Aligning Your WHY, WHAT, and HOW: How to Implement Leadership With a Purpose
“Your commitment to your identity is strongest when your WHY, your WHAT, and your HOW are aligned.”
To begin understanding purpose-driven leadership, consider this: the most successful leaders align their WHY (purpose), WHAT (goals), and HOW (processes) at every level of the organization. This alignment forms the foundation for long-lasting impact.
But what does that really mean?
Imagine a leader who knows their purpose but doesn’t translate it into their daily actions or, worse, doesn’t embed it in their team’s processes. Their impact remains surface-level, and their influence fades over time. To truly embody leadership with a purpose, your WHY, WHAT, and HOW need to work together seamlessly, with your purpose reflected in every decision and action. This alignment is the key to unlocking sustainable, purpose-driven success.
Making Purpose Part of Your Organization
Purpose is not just a banner you wave at company meetings or a statement framed on your office wall. It’s about embedding that purpose into everything your organization does—every day. So how do you begin?
First, leadership with a purpose requires that your purpose shapes every decision. It must go beyond profit to influence your strategies, culture, and relationships. Let’s break it down:
Start with Intentional Communication: This means consistently talking about the purpose in all settings. It should come up during strategic meetings, in one-on-ones with employees, and even in informal discussions. The more frequently purpose is mentioned, the more naturally it becomes part of your organization’s identity.
Live the Purpose: Your employees will model what they see in leadership. If they witness leaders making decisions rooted in the company’s purpose, they’ll start doing the same. It’s essential that every leader demonstrates the purpose in action.
Purpose becomes real when it shapes your culture. Slowly but surely, you’ll see a shift—from a group of individuals working toward different goals to a unified team, all aligned with a shared mission.
Communicating Purpose Clearly
Once your purpose is clearly defined, the next step is to communicate it effectively. But how do you ensure that everyone in the organization, from leadership to frontline employees, truly understands and embraces it?
Start by asking yourself, “Why do we exist?” The answer should go deeper than financial objectives. Your purpose must resonate with employees, customers, and stakeholders alike. Here’s how you can start guiding them toward that understanding:
Consistent, Transparent Communication: Keep purpose at the forefront of company-wide meetings and newsletters. Openly discuss the connection between daily actions and long-term purpose.
Engage with Stories: Share real examples of how the company’s purpose has driven positive change—whether for a customer, a community, or even an employee. Stories make the abstract tangible and help employees connect their work with something meaningful.
Encourage Two-Way Conversations: Encourage employees to ask questions about the purpose and provide feedback. This can happen through surveys, town halls, or smaller group discussions. The more opportunities employees have to engage with the purpose, the more personal it becomes to them.
When purpose is communicated clearly and repeatedly, it becomes part of your organization’s DNA.
Aligning Systems and Structures
Here’s where many organizations struggle: they recognize the importance of purpose but fail to integrate it into their systems and structures. Without this alignment, purpose remains an abstract concept.
To guide your organization into true purpose-driven leadership, here are some steps to ensure alignment:
Examine Your Policies: Do your company policies support your purpose? If not, start by aligning HR practices, performance reviews, and employee development programs with your purpose. For example, if your purpose includes promoting innovation, ensure your policies reward creativity and risk-taking.
Allocate Resources Intentionally: Purpose must influence where resources go. Whether it’s budgeting for employee development, investing in new technology, or prioritizing community initiatives, your resource allocation should reflect your commitment to the purpose.
Build Accountability: Purpose without accountability leads to misalignment. Set clear goals and expectations for teams that align with the purpose, and measure progress. Recognition programs can play a huge role here—reward individuals or teams who actively contribute to advancing the purpose.
When your systems and structures align with your purpose, the entire organization moves in harmony toward its goals, creating consistency and long-term sustainability.
Empowering Employees to Live the Purpose
Now that we’ve discussed how purpose drives leadership, it’s time to extend that to your employees. For true leadership with a purpose, employees need to be empowered to live the purpose through their daily work.
How do you accomplish this?
Cultivate Trust: Create a culture of trust where employees feel safe to share ideas, take initiative, and contribute to purpose-driven goals. Trust comes from leaders who listen, respond, and demonstrate their belief in their team.
Offer Growth Opportunities: Help employees connect their personal growth with the organization’s purpose. Offer training, mentoring, and career development that aligns their growth with company objectives.
Encourage Ownership: Empower employees to take ownership of their tasks. This could mean giving them more autonomy in decision-making or supporting them in leading purpose-driven projects. When they see how their work aligns with the broader mission, it’s easier for them to engage fully and bring their best.
When employees are equipped to live out the organization’s purpose, they feel valued and invested. This leads to higher engagement and, ultimately, better results for the organization.
Measuring What Matters
Measuring progress toward purpose is not just about profits; it’s about impact. To truly track how well your organization is doing in living out its purpose, you need a different set of metrics.
Here’s how you can guide your organization to measure what matters:
Define Purpose-Driven Metrics: Identify KPIs that align with your purpose. For instance, if your purpose is to drive sustainability, measure carbon footprint reduction or resource efficiency alongside traditional financial goals.
Regularly Review Progress: Establish a system for tracking and reporting on these metrics. Make it a point to review purpose-driven results at the same time as you review financial performance. This keeps purpose on par with profit.
Maintain Transparency: Be open about where you’re succeeding and where there’s room for improvement. Transparency builds trust among stakeholders, employees, and customers alike, reinforcing the importance of your purpose.
Measuring purpose requires a different mindset. It’s not just about results—it’s about continuously learning, growing, and adapting to stay aligned with your mission.
Keeping Purpose Alive
Once your organization is living its purpose, how do you keep it alive for the long haul? Purpose-driven leadership isn’t a one-time project; it requires a long-term commitment.
Here’s how to guide your organization into sustaining purpose:
Develop Future Leaders with Purpose: Make purpose a key part of your leadership development programs. Teach emerging leaders how to make purpose-driven decisions and foster purpose-aligned cultures.
Encourage Continuous Learning: Stay open to feedback and be willing to evolve. The world changes quickly, and your purpose should adapt as needed to remain relevant. Leaders should regularly revisit the purpose, ensuring it remains aligned with both internal and external changes.
Celebrate Purpose Regularly: Purpose can fade into the background if it’s not celebrated. Recognize individuals, teams, or initiatives that embody the company’s mission. When purpose is celebrated, it stays front and center, keeping employees motivated.
Purpose-driven organizations that are open to continuous improvement and learning remain resilient and better equipped to face future challenges.
Real-World Success: Purpose in Action
Microsoft
In a recent collaboration, Fortune and Indiggo unveiled the 2023 ROL100 Ranking, evaluating the top 100 companies in the Fortune 500 based on their Return on Leadership (ROL). ROL measures critical components for driving and sustaining change in today's business landscape.
The results of this ranking underscore a clear link between purpose-driven leadership and financial success. Companies that prioritize purpose outperform their peers in revenue, profit, and growth.
Microsoft, which secured the top spot on the ROL100 list, serves as a prime example of the potency of purpose-driven leadership. Under the guidance of CEO Satya Nadella, Microsoft has positioned purpose at the forefront of its operations, earning praise for purpose, strategy, and alignment.
The Landmark
A compelling case study by Ian Scarth FIH showcases The Landmark, a prestigious five-star hotel in London, as another shining example of the extraordinary outcomes that purpose-driven leadership can yield.
The hotel's commitment to placing its people first has been central to its success. Employees are respected, encouraged to participate, and provided with the support needed to excel. This has resulted in a team that is wholeheartedly dedicated to delivering exceptional service and takes pride in their work.
The hotel's prominent HR department ensures that employee concerns are addressed promptly and effectively. This dedication to employee well-being has earned them the Platinum Level Investor in People certification, the highest possible recognition.
The Landmark's focus on creating a positive and engaging work environment has not gone unnoticed. In 2020, the hotel was ranked the fourth-best employer (across sectors) in the Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For awards. This serves as a testament to the hotel's commitment to cultivating a workplace where employees feel valued and appreciated.
The hotel's success isn't limited to employee engagement; in 2019, The Landmark was awarded the AA Hotel of the Year, a prestigious accolade that reflects the hotel's commitment to providing guests with an exceptional experience.
Key Takeaway
Purpose-driven leadership is essential for organizations aiming for long-term success. When purpose becomes the guiding principle behind every action, decision, and interaction, it leads to a more engaged workforce, stronger customer relationships, and a lasting positive impact. Organizations that understand how to lead with purpose aren’t just financially successful—they're transformative.