Purpose: First Priority of The CEO Six
I had the wonderful privilege of learning about “purpose” from Nickie Froiland, Chief Strategy Officer of Motus9. Nickie became a consultant to Girls Empowerment Network in 2017 when I was banging my head against the wall trying to figure out how to ensure Girls Empowerment Network’s school-based programs were valued for their true worth. After years of offering these services for next to free, the organization was serious about gaining fee-for-service revenue which would take the pressure off of our fundraising team to meet our budget goals. Nickie helped us to walk through Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle theory and identify our “Why, How and What”. It was transformational for us, not only because we were suddenly all on the same page about why we do what we do, but because our How became measurable and we were able to walk the walk about our impact as an organization. For the first time ever, Girls Empowerment Network wasn’t just telling success stories, but we were backing it up with meaningful, longitudinal data which aligned with our purpose. Our entire organization embraced this work with such fervor. It allowed us to not only increase fee-for-service contracts by 3x, but it allowed us to tap into greater philanthropic dollars, including through private foundations, individual donors, corporations and the government.
When you identify your organization’s purpose and how you achieve that purpose, there are several other outcomes besides increased revenue. These rise to the top:
Higher stakeholder retention (customers, staff, partners, investors, donors, etc.)
A unified message about who you are/stronger brand
Simplified strategic planning
Stronger culture
Powerful data about how you do what you do
Clearer KPI’s or OKR’s
After experiencing this process as CEO of Girls Empowerment Network, and leading it as a consultant with many other organizations, I have learned that a business will thrive with this work and will stagnate without it. Every organization I have seen go through this process has struggled with the feeling that they are narrowing their focus too much in order to identify just one purpose or one “How”. Yet, it is liberating, because it allows you to provide and endless number of products, services, cultural traditions, trainings, etc. all from one unified concept. Some organizations believe they are a very special case, too complex, and that finding a purpose is just too hard for them - when in fact they are the ones who need alignment to a core purpose more than anyone. And my favorite of all the challenges organizations experience with this process is feeling like the work is fluffy - the act of sitting around the room and discussing your “Why” can lead you to talk about your childhood, your emotions, past traumas, what memories motivate you, etc., and this digging causes you to really listen to your stakeholders about their emotional reasons for choosing your organization. Some leaders may think the work of identifying a purpose is not a priority when there are other more urgent or pressing matters that would immediately improve the bottom line. And yet time and time again, this work is catalytic for the bottom line and improves every other facet of the organization. There is no more important work than getting on the same page and growing from there.
I like to think of an organization’s purpose like a flagpole. The pole is the purpose, and you can hang any flag you want to from that pole, as many as you want to hang, as long as they align with the flagpole. Once the flagpole is clear to everyone, it empowers everyone in the organization to make decisions independently about which flags align with the flagpole. In this way, being clear about organizational purpose allows people at all leadership levels to be autonomous representatives of their organization with less oversight. Because making decisions becomes more unified.
Once purpose has been identified and embraced by all, new leaders surface because they understand finally what the organization stands for. These are people who used to perform fine in their jobs but weren't hustling to become future leaders of the organization. When purpose is clear, they become passionate about it and get excited about the potential for impact. They begin using a common language with everyone else and that reveals a new way to do business for them. Their excitement and creativity is sparked and they emerge as champions. Identifying purpose can also have the opposite effect on some people in the organization, revealing people who don’t like the accountability it brings. Clarity makes accountability much easier for supervisors. The identification of purpose 1) brings decisions about HOW an organization achieves their purpose, and 2) implementing the HOW brings data tracking and measuring, and 3) data brings analysis of performance, and 4) performance analysis using the same language leads to accountability.
Identifying your organization’s purpose can be disruptive. I have yet to see an organization regret the disruptions it offered, however. Because understanding your purpose means you are clear about who you are and what you stand for. Consumers and stakeholders are drawn to organizations which clearly articulate their purpose.
If your organization has not identified your Why, How and What, do not delay. It is one of The CEO Six priorities and a critical step toward a sustainable, thriving organization. Can you do it by yourself? I haven’t seen that work yet. I can speak from experience that having an outside facilitator makes a difference in your ability to truly see your organization and the ripe opportunities sitting in front of you.
Want to go deeper into The CEO Six?
The CEO Six Overview: Priorities that Matter Most