FountainBlue's June 13 When She Speaks program was on the topic of 'Build Alignment on Purpose'. Please join me in thanking our esteemed panelists.
Facilitator Linda Holroyd, CEO, FountainBlue
Panelist Diana Pohle, Senior Director, Commercial Analytics & Insights, BioMarin Pharmaceuticals
Panelist Veronique Rozan, Senior Director, Product Management, Industrial and Medical Sensors, TE Connectivity
Panelist Yvonne Thomson, Vice President, Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion, OpenText
We began the program with some working definitions:
Purpose: Company Desire to Serve the Greater Good beyond Profits and Shareholder Value
Mission: Company’s Impact for Stakeholders
Values: Company’s Beliefs about What’s Important
We continued by pointing to some research and survey results on the business benefits of purpose:
Improved Employee Retention and Recruitment
Gallup predicts that organizations could reduce absenteeism by 41 percent and improve quality by 33 percent if organizations increase this ratio to eight in 10 employees. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/238085/state-american-workplace-report-2017.aspx
Healthier Workplace Culture
Gallup poll found that organizations scoring in the top quartile of employee engagement surveys experience better customer engagement, productivity, retention and 21 percent higher profitability. https://news.gallup.com/poll/241649/employee-engagement-rise.aspx
Fostering Innovation and Agility
Sixty-eight percent of “purposeful companies” agreed that purpose is extremely critical to an organization’s ability to innovate in times of disruption. Purpose or mission also serves as a stable reminder of why the organization exists, keeping the organization on its intended path during times of change. https://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/ey-how-can-purpose-reveal-a-path-through-uncertainty/
Increased Customer Loyalty and Trust
It is six to seven times more expensive to acquire a new customer than to keep an old one, according to Forbes contributor Alex McClafferty. Additionally, repeat customers spend, on average, 33 percent more than new customers. https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexmcclafferty/2015/05/18/customer-success/
Improved Corporate Brand
Purpose-driven companies have higher Employee Net Promoter Scores (eNPS) indicates employees strongly believe in and want to advocate for their employer's purpose, aiding recruitment. https://blog.proactioninternational.com/en/purpose-driven-business-how-purpose-drives-success
Our diverse panelists shared their wisdom, passion and experience around building alignment on purpose. Below is a summary of their feedback and suggestions.
Leadership Matters
Throughout your career, align to a North Star which represents your integrity, your passion, your desire to do right by others.
Pledge to consistently respond with authenticity, but not necessarily with full transparency, as that's not necessarily always possible or prudent.
Have the moral courage to listen to learn, not just to listen to understand and win.
Align thoughts, words and actions to a purpose for individuals, teams, the organization overall, but also for the industry and for the world, for the future where appropriate.
Manage and Grow the Team
Optimize your own fit within an organization and help others do the same.
Be clear on expectations, and selective on who joins a team and how they can contribute.
Inspire, empower and align those who fit within a team and organization, and help everyone lean into each other and make measurable impact on a shared mission.
Seek additional support – mentors, pressure-test what you’re doing.
Understand *why* someone is not aligned to a purpose, and, where possible and practical, work with her/him to align to a purpose which resonates for him/her, within or outside your team/org.
Communicate and Connect
Connect and communicate with passion and purpose, so you can deliver measurable results which make a difference.
Leaders and managers at all levels must take every opportunity to connect and communicate across the organization, to create a safe and vibrant, purpose-driven culture.
Remember that you can communicate and explain about purpose, but you can’t force commitment and passion.
Embrace the diversity that's already out there, to better innovate and deliver results with purpose.
We finished with some thoughts on how we can support the next generation as they build alignment to purpose:
Ask kids how do you want to change the world rather than what you want to be when you grow up
Consider that the sense of purpose is unique to individuals. (See below for a FountainBlue resource to help identify a purpose which resonates.)
Leverage your inner strengths and understand what you NOT want to be or do.
Develop the skills you need to pursue the passion which drives you.
Gen Z is in general actively concerned about the world and bigger issues. We can help them better accept what is happening and better empower and incentivize them to do what they can to shape the future.
It was an interesting and informative discussion which helped us celebrate both opportunities and challenges for pursuing a work, a life, aligned to a purpose.