The foundation of engaging leadership is purpose. Your purpose is the reason you do what you do. Your purpose is your foundation, it's your compass. It gives you solid-ground to operate from and it reminds you, your team, and your customers why you do what you do. This is especially important in today's ever-changing environment.
Effective organizations take great pains to identify and communicate their purpose--effective leaders should do the same. If your organization has identified and communicated its purpose, your personal purpose should reflect it. If your organization has not identified and communicated its purpose, it's still helpful for you to identify and communicate your personal purpose. If your purpose is unclear your leadership will be less effective.
Knowing and continually revisiting your purpose helps you weather the inevitable storms and setbacks that will come your way.
Here are the 5 steps for identifying your purpos
1. What do I do?
This is pretty straightforward. What is the service or product you provide? Don't stop at the first answer that comes to your mind though. It's helpful to spend some time on this question. Like my marketing professor used to say, "if someone buys a drill, what are they really buying?...Holes!" So what are you really providing your customers? Knowledge? A framework? A system?
2. Who do I do it for?
Who is your ideal client? Be as specific as possible. It may be helpful to use an "Ideal Client Profile" worksheet. Give your client a name. Are they male or female? What do they do for a living? Where did they go to school? Are they married or single? Do they have children?
3. What tangible benefit do they receive as a result?
An acronym that I find helpful when thinking about benefits is EDGE. EDGE stands for Esteem more, Do more, Gain more and Enjoy more. Will your customers gain increased recognition or greater confidence? Will they be able to do something new or be able to perform better? Will they increase their income, save time or make more connections? Will your customers enjoy reduced frustration, anxiety, or stress?
4. How are they, their families, their organizations, or their communities changed through the realization of that benefit?
In other words, what will they be able to do as a result of that benefit? It may be helpful to start with the phrase, "So that they can..." This is a good place to think about what else you know about your ideal customer? If your product or service saves them time, what will they most likely want to do with that extra time?
5. Get creative!
Once you have answered all four questions, combine and word-smith the combination of answers to come up with a single statement of purpose. It's often helpful to start with number 4 and work backward.
When you have a clear statement of purpose, share it with your team and, as appropriate, your customers. Encourage your team members to come up with their own personal statement of purpose.
Share your statement of purpose in the comments section.
For further reading on purpose check out the following:
Book: Noble Purpose by William Damon (available on Amazon)
Article: Do You Lead with Purpose? https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/do-you-lead-with-purpose/
Photo: Chris Blakeley, "Compass", July 2, 2006, creative commons
Comentários