What is your reason for leading?
March holds a special significance for Ghana as it marks the celebration of our Independence Anniversary. I know it means a lot to you as a leader and a citizen of Ghana.
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As leaders, we play a role in achieving independence for our people. Can we use this month to remind ourselves why we lead? Yes, we can, and it is right to do so.
Last week, I facilitated a leadership retreat for a group of leaders, and one of the questions we answered as a group was: why do we exist as a leadership team? Leaders who lead without a "why" - a clear purpose, spend their days chasing shadows. Their unguided actions achieve very little.
They basked in the comfort of shallow victories that do not mean much for the teams we serve. How can we be purposeful if the reason for our leadership is not known to us and our teams?
Several research studies indicate that purposeful leadership significantly impacts financial performance. Development Dimensions International Inc. reports that purposeful organizations outperform their market by 42%.
Clarifying the reason for leading a team yields several benefits. Leadership purpose serves as a:
Compass - providing direction on the journey to the team; enables the team to navigate the complex path to achieving their objectives;
Lighthouse - a beacon of hope and a resource; helps individuals to find their way when they get lost in the myriad of competing objectives in the course of the day;
Anchor - keeps the team grounded despite circumstances and situations that can easily distract them and derail their effort; and
Star - points to the future, the bright future the leader sees and the team yearns for.
As we go through March, consider giving yourself the gift of having a carefully defined leadership purpose. Leaders must be clear about the change they seek to make in the lives of their stakeholders. What future do you see which is the basis for your leadership?
Nkrumah was clear about his dreams and hopes for Ghana and Africa. He also defined clearly the kind of citizens who will make our dreams a reality. “For this end, Africa needs a new type of citizen, a dedicated, modest, honest and informed man.
A man who submerges self in service to the nation and mankind. A new type of man whose humility is his strength and whose integrity is his greatness” ― Kwame Nkrumah,
As a leader, defining and sharing your purpose with your team is the first step towards making a meaningful difference. Sharing an empowering reason for your leadership inspires the team to support you to achieve what the team has set out to do.
Every team is motivated by a purpose they believe in, but it takes a leader to articulate it for them. That's what Nkrumah, Maya Angelou, Martin Luther King, Yaa Asantewa, Mandela, Rosa Parks, and many other leaders did for us.
They gave us a reason to live for ourselves and to continue the journey no matter what happens.
This month, do not continue on your daily grind without making time to articulate your leadership purpose. The idea here is not to go on the journey of “finding your life purpose”.
I know this can be challenging, as many are encouraged to find that one path or thing that makes all life complete. Your leadership purpose is to serve the interests of your team, not to advance your own.
Leadership purpose is what you are inspired to achieve and the value you bring to your stakeholders in a given context. This may change as the context changes. The following prompts can guide you in creating your leadership purpose.
---Given the context of the team, what specific outcomes do they need, and what leadership is required?
---What enduring value will you deliver to your stakeholders through your leadership?
As you craft your leadership purpose, avoid vague, flowery language and overused phrases as used in this example: “I will strive to exceed expectations by building a team that will be attractive to the market and also empowered to step out of their comfort zones, challenging the status quo.” This purpose is unclear as it contains several phrases that do not describe specifically the change the leader seeks to achieve. I suggest leaders choose words and phrases that reflect their story and context to define their agenda. An example of a leadership purpose statement I supported a CEO to craft is:
I am at peace with the work I do. It utilizes my skills. My ambition is to build a.(redacted)
Currently, I need to make sure there is support for the work each other does, there is open communication, and we all clearly understand the new strategy.
This purpose is simple and yet powerful. The statement reflects the current challenges, the unique context of the leader and his team, and the outcome they need to achieve. As an enterprise leader, your purpose for the team you lead means more for the prosperity of our communities and our ultimate independence. Hence, any effort you put into clarifying your leadership purpose advances our communal prosperity.
I trust that you will make time to reflect and write your leadership purpose this month and share it with your team. You will find more energy and fulfilment when you align your daily activities with your purpose and lead with intention.
Let us continue to lead and build this nation and its heritage won for us through the blood and toil of our fathers and mothers. So help us God.
Be of good cheer.
The writer is a Leadership Development Facilitator, Executive Coach and Strategy Consultant, Founder of the CEO Accelerator Program, (https://ceoacceleratorprogram.org) and Chief Learning Strategist at TEMPLE Advisory (www.thelearningtemple.com). The mission of The Leadership Project is to harvest highly effective leadership practices and share them in a manner that other leaders can easily incorporate into their leadership practice. If you have an idea or leadership practice to share, kindly write to [email protected]. Until you read from us again, keep leading…..from leader to leader, one practice at a time.