Instilling purpose in your employees takes more than motivational talks, lofty speeches, or mission statements. In fact, if overblown or insincere, those methods can backfire, triggering cynicism rather than commitment.
To engage, inspire and motivate your employees, keep these two things in mind.
- Purpose is a feeling. You could tell your team that their work is important, but how can you help individuals feel it firsthand?
Think about ways to show people the impact of their jobs. Perhaps you could bring a customer, a patient or a student, in to share a testimonial, or send a small team into the field to experience the client’s voids, needs and ultimate delight from your services.
- Authenticity matters — a lot. If your attempt at creating purpose does not align with how you’ve acted in the past, employees will be skeptical, and left feeling more manipulated than inspired.
Making the pursuit of purpose a routine, rather than a one-off initiative, will show employees that you’re serious about it.
Harvard Business Review
