The Tyranny Of Purpose
We've all been driven nearly nuts by the "purpose-driven" craze. The purpose-driven life and all that. But, to no one's surprise, the purpose-driven mantra has been hijacked by zealots, creating glassy-eyed throngs of followers (think Night of the Living Dead) in pursuit of purpose.
But what purpose, and whose, asks thindifference.com? Do we really own the purposes we are chasing? In life, in leadership, in the workplace? Have manipulative bosses made pretzels of purposes for their self-aggrandizement? And, are we expected to subjugate our purposes in favor of someone else's?
Has money corrupted the power of purpose? Ask Volkswagen about software trickeration. Then, consider REI, which closed on Black Friday to encourage people to get out and do something. Volkswagen crossed a line in a purpose-driven financial performance objective. REI made a purpose-activated move by simply closing stores for one day, reflecting a core value.
And REI is also in the business of making money. It might be time to re-evaluate how we reflect, energize, and actuate purpose in our personal and business lives. Especially with the emergence of Millennials as a dominant component in the workforce.
They want, even demand, purpose in their work. Not hollow driven purpose, but genuine activated purpose that capitalizes on their skills for both enterprise success but also a greater good.
In short, purpose is vital, but only when it is for real. We need to re-invent the role of purpose in our endeavors, creating high ability/high freedom working models. In this effort, we will discover that not every person is right for an organization, and that not every organization is right for a person. And that's OK.
Purpose activation requires a three-legged foundation: freedom and responsibility, ability and talent, and clarity for alignment around commitments to performance, group success, and a greater good. There's more, and it is not easy, but the possibilities for purpose activation in place of being driven by purpose are worth serious consideration.