Saturday, April 26, 2014

Purpose-driven leadership

My highlights of: From Purpose to Impact. Figure out your passion and put it to work. By Nick Craig and Scott Snook. Harvard Business Reviews, May 2014.

Purpose-driven leadership is key to exceptional performance and well-being, helping navigate complexity, volatility, ambiguity and uncertainty. Fewer than 20% of leaders have a sense of their own individual purpose and even less are able to articulate a concrete statement. This is authentic leadership and the most important developmental task you can undertake as a leader.

Your leadership purpose is what you are and what makes you distinctive, your brand, what makes you tick. It's not what you do, it's how and why you do it based on your strengths and passions. It's what others would miss if you were gone. 

Must be specific and personal. Start mining your life story, identifying your core, lifelong strengths, values and passions - pursuits that energize you and bring you joy. These are some prompts to help you craft a concise declaration of purpose that capture your essence and call for action:
- what did you love doing as a child?
- what life experiences were most challenging?
- what do you enjoy doing the most?

For example: 'Maximize the achievements and well-being of those around me and myself, focusing on development and growth'

Once defined, the next step is to embrace and live your purpose, consciously, wholeheartedly and effectively. Set incremental goals reflecting work-life balance. Identify the path forward and the relationships essential to your purpose. Clarify your purpose and put it to work.