TIP 8: Help them see the mission and purpose clearly

One of the most significant few days early in my career was in the late 1980’s when there was a conference at my church that was led by Doug Sherman, the author of a book called “Your work matters to God”.  What made it so significant was the process I went through to see that my work in managing other people’s savings was important to God because it helped my clients provide for their families through getting better returns on their savings. Part of that weekend was focused on developing a personal career mission statement.  For the next three decades that statement provided huge motivation and inspiration for me in my work in fund management. It also heavily influenced the type of mutual fund management I would pursue (indexing) and the choice of the firm where I worked for more than a quarter century (Vanguard).

Winston Churchill said “it’s not enough to have lived.  We should be determined to live for something”.   And Helen Keller said “true happiness … is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose”.  We need to really explore that worthy purpose to have real motivation for our life’s work. 

Each of us should assess the work we do and the value that our work (and our company’s product or service) brings to our world.   Dig deep into the impact that our work is having on others.  Ask this important question:  “how is what I am (and my company) doing making my world better?”  As you reflect on this, hopefully it’s a positive story and something that can motivate and inspire you in your work and life purpose. 

As a leader, we need to help bring that purpose out to our leadership team and broader base of employees.   This is especially true in working with the millennial generation which is becoming the dominant portion of today’s workforce. A study from the Society for Human Resource Management tells us that 94% of millennials want to use their skills to benefit a cause.

So as leaders, there are a number of ways we can do this:

Society’s benefit from our product or service:  evaluate how your product or service is helping the lives of your customers.   What would life be like if your product or service did not exist?  How is the life of your customers being made better by your product or service?   Communicate this to your employees so they gain a perspective on the impact they are having in their world through their work. 

Customer stories: openly share customer emails or letters that thank the company for providing their product or service so they can feel good about what they are doing and the impact they are having.   Also, if there is positive PR or industry quality surveys reflecting the impact or high quality of the product or service, communicate that to your employees and thank them for their contributions to making that a reality. 

With the Presidential inauguration just past, one final quote is in order from President Lincoln who said ”whatever you are, be a good one”.   Now go lead with purpose and impact.