Purpose-driven Leadership: The Value of Values

By Beth Porter, Four Corners Broadcasting

Purpose-driven leadership and organizational identity used to be mainly for non-profit organizations. Running a business meant the bottom line, and profit dollars were the defining criteria of success. Sure, there’s a mission statement, but that defines how a business is going to make money. Company leaders made decisions that might be good for the bottom line, but negatively impacted employees, the environment or their communities.

In one of my Leadership La Plata classes, I was introduced to the 3-P bottom line: a mission that strives to balance People, Planet and Profit. I was entranced by this idea, where every decision and action are weighed against how it will affect employees, the environment, as well as how it will impact profit.

One of the 5 top trends identified by FORBES magazine in their article, “The Top 5 Leadership Trends that will Drive success in 2024” is Purpose-driven leadership. This means a company that aligns organizational goals with a broader sense of purpose and societal impact and leaders who prioritize values, ethics, and social responsibility in their decision-making.

Some of the defining qualities of this leadership style include:

• Compelling mission: leaders define and communicate the mission beyond financial goals. It serves as a guiding force and is top-of-mind in decision-making and in developing strategic direction.
• Sustained commitment: it takes patience and sustained commitment to achieve a meaningful purpose. Leaders focus on the long term, sometimes making short-term sacrifices, which foster organizational resilience and adaptability.
• Aligned values: organizational values are aligned with a broader purpose, and these values are shared by leaders, employees and stakeholders.
  

Some of the benefits of purpose-driven focus:

Attracting, engaging, and retaining talent.
Today’s work force, especially younger generations, looks for meaning in their work. Purpose can be of greater import than their financial compensation. Leaders who can communicate a sense of commitment to shared values help employees and other stakeholders to develop and maintain satisfaction with their efforts and with the organization.

Ways to communicate purpose to employees:

• Demonstrate how the work is relevant to goals and aspirations
• Work leads to personal development
• The work makes a tangible, positive difference in the world around us, for the greater good of society, our communities or those close to use
• Our work aligns with core elements of who we are, reinforcing our sense of self
• It naturally appeals to our interests, meaning it is enjoyable and energizing
• Work leads to a desirable outcome, from paychecks to promotions, benefits and perks.

Enhanced brand reputation

As the world reads headlines of crisis after crisis, from natural to financial to political, business leaders are realizing that market value and brand reputation are becoming more closely connected. Brand value is enhanced by illustrating integrity through societal purpose, which in turn attracts more business opportunities.

Studies show that companies employing and living purpose-driven leadership gain market share faster and grow on average three times faster than their competitors. Yes, consumers look at product quality and value for the purchase price. But they are becoming much more sensitive to doing business with companies that share their societal values.

Increased Innovation

When employees embrace and understand how their actions fulfill the company’s purpose, they become inspired to problem-solve, which by its very nature is innovation. When they get the “big picture,” they look beyond short-term sacrifices and keep working toward that larger than them, world changing shared goal.

The true power of purpose-driven leadership is that defining how the company delivers value to the greater good inspires employees at every level to do their best work, and to feel energized while doing it.  Prosperous companies have well-defined values, not a total focus on financial metrics, which guide their businesses.

Looking for an immersive experience in leadership development or to develop leadership skills for a team member? Consider Leadership La Plata this year. Check out www.LeadershipLaPlata.org for more information.

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Beth Porter is the Senior Marketing Consultant with Four Corners Broadcasting and an alumni of Leadership La Plata Class of 2015-2016.