Building the foundation of your purpose-driven culture
While the concept of building purpose-driven teams may be appealing, how do you actually make it happen? In previous articles, I have referenced the importance of getting to know people and what makes them tick as a way of helping them to draw connections between what they value and the efforts of the company. When this connection to personal purpose is made for multiple individuals, together, this creates a powerful engine to propel teams and companies to success.
I get it and I have been there, breaking out of the cycle of a busy and demanding day where the tyranny of the urgent almost always distracts from thoughtful planning can feel discouraging. As a general rule, when faced with something huge and overwhelming, I like to start simply by deconstructing big ideas into more manageable bites. This article begins to break apart how to build or optimize your purpose-driven team and company culture by first focusing on the team in front of you.
A Quick Recap of What a Purpose-Driven Culture Is and Why It’s Important
Purpose-driven culture promotes connection, high engagement, and meaningful productivity gains by making work resonate on a personal level. (In the EverSparq article Connecting to Purpose: Creating a Purpose-Driven Culture (February 22, 2024), I outlined the Purpose-Driven Strategic Framework (Figure 1) and provided 5 tips for how to connect employees’ personal sense of purpose to the specific elements of the framework as a means of generating purpose-driven culture.)
We may not always realize it but there is almost always something deep within us that motivates and drives us even during the most challenging times. Our true North. Helping individuals identify what that is and then determining how that can apply in their daily work creates a level of meaning that is incredibly profound. This increases a personal sense of ownership and accountability for the success of the company and manifests in ways such as higher productivity, better quality work, and achievement of goals that, when aligned properly using the Purpose-Driven Strategic Framework, can propel companies forward in successful strategy execution.
Start with the Talent in Front of You
While it would be easy to start at the “beginning” with sourcing new talent as a means of building culture, I think it is really important to make sure your house is in order before inviting others in. Whereas it would be completely impractical for me to suggest that everything needs to be perfect before you can recruit, I want to emphasize the importance of first creating a core of employees who are on board with the idea of building a purpose-driven culture. If your company culture is faltering, a new hire will catch on very quickly if they have not already observed some of these signals during their interview process. Under these circumstances, it is more likely than not that they will either end up conforming to the struggling culture or they will leave.
Here are 3 actions you can gradually build into your daily practice to promote a purpose-driven cultural foundation with the people you already lead:
1. Intentional 1:1’s – Keep It Simple, Efficient, and High Yield
Most senior executives tend to have a more manageable number of direct reports for whom the concept of regularly scheduled 1:1s can be accommodated within their busy calendars. Being intentional about how these 1:1s take place will make the difference between hardwiring purpose-driven culture versus a suboptimal use of time for both parties. Here are some concrete examples of how you can take a more structured approach to maximize the return on this kind of investment of time:
- Make It Predictable
Make it a priority to build regular time to connect into your calendar. It could be weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly but it should be somewhat predictable. Have a standing agenda so you both know what to expect, e.g.,- Recognition for any particular gains or positive behaviors/results
- Project and/or performance status updates
- Active issues they think you need to know about
- Active issues you think they need to know about
- Performance feedback (preferably in the context of the professional development plans you have collectively identified)
- Be Authentic
If it feels authentic, consider starting 1:1s with sharing and learning a bit about one another. Explore common interests. Ask open ended questions: instead of “how was your weekend?” try, “what was the highlight of your weekend?” - Make Time for Professional Development
At least once a quarter:- follow the Staff Check-In Question List (below)
- ask about professional goals and what drives them
- create line of sight for the employee to the broader goals of the organization
- ask about how the employee sees their sense of purpose connecting to their work
- discuss how you can best support them in developing the skills necessary to achieve their professional goals
When Scale Is a Concern
Whereas this approach may work well for CEOs and senior executives, who may have a smaller number of direct reports, it may be impractical for those with dozens if not 100s reporting directly to them. In these instances, you might consider consolidating routine individual meetings into fewer, smaller group meetings. These could be based on shift, department, or perhaps even more importantly, engagement level. There is technology that exists to gather information from employees on how they are doing so you can be more precise in your outreach at scale by continuing to support and cultivate those doing well while intervening for those who are at risk.
Finally, offering an “open door” approach for those who feel comfortable enough to seek you out can also be a means of creating opportunities for connection but be prepared to actually make yourself available and recognize that those who are at greatest risk are less likely to seek you out.
2. Intentionally Calibrate Performance & Align Talent for Fit
If a direct report is struggling and not delivering results, determine if this is due to a knowledge deficit that can be corrected, a poor fit for the individual’s strengths and passion, or simply an incompatibility between the individual and the purpose-driven culture you are building.
- Design an annual performance framework that evaluates both results and the values and behaviors that support the purpose-driven culture.
- Determine whether the individual’s job can be adapted to align better with their strengths without compromising the integrity of the operating model. If not, discuss other roles that could be a better fit for the individual.
- In some instances, you may have a direct report who simply is not compatible with the purpose-driven culture you are building. No matter how skilled that person may be, exercise caution in excusing bad, corrosive behavior because of skill or results. Doing so puts you and your colleagues at risk for falling into the trap of “what you permit, you promote”. This negative force is extremely damaging and will spread faster than you think.
3. Routine Staff Check-In’s
It is also valuable to extend your interest beyond your direct reports and connect with those you may not work with on a periodic basis (e.g., quarterly).
- Individual or Small Group
Although your direct reports may be a good source of information for how members of their team are doing, it is also important for you to check in with staff from time-to-time. This level of experiential immersion enables you to hear, first-hand, what is impacting their ability to do their job, gain meaningful insights into how to make things better across the company, create a sense of connection between frontline staff and you as a senior leader and reflection of the company agenda.
Coordinate with the leaders of these groups in advance so they do not mistake your intentions as undermining. Consistent use of a standard set of structured questions and statements will help you achieve the greatest return for your investment of time. These can be as brief as 10 – 15 minute conversations.
Staff Check-In Question List:- Create a Positive Frame of Mind
What is working well for you today? What is one thing that is going well for you today? (You may need to allow for a pregnant pause but wait for it.) If appropriate: I have heard you did a really good job at ____. Thank you for ____. - Engage Others in Building Positivity
Who have you observed doing a particularly good job lately? What is something that you observed someone doing that you really appreciated and would like to recognize? Have you let them know? How might you acknowledge them? Do you mind if I also thank them? - Attend to Practical Needs
Do you have the tools and information you need to do your work effectively? Let’s discuss how we can better meet those needs. - Commit to Getting Better
What suggestions do you have for how we can do better as a team/company? What have you liked in other companies or teams where you have worked that you think might be beneficial if we were to implement it here? - Acknowledge and See Others
Thank you for the input today. I will follow-up with you about your feedback (if any) and suggestion(s).
- Create a Positive Frame of Mind
- Large Group
As human beings, we are typically curious about what is happening in our environment so we can plan and prepare. Whether you are a large enterprise or a small business, hosting thoughtfully structured gatherings on a periodic basis where information can be shared and employees can ask questions to create deeper understanding and greater clarity can also be an impactful way to promote purpose-driven culture.
Walk attendees through the elements of the Purpose-Driven Strategic Framework. Consider asking individuals in advance to be prepared to share a personal story about their work that connects to one or more of the first three elements of the framework (Mission, Vision, Values) to help make the element more accessible and real to others. Build in time for audience feedback and questions.
In addition to live, synchronous meetings, consider making recordings available for those who either were not able to attend or want to revisit any of the content. Periodic newsletters that are brief, easy to digest, and appeal to diverse learning styles (e.g., a mix of bullet points, infographics, personal stories or editorials, and photos) can also help foster connection.
Conclusion
Taking the time to connect with your people in intentional and semi-structured ways is just as important as attending an important sales meeting or making a decision about a major capital investment. Creating purpose-driven culture is an investment that will yield greater momentum and the performance that will give your company a competitive edge.
Stay tuned for future articles on other ways to source, cultivate, and retain the type of talent that will help you build and sustain your purpose-driven culture.
For questions or to find out how EverSparq can help, contact info@eversparq.com.
