Taking "The Why" Further
Simon Sinek’s Ted talk “How great leaders inspire action” (often referred to as his “start with why” talk) is the second most popular TED Talk of all time. Besides being an inspiring talk its success is also in a large part to the fact that it addresses one of the fundamental needs of business - “Why are we doing this?”. This is often referred to as a business’s mission - their reason for doing what they do.
In the absence of a unifying reason why a team member should work towards a common goal people will naturally default to their own personal reason/s. Individual “why’s” cover many things - the most common reason to come to work each day is to provide for oneself and one's family.
It is becoming popular for companies to share their bigger purpose, their “why”, their reason for being, their mission if you will, with the team. This trend has gained popularity as businesses realise that when people come together focused on a common goal they are far more effective and engaged. This increases the attraction and retention of staff. Done well, a clear mission/”why” provides the impetus for ownership, autonomy, good decision making and the speed of execution within teams.
When a team is clear on why they have gathered together and what it is that they are trying to achieve, it creates a culture where people feel safe and aligned. This is further enhanced when the purpose for working together has a wider impact beyond the immediate business and people can see how their individual contribution makes a positive difference. When giving instructions, setting goals, planning for the week ahead we can leverage off the strength of a clear mission by referring to it and articulating how individual efforts fit into this. This obviously needs to be done with sincerity and an eager desire to achieve a wider impact.
An example from my own career goes back a number of years, when the company I was working with decided that, in line with their focus on training people to improve themselves, we would work with Oxfam and support their education initiative. We reviewed our goals and reframed them in terms of how much we could give away - each course was reframed in terms of how many pens and pads, desks, teachers’ salaries and school fees we cover through a donation as a percentage of a course. It was an inspiring year that saw us all going above and beyond in our contribution.
Are you clear on what your business stands for and what your purpose is beyond the obvious of making a profit and ensuring you have cash flow to cover your bills? How could you rephrase your daily activities and company goals to better reflect how team members contribute?
