When Leaders Embed Purpose
For the purpose-driven entrepreneur, when employees veer off the standard and adopt the extraordinary, it feels like a dream come true. This is truly when you know you have shifted from purpose as a strategic goal to purpose as an actionable cultural norm within your company. This embeds purpose in the company’s actions, not only the strategic documentation.
Purpose is different from strategy. Purpose-driven leaders connect the beliefs of the people in the company with the company’s intent. It links the drive we have with the desire we seek in the world. This link authenticates the purpose, sustaining it and leveraging the company’s capabilities to achieve this across all touchpoints between customer and company.
What story can you tell where the link is proven between the top floor and the shop floor? For me, it was the day when I looked over the shoulder of a factory worker as they explained the company’s vision to the new Vice President, simplifying it so that this office-bound executive clearly understood.
Purpose is the bridge that leadership creates to traverse the link between the realistic and the ideal.