Plus, some questions for Leaders to consider

In this article we explore how purpose fits within the organizational system and design, leveraging the learnings from our unique balance of experience across the business, non-profit and sports sectors. This is a summary of a long-form article originally published on LinkedIn. By identifying the common threads for success across these sectors, and overlaying them with those for the business sector we have defined 3 core components that purpose must exhibit in order to positively drive performance. These are;

1. Authenticity

2. Alignment

3. Advancement

 We would argue further, that without any one of the three components in place, purpose will not be able to optimize performance. Conversely- and to show our hand completely for those skeptics who haven’t already gone “all in” – that with all three components in place, purpose can and should absolutely drive performance.

3A Purpose-Performance Model, PurposeFused, 2020

So what do we mean by Authenticity, Alignment and Advancement?

1.     An authentic purpose is one that:

• Is designed, discovered or defined from inside out;

• Embodies the underlying philosophy of the organization;

• Furthers the beliefs upon which the organization was founded or currently stands by.

2.     An aligned purpose is one that:

• Compliments, enriches or replaces the mission statement;

• Is the glue between organizational vision and values;

• Resonates with stakeholders (including leaders and employees) because it encourages contribution in furtherance of their own individual purposes.

3.     An advanced (or advancing) purpose is one that moves things forward by:

• Generating passion for principles, i.e. how we behave, support each other and hold each other accountable;

• Honing focus on what matters most;

• Inspiring actions towards making positive impact to our profits, people and society.

Below are some questions for organizational leaders to consider, regarding each of the 3A’s above: 

Authenticity questions:

• What positive impact can we leave on the world?

• How can we articulate and build awareness around our purpose?

• Who can we engage (internally and externally) to build excitement and engagement around our purpose?

• How can we make our purpose visible to our core stakeholders?

• What metrics can we create to evaluate our performance, in relation to our purpose

Alignment questions:

• How can we (re)-design our processes, products, practices & positioning to deliver our desired impact?

• How do our customers want us to deliver and demonstrate our purpose?

• To what extent do our values and principles embody our purpose, or bring it to life?

• What performance benchmarks can we create to assess the delivery of our purpose?

• What real-time feedback mechanisms (formal or informal) can we identify, encourage, and integrate that celebrate the delivery of purpose.

Advancement questions:

• What additional contributions can we make to our key stakeholders that are aligned with our purpose?

• How can we most effectively recognize and replicate our stakeholders’ contributions to our purpose?

• What existing practices can we improve to better align with purpose?

• What practices can we establish that enable us to improve the contributions made by our people, processes, products and positioning towards the delivery of purpose?

It’s an exciting time to be in the business of purpose – especially focusing from inside-out, with a people-based approach to purpose which elevates the employee experience. When effectively discovered and articulated (see our next article), purpose can be embedded throughout an organization as an anchor and north star, with authenticity and alignment to advance and optimize performance and impact.

If you’d like to learn more about integrating our 3A Purpose-Performance Model into your business, let’s chat!