What Is Your Heroic Purpose?
What a great and profound question. In fact, I would argue it is the only question for a leader.
I first heard this question while watching an interview with John Mackey, co-CEO and founder of Whole Foods, where he discussed his perspective on conscience capitalism, a movement toward businesses doing good to do well. I consider the shift toward conscience capitalism an essential part of the curriculum for any aspiring business leader today. Indeed, Tony Schwartz of The Energy Project published a piece earlier this year in the Harvard Business Review titled “Companies that Practice ‘Conscious Capitalism’ Perform 10X Better”.
One of the pillars of conscience capitalism is to be “purpose driven,” but it is important to consider that sometimes purpose is mistaken for a mundane mission statement, that overused goal of doubling revenue over the next 5 years, or even worse that robotic mantra of maximizing shareholder value. These all may be purposes but by using the term “heroic purpose” John Mackey elevates goals to new heights. He defines purpose in a broader sense. Your purpose isn’t the pursuit of just any goal, but rather the pursuit to create impact and value in the world. It is not the “what” but rather the “why.”
Leaders by definition are in a unique position. People follow you, and inherently those people have a human desire to find purpose. Despite traditional rhetoric, the carrot and stick method of motivation does not work. Command and control is outdated for today’s complex world and commission structures are hugely overrated. In this day and age, motivation goes beyond the paycheck and smart leaders, effective leaders recognize this.
True leadership creates a following of individuals that are completely engaged in the cause, not the pay structure. People don’t work at Facebook because headhunters aren’t offering them better deals, they work there because they want to change the way we interact with the world. As a leader, you will elevate yourself and your organization if you broaden your perspective and defining your success as how well you inspire people toward a heroic purpose and allow them the ability to take the journey with you.
The beauty of a heroic purpose is that it elevates you to become a hero. Why is this necessary? Because there are challenges in every organization. There are significant barriers and heroes don’t subscribe to the notion of limitations. They create value and pursue purpose in its’ entirety. Simply put, heroes overcome.
Only in the workplace do we have such a captive audience for so long every day. If we as leaders take advantage of this time and inspire each of our people to overcome obstacles and pursue value creation for the world, imagine the possibilities. The compounding impact of this can be extraordinary.
But what if you haven’t found your heroic purpose yet?
This doesn’t mean you should quit your job and move to the Far East to perfect meditation. It also doesn’t mean that you’ve failed. It’s important to recognize that finding your heroic purpose is not easy; it is a progression. But eventually, great leaders build on each stage and progress to the peak toward a heroic purpose. They don’t exclude any of the previous purpose-driven causes, but instead integrate them toward a greater purpose. Not every leader needs or will have a heroic purpose, but every leader should be on the journey toward one.
Fabio Malagisi is a Finance Manager at CR Bard in Boston, Massachusetts. He is an ambitious and results-oriented professional with a proven track record of being a business partner, driving results and improving the bottom line through effective business decision making. He is a proven leader and mentor that actively develops talent pipelines and builds effective teams, whose specialties include Supply Chain Finance, Variable Cost Productivity, Strategic Sourcing, Product Line Profitability, Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A), Business Strategy, Process Controls, and Product Management.