomes connecting the definite purpose that’s driving them to the overall purpose we’re working to meet as an organization. If we can define how their daily tasks not only meet and exceed the expectations of their role but also tie back to those things they hold most dear, we have a strong chance of helping each of our team members achieve a level of fulfillment they likely won’t get from many other organizations - ever!

When we can tailor our communication in a way that connects what they’ve told us and shown us as being their priorities to a clearly defined purpose in their life, then tie that back to our organizational purpose, completing tasks is less about going through the motions and more about working toward something of value to everyone involved. The challenge lies in delivering this kind of message in a way that’s received as well by every individual we’re responsible for leading so we’ll begin working through some simple tools for that next…