It has been said that, "without purpose or meaning, life will cease to exist". Certainly there is a lot of evidence that when people are robbed of their ability to have a sense of purpose or meaning, they wither away.
The statistics show that a high percentage of people who are of pension age will die within 18 months of their spouse dying. They simply lose the will to live without their life partner.
‘Purpose' is defined in the dictionary as: the reason, for which something exists or is done, made, used, etc.
Hence we can say that a ‘purpose' gives ‘meaning'. And if we have meaning, we have the basis to be able to motivate ourselves into action. Without the meaning, what basis do we have to be motivated?
This applies to life in general and it is no different in specific areas of life, such as work. Anywhere we are required to be motivated or focused requires us to be able to have a purpose or meaning.
Many businesses are under the illusion that a mission statement provides that purpose or focus. They say that the mission gives everyone ‘an understanding of what we are here to do'.
Not true - certainly not in the majority of cases. Most mission statements are too long, too wordy, try to say too much or simply are not in user-friendly terminology. In other words, people cannot relate to it at an emotional level. They may understand the words but it does not tell them how they can contribute to the statement.
So if people cannot relate to the statement, it is not a purpose. It is a collection of words that supposedly will be understood by the author and may even be exactly what they perceive as the purpose.
For a purpose to be meaningful, it needs to be understood and then owned by the person that it is meant to motivate or focus.
Too many organisations display their mission to their customers and don't spend the time explaining it to their staff.
Understanding the purpose
Have a look at your mission statement and ask yourself; is this a statement that everyone at every level in the organisation can understand? When I say, "understand" I don't mean that they cannot understand the words. I mean can they understand the reason for the words?
Recently I noticed a mission statement at a supermarket. The company proudly displayed the mission statement, "To make shopping anywhere else unacceptable for consumers who value quality products, cleanliness, convenience and personal service".
I thought it was a lovely worded statement, but I could not help but wonder how the person at the checkout understood it? What about the cleaner at night, did they understand these words?
A beautifully crafted and worded statement is of no value if people see it as a bunch of words. "Understanding" means that they recognise the importance of the statement or purpose and see the value in it.
Take a retail store that I worked with that stated that their purpose was, "An outstanding place to shop". People at all levels knew that their job was to make sure the place was outstanding in every way.
So the cleaner knew that the cleanliness was more than a quick clean with a duster and mop, she took great pride in making the place look outstanding.
The shop assistant laughed with customers, made jokes, chatted about things and basically did anything she could to make the customers experience outstanding.
The manager recognised that the staff needed an outstanding manager if they were going to be outstanding and so he made every effort to be that for his people.
So the first important facet of having a ‘purpose' is that the people, who have the job of achieving it, understand it.
Owning the purpose
Now we need to build on that understanding. Make sure that people ‘own' the purpose.
What is ownership? When someone owns the purpose, they are constantly looking at ways to achieve that purpose, and they own the journey to meeting that end.
Ownership is demonstrated in many different ways. It can be turning off the lights to save costs, making sure they communicate well with people, monitoring progress, coming up with ideas that can help achieve the purpose and many more.
Ownership means, "I take responsibility for my role in achieving the purpose". It requires awareness, diligence and determination combined with the skills and knowledge to do the job.
I shop at a certain bookshop. I love this bookshop for two reasons. One is that they sell books and I love reading books. But more importantly, I love them because the people in the shop love books as well. They love books, being around books and being around people that like books.
Their mission is: "To be the preferred place for knowledge and entertainment throughout the world". These are not meaningless words because if you visit the book shop, you will find that everyone that is working there owns this purpose.
Assuming that people understand your ‘purpose', are your people taking ownership? Do they own it?
Ownerships means that people value it ‘as their own'. People contribute by doing more than ‘just' the job. They take pride in the job. They know how they fit into the jigsaw. In other words, they know the impact they make on others and how others' impact on them. They seek how to contribute in a meaningful way beyond their job description.
Summary
The purpose needs to be understood and then owned. ‘Understanding' is a meaningful understanding that works at an emotional level. It stirs the passions and/or creates the motivation to want to do it.
On its own, ‘understanding' is not enough. The understanding needs to transfer into ‘ownership'. I own my role in achieving the purpose and I take responsibility for that.
Everything the business does should line-up and contribute to the purpose, and people should be able to make those connections in their mind. Policies, systems and processes are all in place to help the business achieve the purpose.
So we could say that: without ‘purpose' that is understood and owned, our organisation will cease to exist at its full potential.
Read the article "The Second Key To A Remarkable Workplace - Principles"
Read the article "The Third Key To A Remarkable Workplace - Passion"
Read the article "The Fourth Key To A Remarkable Workplace - Promise"
Read the article "The Fifth Key To A Remarkable Workplace - Parables"