Whyyyyyyyy • 2 min read
A study carried out by the global management consultancy firm McKinsey & Company revealed that employees at purpose driven companies are four times more engaged in work.
Employee engagement is defined by how committed a worker is to an organisation, how passionate they are about their role and how much discretionary effort they are willing to put in.
Introduction
Our motivation levels can be negatively impacted if we do not believe that our work matters.
Even if we have AUTONOMY and COMPETENCE in the tasks we undertake, if we do not understand the PURPOSE behind them, our motivation to perform them to the best of our ability will eventually wane.
Having PURPOSE is one of our three key psychological needs when it comes to our intrinsic motivation, and today, we’ll look at how we can bring it to the forefront of our work.
Mission and goals
More and more of us want our role and business to have a purpose that’s bigger than the product or the profits it produces. We want to understand that our day-to-day activities are contributing to something bigger than ourselves.
A purpose might be to reduce the amount of plastic in the world or to ensure the financial security of families. Whatever it is, a sense of purpose acts as a North Star for both the company and the individuals working there.
We can use two key pillars to help define and guide our purpose.
Mission
A mission statement is designed to tell internal and external stakeholders why the company exists. It's the motivation behind performing the day-to-day operations.
Understanding the mission of the company is the first step to understanding the purpose of your own role. Missions can either be specific
e.g.
“help our clients...”
or broader e.g.
“help society…”
The strongest connection we can have with a mission is when we see our efforts helping other people. This could be for a family member, a colleague or a client.
Goals
Once we understand the mission, we need some milestones to aim for. These can be in the form of goals and ideally span a period of years to remove the emphasis on short term gains.
There should be a hierarchy of goals that serve a common purpose and feed into the overall mission of the company.
Mission and goals in practice
Mission
IKEA:
“To offer a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them”
Lego:
“Inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow”
Nike:
“To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world.
*If you have a body, you are an athlete.”
Goals
There are different goal setting frameworks to choose from, here are just a few:
SMARTER - Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, Timebound, Exciting, and Relevant
WOOP - Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, and Plan
OKRs - Objectives and Key Results
Just like our daily tasks, we should be prioritising our goals.
Remember, we recommend setting five to ten goals for the year.
These goals should be closely related to our PURPOSE.
Key takeaways
PURPOSE is the third component that drives our intrinsic motivation.
The two key pillars that help define and guide our purpose are our mission and our goals.
The strongest connection we can have with a mission is when we see our efforts helping other people.
Think big, act small
Go talk to a colleague or manager to understand how your role connects into your company’s mission and goals.
Content sources
Drive, Daniel Pink
IKEA, Vision, Culture and Values
Lego, The Lego Brand
Measures What Matters, John Doer
Nike, Our Mission
Rethinking Positive Thinking, Inside the New Science of Motivation, Gabrielle Oettingen
Start with Why, Simon Sinek
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