Global CEO Transformation @Accenture | Public Speaker | Passionate Diversity & Inclusion Leader | Networking Champion.
getty
The late, great Nelson Mandela encouraged the people of South Africa to craft a new direction for their country that moved beyond the stain and structures of apartheid. Mandela described a yet unrealized day when Black and white South Africans would live in the same neighbourhoods, work in the same businesses and collaborate for a stronger South Africa. “May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears,” Mandela insisted. Mandela understood that people would rally and work together if they had a shared understanding of what their future could look like. Without a vision — a unifying “why” — South Africa would limp along, or much worse. When the people saw Mandela sacrificing for the prospect of a unified South Africa, they could make Mandela’s vision — his why — their own.
Many of the choices we make in leadership are manifestations of our own fears. We are afraid of making mistakes. We are afraid of offending our stakeholders. We are afraid of losing market share. We are afraid of rebuke from those who occupy a higher level on the proverbial corporate ladder. We are afraid of taking risks. Moreover, because we lead from a place of fear, the members of our teams become anxious about making the decisions they are entrusted to make. This is a recipe for stagnation, decline and ruin. How many great organizations thrive from a posture of fear? Good luck naming one. The anecdote for fear is purpose, the why.
In an article they co-authored for Harvard Business Review, business professors Robert E. Quinn and Anjan V. Thakor make the case for the corporate why, what they call “the higher organizational purpose.” This purpose is not solely rooted in economic output; rather, it is “aspirational.” If organizations articulate and align with a higher purpose, then the team serving the organization “will try new things, move into deep learning, take risks, and make surprising contributions.”
Leaders have a significant role in articulating purpose within the organization and helping the team see how they contribute to this why. This is not an easy task. Articulating purpose often requires unlearning preexisting business/organizational and leadership behaviors. For instance, many of the leaders I encountered as I rose through the corporate ranks looked at activity within the organization as transactional. And they created performance measurements and incentives against singular metrics, such as sales results, that drive certain actions and behavior. This short-term focused, transactional model encourages team members to “stay in their lane” and deliver against their singular measure of performance. The leader is generally the only one who fully understands the individual “lanes” and metrics and how all the members fit together.
In a transactional environment, fear is implicit. I must stay in my lane. I must meet my quota. I must not question the process or challenge the approach of those who manage me. But when the why — the organizational purpose — is clearly articulated and disseminated in place of a transactional environment, everyone begins to see how their talents and actions help the overall mission and vision of the organization. Members of the team see their work as supporting organizational purpose, not just collecting a paycheck. This is when the magic begins to happen: new ideas, risks that result in higher ROI, invested and engaged employees, a common, unifying purpose.
So how do you begin this shift toward purpose-driven leadership? By knowing your why. Always be clear about why you lead. Is it about delivering to a singular performance objective, or is it about the compensation? Or, are you invested in the organization’s purpose and the people who work on behalf of the purpose? If you are not invested in purpose, don’t feel you can entrust the purpose to your team or no longer believe that the purpose aligns with your personal why, then make a change. Choices rooted in hope are the only ones worth making.
Forbes Human Resources Council is an invitation-only organization for HR executives across all industries. Do I qualify?
