This post is the third in a series of six posts about how to communicate corporate purpose - Navigate the series from the first post. In this blog you can read about Tip#2…

Make it relevant
High level but designed to be translated

It is amazing how many purpose or vision statements sound like you need an MBA to understand it, let alone relate to it. The aim is that every person working for your company, understands and relates to the purpose, the why of your company.

Does this make them want to jump out of bed in the morning? “…using its portfolio of brands to differentiate its content, services and consumer products”. I am sure it is correct, but that is not a ‘why’, that is a ‘how’.

It’s not easy. If you can find a statement that helps people make sense of ‘why’ they do their job and appeal to their personal drivers and motivations at the same time, you have hit the nail on the head!

The reality is that money is both made and lost at the front-line, it is the place where humans make decisions and hold relationships that can have a huge impact on business performance. I don’t think any business can afford to ignore employees at any level, including those furthest from the boardroom.

One leader said to me “I liked the old days, when a leader’s main job was to inspire and motivate their team”. When did that go out of fashion?

Motivation

Motivation is often personal, just reflect on your own motivations. When have you been most motivated at work? Who are the people that influenced that motivation? For some it could be a clear dollar number or target, or it could be the team or manager and others may want to make a real difference to the industry, human quality of life, the world.

This means that leaders and managers at each level have an important job to give every human in their team, clear direction and empower them to do their best. That clear direction should also be the same direction given from the board to the floor, people should pull in the same direction. Each sector, department, country, etc doesn’t need to write a new purpose, rather help people make sense of how they fit in and be prepared for discussion when they don’t see the fit.

I’d like to share the story of Alan (not real name) was a leader I worked with who most people thought was just grumpy and had picked up the label of being a nay-sayer. Nothing made him groan more than the global engagement slide deck issued every quarter. He told me, “I am not going to stand in front of my team and drone on about all that cotton wool and motherhood statements. They don’t want that from me, they trust me to tell them stuff that they need to know.”

I liked working with Alan, behind his grumpiness was a passion for his work and for the wellbeing of his team. These leaders are like gold dust! Capture them and listen to them. They are a great challenge to take your business knowledge and audience understanding to the next level.

We spent time together and he took communication skills training and coaching. The peer to peer support helped him to grow and find how he positively and authentically communicated in his own style. The timing was perfect, an organisational change was looming. He took a strong listening and coaching approach. His team was affected by the changes but their performance and their motivations to find the next opportunity remained positive.

To help you make the communication of purpose relevant here is my advice.