(upbeat music)
- All of us need to feel a deeper sense of meaning
in what we do in order to feel truly engaged.
In fact, according to a 2016 Deloitte study,
employees feel more loyal to companies
that support their career and life ambitions.
In other words, what's meaningful to them.
Stop and check in with yourself.
First, do you feel a deep sense of meaning and purpose
in what you do?
And second, do you have a sense
about whether others in your organization
also feel that connection to purpose and meaning?
This all does come down to purpose.
While the purpose and mission of the organization
is of utmost importance,
the way that that purpose translates
to each individual is critical.
Without this connection to each individual,
you have created fertile opportunity for chaos to flourish.
That's because purpose acts as a sort of tether,
moving everyone in the same direction of benefit
or in business terms, successful outcomes.
Without this tether,
each individual is moving around as a disparate particle,
each marching to their own beat,
which can lead to disenfranchisement and disloyalty.
The good news is there's a lot you can do to address this
and infuse your organization
with a culture of organizational and individual purpose.
The first step is to look at your organization's
mission and values.
First of all, do each of those things really exist?
If so, are your values actionable?
By that I mean,
does each and every individual in your organization
understand the actions and behavior they must take
to live those values?
The same goes for your mission.
Do your employees truly understand
what your organization was put on this Earth to do?
And more importantly, do they understand how what you do
makes the lives of your consumers better?
This is important.
Making money is not a purpose,
and it's definitely not something
that is going to inspire your employees.
You really have to start by making sure everyone understands
the mission and your values
and understands how to live them every day.
Second, prioritize your employee's
personal sense of higher purpose.
You can do this by hosting a workshop
where employees look at the organization's mission,
values and purpose,
and find intersectional points
between the organization's purpose and their own purpose.
What this does is allow your employees to wake up
and come to work every day,
knowing that what they do is actually in line
with living their own purpose.
This creates a sense of inspiration
and loyalty to your company
that cannot be replicated elsewhere.
It doesn't stop here.
As a leader, inspire your employees
to think about what their own sense of purpose is.
You can do this by asking them
a few really important questions.
The first, what makes you feel accomplished
or what skills do you have
that make you feel like an expert?
What are some ways that you feel you naturally help others?
And how can we as a team or organization
do things with more purpose?
This curiosity from you gives your employees permission
to get curious about themselves
and to deeply understand what brings them meaning.
This creates an inspired workforce
that's excited to work for you and your company.
Lastly, rethink your rewards and recognition systems.
Do your performance reviews, for instance,
only measure hard metrics, or do you evaluate people
on the way that they live your values,
embody collaboration and connection,
integrity and intuition?
Also think about the way you celebrate success
as an organization.
Whether it is a big or a small win,
celebrating success sends a strong signal to your employees
that you see them and acknowledge their efforts.
Without this environment, employees can feel unseen
and a lack of meaning around their work.
This is a change that you, as a leader, can make today.
(upbeat music)