Why purpose matters in leadership and business

What is it that keeps you going through hard times and setbacks? As a leader, what guides you and your teams? What keeps you focused and energised through the many challenging times at work?

As a leader, you and your team members have internal issues and personal problems that accompany you in your work. What is it that helps you put those issues aside, focus on your work and co-operate with each other? Are you driven just by money, or does a greater purpose drive your work?

Every person, team or organisation needs a reason for existing. We need an interest, a fully justified reason and an emotional attachment to fully engage ourselves in whatever we are doing. It is part of our existential need to find purpose and live a happy, healthy life.

Having a purpose

To have a purpose means more than just achieving goals or targets. A goal is a target one wishes to achieve, and a purpose is the reason for targeting the goal.

To move towards a goal is to move in a specific direction, and purpose is what gives us that direction. More importantly, purpose explains why we should pursue certain goals, and this ‘why’ is influenced by our values and beliefs.

This reason can make our life feel worth living or the work we do feel worth doing. For example, many people like to align their efforts with a purpose such as protecting the environment, helping people who are disadvantaged, creating their own version of a masterpiece, making a scientific discovery or working towards developing new technology.

Why purpose can support a happier life

Research into awe has explored the experience of feeling part of something much larger than ourselves. Aligning ourselves with a purpose, especially if it is an altruistic or idealistic purpose, can make us feel less focused on ourselves.

We feel part of something bigger, something outside ourselves, and this can make us less focused on our own worries and anxieties. Our own problems may begin to feel less significant, and we may spend less time thinking about them, supporting a greater sense of wellbeing.

If we have a strong sense of purpose, we may also be more likely to experience flow. According to psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, ‘flow’ is a state of intense absorption in which we become fully engaged in an activity and lose awareness of our surroundings and ourselves.

“The best moments in our lives are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times... the best moments usually occur if a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.”
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Being part of a team, working together and having a shared sense of purpose can help create the conditions in which team members become fully engaged in their work.

Why aligning employees with organisational purpose is important

Many employees want to feel that their work is meaningful and that their contribution matters.

A purpose based only on profit may not create the same emotional connection as one that helps employees understand who benefits from their work, why it is important and how their individual contribution fits into the wider organisation.

To increase employee engagement at work, leaders may need to define the purpose of their organisation in terms of how it serves its customers, communities or wider society.

Companies need to create meaningful work and develop a shared sense of purpose, with clarity around how employees are contributing to it.

This shared sense of purpose is more likely to promote respect, collaboration, improvement, pride in ownership, a focus on delivering value and the ability to adapt to change.

Having a purpose in business

A business does not have to be a non-profit organisation or social venture to create an environment where employees feel that their work matters.

Leaders can help their employees identify how their organisation’s products or services improve customers’ lives or contribute positively to the wider world.

The organisation’s vision, mission, strategic goals and new product development can then be aligned towards achieving that greater purpose.

To be authentic in their approach, it is also important for leaders to communicate the meaning and emotion behind the purpose effectively. Teams are more likely to believe their intentions and connect emotionally with the purpose when it is reflected in their leaders’ words, body language, decisions and behaviour.

How leaders can align their teams with a greater purpose

A sense of meaning and purpose can contribute to our wellbeing and the way we experience our work.

As many organisations focus increasingly on employee wellbeing, people in leadership positions need to consider how they can establish a shared sense of purpose.

Not all employees will have the same personal purpose. However, many people are likely to find their work more meaningful when they understand how their contribution helps the organisation, its customers or wider society.

A shared purpose can give people a reason to keep going through difficult periods. It can bring teams together, guide decisions and help people remain focused on work that matters.