How do you clarify your team's purpose?

I truly believe that talent/ people must decide the culture & purpose of the team and not the other way around. We can't force it upon them. Leaders must have the eye to spot synergies, encourage collaboration and support aspirations. People come from diverse backgrounds and hence ecosystems must be developed for them to contribute into the strategic vision. They will feel empowered and driven to live the vision everyday. Strategic planning must be a collaborative process and not just an act of 'keeping the team posted' about what's locked from the top. This drives lack of ownership & collaborativeness with the bottom & middle of the pyramid.

Comprehending the bigger picture of why your team exists and what it contributes to the organization must start with your team's understanding of the organization. When we were recreating our Mission, Vision, and Core Values for our organization, the thought was how do we create a process for decisions to be made for the organization in the long term? Our agency is 100 years old; how to maintain continuity and quality down the road and still allow for change. Including all levels of staff and getting insight into how they saw the organization and how it affects the communities, we touch provided vital insights and overall buy-in when changes were made. Ultimately it created a more effective and efficient team.

-Firstly connect with team -Discuss with team successfully mirco planning. -Execute -Sharing learning and sustained -learning from incidents -Celebrate with Team

Crafting a purpose that fuels your team's drive requires thoughtful steps. Begin by grasping the broader context: delve into your organization's vision, mission, and departmental priorities. Understand customer expectations and where your team fits. With these insights, you're ready to shape a purpose statement that resonates. Align actions and decisions, radiate value.

As we get into more and more digital-1st and start-up culture organizations, it's imperative that multi-nodal or non-hierarchical structures will need to be followed. Team(s) will be more efficient through Collaboration & Accountability. Annual KRAs become tough to breakdown into smaller tasks. RACI (Responsibility, Accountability, Consulting, Informed) is the pillar of a team. RACI allows each individual to be mapped on task/ account based. Accountable (A) holds the key as this position is the responsible bridge between execution (R) and strategy (C& sometimes I). Do note that it's not recommended to be a reporting hierarchy...A isn't the boss a R. It's a task based team with a bulls eye focus to deliver with efficiency & effectiveness.

We challenge the status quo with a can do attitude to deliver quality & sustainable output better & faster with lots of fun along the way.

According to me the Manager has to define the Vision and Mission of the team and have a participative approach to build on the teams purpose. Collectively he has to facilitate developing the purpose of the Team by effective communication, assign roles and responsibilities of team members, sharing teams values, measure performance effectively and objectively and reward and recognize performers, share success stories and most importantly lead by examples. Ensure with personal meetings with team members so that they are aligned to the purpose etc.

We have annual evaluations for all of our staff; on those evaluations, there is a space for team members to let us know what areas of the organization or current projects they were interested in participating in or had an interest in. We also have quarterly "Sound Checks" requesting feedback from all staff levels inquiring as to job satisfaction, impact of programs, and overall organization efficiency. By adding those avenues for communication and taking action, including interested staff on committees or making logical changes to procedures, we have found that our teams are more committed and engaged. Our teams are happier and more productive and feel incredible pride and belonging to our organization and our communities.

In our organization we define purpose by having distinct and clearly defined roles. We make sure that every level of employment provides a measure of autonomy; we give our people the power to make decisions. We study and modify roles to ensure they each have a measure of complexity. Challenging our people is a great way to provide purpose, nothing is mundane. Finally, we create a defined relationship between results and rewards. When we align our compensation packages with our team members individual and personal goals and aspirations we create a driven culture where winners emerge and the team never loses sight of our purpose.

This is a good beginning. But the one thread that will keep it all moving is MOTIVATION! People will get distracted along the way or may have other priorities to cater to, but a fair bit of motivation can move mountains. Imagine when a chaotic situation hits you and the team morale goes down, the only way to keep it going is constant reminder to believe in oneself, and that you are here because you have an expertise in that domain and very few people can parallel you.

Crafting a purpose statement is akin to steering a ship toward success. As I've led my team in a software upgrade project, understanding our role within the larger IT landscape was vital. Our purpose, "Elevate user experience through seamless software integration," became our compass. Regular communication, sharing our purpose in team huddles, and embedding it in our communications reinforced alignment. By empowering team members to contribute ideas and solutions, we navigated towards the goal harmoniously. A shared purpose isn't just a statement; it's the driving force behind impactful outcomes. 🚀✨ #TeamPurpose #SharedGoals #BusinessSuccess