Community is on our mind at the C Factor this month and for the last few weeks Christine and I have shared some of our own personal takes on what that means. Christine tapped into the idea of purpose in last week’s email. This week I want to talk about how we can align purpose.
Belonging to a community of people is a natural inclination of all humans. We were built for community. We gather together at work, in our neighborhoods, online with people who share our interests of beliefs.
We have a longing to belong.
One of my favorite experiences of community is college game day. I went to Texas Tech University between 1991 and 1995, four years that I believe in my heart were the best years of the history of my beloved school (and I will fight you if you say otherwise). We had a great football team, men’s basketball team, and our women’s basketball team was the best in the country. I lived for game day, never missing a football or basketball game.
If you have ever been a part of a group that had a shared interest—a sport, hobby, politics, or anything really— I would bet you can close your eyes and FEEL in your body what it is like to be in the company of other people who share your excitement and passion for this thing you cared deeply for. It feels amazing to know there are other people in the world who care about the same thing you care about.
In a Facebook group I am in, a small business owner posted that she is frustrated because she doesn’t feel like her team is committed to the vision and mission of her company.
“How can I make them care?” she asked.
I could sense the frustration in her post, I imagined her feeling defeated because the team is not as close or committed to the work as she is.
The post garnered a variety of answers, and I followed with interest to see how our community of entrepreneurs would support her in answering her question. Because this is a group of outstanding women, she was gifted a number of interesting and energizing ideas to consider.
Eventually I weighed in.
My answer was simple:
The WHY of the company must align with the WHY of the individual.
If your why supports their why and vice versa, well that is a team that is going places. When our WHYs align with each other, we create a community that is fueled by real purpose.
People get up early, put on all their team gear, tail gate for hours, and sit in a stadium sometimes under the most harsh conditions (have you seen Green Bay Packer fans before?) because they are united in a belief: Their team is the best team. They show up for their team, no matter what. But there is something in it for them too. What is that? Why would a person be so unbelievably committed to a GAME that is played by other people? They aren’t even on the field, they are in the stands.
Something about showing up galvanizes them.
I suspect there are a variety of different answers to the WHY given the numbers of fans supporting any given team. Christine shared the work of Dan Pink last week and his premise that people want purpose in their lives, they want to know they are contributing to something bigger than themselves.
The very act of being in the stands and rooting, laughing, celebrating, and cheering is its own contribution, you belong to something bigger than you. Collectively we are in it to win it. Doing this alongside other fans who feel as passionate about their team, well that is what community looks like. The purpose is clear: We all want to win.
If you are a leader who wants to build a sense of community, start with WHY (Simon Sinek gifted us with this idea). But instead of starting with YOUR why, start with THEIR why. Get to know them and what they want to get out of their job/role on the team. Take notes, look for ways to align their why with yours. If their answer is “I just need a paycheck,” and they show little interest in developing anything deeper than a paycheck why, well you will need to decide if that works for the team.
If not, are you willing to help them discover a deeper why that will fuel them beyond waiting for payday to roll around?
The job of the leader is to create new leaders.
That means you must intentionally learn everyone's WHY and help them formulate a play to live that out while also showing them how to align their why with the why of the organization.
Not sure how to start? Take a breath. Here are THREE things to do NOW.
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Watch Simon Sinek’s popular TED talk: “How Leaders Inspire Action” HERE
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Grab some paper and a pen. Interview every single person on your team and ask them their WHY. Listen. Ask great questions. Don’t solve or fix anything. Just listen. Then, return and spend some time looking for ways to align their why with the why of the team and the company.
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Read this helpful article on how to help people find their WHY.
Never forget, your job matters. As the leader you can create a team culture that either helps support people’s WHY or it takes away from their WHY. That’s a BIG responsibility and one to take seriously.
If you don’t know how to get there, let’s talk. We can show you how.
Cheers,
Libby
