Transformation Pillar: Purpose Communication
About a 6 minute read
Have you ever been stuck in a seemingly never-ending question cycle with a young child? For every answer, there is another “why” or question that attempts to pry into the secrets of the universe. As we mature, that innate curiosity and need to question everything in most adults fades or is suppressed. Maybe it is the need to conform to professional expectations or simply the desire to keep the proverbial pot unstirred. The diminishment of asking “why”, however, does not reduce the importance of having the question answered. Answering the “why” is an excellent way to discover new ideas and catch perspectives or issues that were previously unknown. So it goes with any transformation, project, or change, answering the “why” is vital to managing change, building culture, and strengthening individual purpose. The next transformation pillar is “purpose communication”, and it refers to clearly establishing and conveying the “why” (the purpose) behind change. In this post, we are going to look at why having a strong purpose is important.
Okay, so I have stated that answering the “why” behind change is vital, but why is having that established purpose important? As with most aspects of change, the answers mostly revolve around people.
Human capital and capacity is finite
Organizations should be teeming with new ideas. A steady infusion of new thought and an eye toward the future is healthy, but that influx of ideas comes at a cost; many of those ideas must end up on the cutting room floor, never to come to fruition. An organization can only employ so many people, and there is a limit to how much those individuals can work and how much they can complete. If an organization continually pushes against those limits, there will be an unhealthy culture problem. When organizations attempt to turn all the ideas coming into the pipeline into actionable projects, they risk failing to move anything forward and are caught in a constant churn of incoming work, slow progress on active work, and potentially a dizzying output of constant change, all of which quickly saps the workforce's collective energy. The purpose for the work is lost in that churn. Knowledge workers become project assembly workers, moving across timelines and deliverables without any true knowledge of why a project is important or the resulting impact of their work. That may be fine for some, but trying to sustain such an approach is an easy way to poison organizational culture and send people looking for a different job. Thoroughly understanding and communicating purpose allows leadership to verify the right work is progressing to best utilize personnel and resources without pushing people beyond their capacity.
People operate better with purpose, understanding the “why” behind their effort
Another component of properly utilizing personnel capacity is ensuring they find purpose in their work. Much like a user story uses the "As a (insert role), I want to (insert action) so that (state outcome value)," template, establishing purpose fulfills the statement, "We are doing this project/change to (insert deliverable goal) and (insert value)," or something along those lines. The key is to tie the work being done to a specific outcome and the expected value. What employee does not want to see how they are contributing to improving the organization or providing valuable services and products for customers? Being able to connect the dots between day-to-day efforts and organizational outcomes is a boon to keeping employees motivated and satisfied in the work they do, which also allows changes to be accepted more easily and, consequently, effective.
Purpose keeps the ship pointed in the right direction
Just because a project, change, or transformation starts with a particular end-goal in mind does not mean that goal remains relevant indefinitely. Organizations and their needs evolve and so should the work. This does not mean abandoning the work, it means regularly checking on the purpose for undertaking the change in the first place and seeing if it is still relevant. This provides an opportunity to examine the learnings from the efforts thus far and adjust the goal, or goals, if necessary. And yes, perhaps, it may make the most sense to end the project, change process, or transformation and call the work done "good enough". In many cases, it does not make sense to continue down a path if the initial goal is no longer the desired destination. The most important piece to keep in mind, however, is the necessity to maintain communication and be transparent about whether efforts are still moving in the appropriate direction or if changes must occur.
Defining the “why” helps ensure the change is truly providing value for the organization
Ensuring a change's purpose remains relevant naturally leads to ensuring the corresponding efforts are providing value. Again, defining and regularly communicating "why" a change is occurring helps keep the expected and resultant value in focus. If there is a negative change in that value, it decreases or disappears, then a broader examination of the change and its direction should occur. I have seen many projects that, once they start, they are going to be completed no matter what, even if the window for providing value has passed.
Knowledge of direction needs to extend beyond the executive level
Understanding the big picture and where the organization is heading is easier from upon high; that is the role and expectation of executives, and, hopefully, senior leadership. That sort of high-level, forward-looking insight is not inherently present for those in the trenches executing the day-to-day work that makes the organizational gears turn. Sharing vision, direction, and purpose, therefore, can be welcome and beneficial across the organization and lead to better output, performance, and satisfaction. Transparent communication up and down an organization may be one of the most beneficial actions taken by a leadership team. For years, I have kept the mantra in mind that managers do not like surprises; if you can avoid creating surprises, you are doing pretty well. The same can be said for anyone in the organization when it comes to their work - avoid surprises. When employees know the purpose of their work and how that supports the organization's direction, they are better able to handle the unexpected in the standard course of business rather than it being a "surprise".
Unsurprisingly, there is a fair amount of overlap in the importance of and reasons behind having clearly defined purpose. There is benefit to the organization, leadership, and the workforce. For the organization, a defined and visible purpose (or direction) helps keep priorities aligned so resources are spent on the efforts providing the most value. Leadership can use a defined purpose to keep planning focused and allow for exploration of innovative opportunities. Not to mention, there will be appreciation of leadership's transparency and possibly enhanced trust in knowing where the organization is being led. And for the workforce, having the understanding of why they are doing the work they are doing, and the outcomes of their efforts, allows for greater empowerment and job satisfaction. Creating and sharing purpose is an all-around win.