Leaders guide to developing purpose in work

How often do we stop during our day of work to reflect on the outcomes from decisions we or others have made?

In cognitive theory this is called reflective practice.

Behavioural science specifically the dual-system theory suggests that this form of practice may be useful to improve the way we think, and approach decision making by slowing down our heuristic impulses (intuitive) with reflective thoughts (calculated).

But how would this support leaders in the development of purposeful work?

Think for a moment about the number of decisions people make at work in just a day. How do I solve this problem, how do I address this difficult conversation, how do I convince this person of my approach, how do I pull this team together to achieve our goal, how do I keep people engaged and happy? And so on.

According to Daniel Pink’s mastery and purpose framework, there are 3 motivators people need, to feel a sense of purpose in their work. Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose. Pink’s theory suggests that modern work environments require more than carrot and stick reward systems, especially for roles with heuristic thinking at its foundation.

Simply put people need to feel that what they do adds value and strengthens purpose not just with financial gain. When we allow people autonomy in decision making, we create purpose, this after all is a fundamental human trait, the freedom to decide how, what or when we do something.

So, what can leaders do now to engage purposeful decision making amongst teams?

Here are a few of my practical solutions to try today.

Reflective practice

No, I don’t mean that we should all carry a journal with us everywhere we go.

It’s much simpler than that.

For leaders the benefits of reflective practice in work, supports teams to think critically before engaging in decisions. And when consistently followed, could develop people’s thought process into actionable outcomes without constant leadership intervention.

This of course may look different for each industry, but there are reflective models that could be adapted to suit varied workflow.

In the medical industry the use of Driscoll’s What, so What, now What model has proven effective, due its simplicity and ease of adaptation while supporting high performance.

Gibb’s reflection model supports project-based teams, thanks to it’s in-depth 6 stage approach, as it allows individuals and teams alike to clarify expectations and determine actionable outcomes with room for feedback and improvements.

Goal setting is yet another simple and popular model and works well for junior teams that require a more self-directed approach.

Inclusive micro-structures

Effective decision making in the flow of work, means nothing if people aren’t enabled with the right resources to ask others for what they need to perform their work.

This is where inclusive micro-structures are so important.

Think of a scenario where your people require help or input from others to complete a project or achieve an outcome.

They would need to collaborate and involve stakeholders so they can achieve a specific goal on time and with transparency. How would they go about this?

I find Helping Heuristics to be effective. It involves bringing the right people together and gives each side a turn to ask openly and without criticism what is needed to fulfil a task or reach an objective.

This would work well for interdepartmental as well as inter-team collaboration.

In closing

Purposeful work is more than just policies, job descriptions and performance metrics.

People spend most of their lifetime in work, and this is why its so vital for leaders to support their people to feel connected to what they do. If not, just think about the trade-off organizations experience when work isn’t aligned with motivation. Presenteeism, high staff turnover, increased discipline and decreased organizational performance. The list is endless.