Have you ever been so fired up about a cause or a mission that your energy and enthusiasm inspired others to act? There is nothing quite like the feeling of inspiring a shared vision. Whether you lead a team of one of one thousand, “Purpose” is a massive driver of performance.
It was just shy of ten years after founding my business. We were hosting our first national conference at the Venetian in Las Vegas. For a decade, I had passionately pursued building a strong organization, and at that moment, it felt like the culmination of a ton of hard work. The pride I felt in our entire team was immense.
I opened the conference with a welcome speech in which I discussed the three tenets on which our organization was founded: Passion, Pride, and Purpose. I was so fired up about what we were doing and where we were going that the energy couldn’t help but be contagious. We were fortunate to have many of our industry partners in attendance. One of the veteran industry leaders who has become a mentor of mine was there and caught up with me later that afternoon. He applauded my effort to inspire a shared vision with the team and implored me to ensure I regularly use the same language around our purpose. He suggested starting every meeting with a brief version of what I articulated from the stage earlier that morning.
That advice struck a chord with me—so much that I had those words tattooed on my calf. To this day, when I am at my best, I lead every interaction with my purpose first and foremost in mind. Today I share three tips to creating a culture of connection to your purpose.
1. Get clear on your mission and values.
In my experience, very few people have spent meaningful time clarifying their mission and values. You may intrinsically know your “why,” but how well can you articulate it in a digestible way?
Take some time to sit down and write out your mission. Don’t edit the first time; write. See what comes out. Come back to it regularly and refine it. Try the words on with your team and see how they land. Keep the message simple and repeatable. If you cannot remember your mission without it written before you, no one else will either.
When it comes to our values, most of us can throw out words like honesty, integrity, kindness, or fun, yet what do those words mean in the context of ourselves or our organization?
Take time to brainstorm a list of values, prioritize them, and choose the top three to work with. Once you have defined your top three values, write down your definition of those values in a way that a fifth-grade student could understand.
Next, create a bite-sized action statement to go with each value. Here are some of my value examples:
- Value: Empathy
Action Statement: Seek First to Understand - Value: Challenge
Action Statement: Seek Discomfort - Value: Work Ethic
Action Statement: Do the F’ing Work!
We could spend all day going through strategies to get clear on purpose, and values however, I hope this is enough to inspire you to get started.
2. Communicate with Clarity
Whether you are a solopreneur or lead a large organization, it is critical to articulate your mission and values regularly. I keep a document with my mission and values clearly articulated on my desktop that I revisit regularly.
- What stories can you share that illustrate your mission and values?
- Do your actions align with your words and communicate your commitment to your mission?
- How can you create daily reminders that are readily visible to you and your team?
- How can you start every team interaction with a small phrase or motto that reinforces your mission?
3. Create a Culture of Meaningful Work
As a leader, you can create a culture of connection to your purpose in various ways.
- Model the way: Lead by example and acknowledge when you fall short.
- Recognize those who live your mission and values. Creating reward and recognition programs that acknowledge the behaviours that align with your mission and values reinforces the importance.
- Align roles with the greater mission and articulate how each team member’s role connects back to the broader purpose.
- Encourage team members to pursue projects that align with their personal values.
This is a large topic area, and there is much to address, but I hope you will find some of these strategies helpful. If you would like help creating an action plan to create a culture of connection for your organization, let’s schedule a time to talk.
