Quest for meaning: How does your leadership serve a purpose greater than performance?
“ You should always aim for the moon, because even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.”
Oscar Wilde
“ To succeed without doing good is to fail.”
Orelsan, Civilisation album
Your business is not limited to generating profits. As a leader, your role is also to contribute to making the world a better place.
When Elon Musk announces he wants to send humans to Mars, many smile or dismiss it. Yet, beyond opinions about this ambition, that vision enables him to attract the best engineers in the world to tackle a challenge considered impossible today. And even if they don’t succeed, they will still have built the most powerful rockets in the world, which is precisely what is happening.
In a world where everything moves too fast, where crises follow one another, and where employees’ expectations keep evolving, the word “purpose” is on everyone’s lips. Some companies proudly display it on their walls, others make it their marketing slogan. But let’s be honest: often, this “purpose” rings hollow. A façade, a trend to motivate employees and impress investors.
Yet true purpose is anything but accessory. It lies at the very heart of leadership. For a manager or executive, it is not just a motivational or management tool, but a vital compass to navigate complexity. Purpose is what keeps you standing when everything seems to collapse. It is what drives your team to go beyond goals, and what transforms your company into a sustainable organization, capable of leaving a positive mark.
Purpose: more than a trend
Managers and executives who truly reflect on their company’s purpose know it’s not just about communication. It is a driver of employee motivation, a foundation for building a strong vision, and a key to overcoming crises. Because when you know why you do what you do, you find unexpected energy to keep moving, even in the hardest times.
Beyond words, embedding purpose into your leadership means taking the time to reflect on your personal mission as well as your organization’s. Ask yourself: Why does my company exist? What unique contribution does it bring to society?
In a context where employees seek alignment between their personal values and those of their employer, this reflection has become unavoidable. Without it, building a trust-inspiring, sustainably motivated, and resilient organization is impossible. Purpose is a pillar of modern management and a strategic tool for visionary leaders.
Purpose is a vital necessity
Let’s be honest: the quest for meaning has never been as critical as it is today. In a world saturated with uncertainty, marked by ecological crises and increasingly unreachable goals, getting up in the morning without knowing why is the fastest road to burnout. And this doesn’t just concern your employees, it’s about you, too, as a leader.
Purpose is an anchor that reconnects you with your mission, with the reason you chose to lead a company. And that’s exactly where everything begins.
Let’s be clear: “purpose” should never be an excuse for empty storytelling, designed only to embellish a website or a CSR report. Purpose begins with personal reflection, a life mission that you embody and infuse into your company. If you, as a leader, don’t know why you do what you do, how can you expect to rally a team around a shared vision?
Ask yourself this uncomfortable question: Does your business contribute to improving society, or does it merely draw from its resources?
And purpose can take many forms: contributing to transforming the world by educating students, making organic or beauty products accessible, organizing information to make it available, accelerating the shift to renewable energy, or even — for defense companies — providing innovative solutions that ensure safety. It can mean enabling transparency or modularity if you work in open source.
Purpose is not reserved for “bourgeois bohemians,” eco-utopians, or mission-driven companies.
As a coach and supervisor, my mission is to help leaders find balance between happiness and sustainable success.
Take a moment to reflect
What is your organization’s true contribution to its employees, its clients, and the world?
What legacy do you leave behind as a leader?
Grounded leadership must allow for a positive impact on both individuals and society. It is essential to build a company that weathers crises and sustainably engages its people.
Purpose as a driver of collective and individual performance
Don’t confuse the quest for purpose with naïve altruism. Finding a strong mission and committing to it is also a winning strategy for performance, both collective and individual. A team that knows why it works together is a resilient team, able to overcome crises and exceed goals.
Purpose is also essential to your own mental health. Being a leader often means juggling enormous stress, tough decisions, and an unbearable mental load. Purpose acts as leverage: it refocuses your energy on what truly matters, helps you stay the course when you feel like giving up.
But beware: bringing purpose into your leadership doesn’t mean becoming a martyr. It’s about finding a subtle balance between vision, concrete objectives, and employee well-being. A leader aligned with a clear mission is better equipped to build a culture of trust and lasting motivation.
Enough with the buzzwords: just a few essential questions
It’s time for some introspection. If you know the concept of ikigai, use it. If not, simply start by asking yourself these honest questions:
1. Clarify Your Personal Mission
It all starts with you. Take some time away from daily distractions to reflect:
What truly drives you as a leader?
What impact do you want to leave, not just in your company, but in society?
Write your answers down. Formalize your reflections to turn intuition into a clear and motivating mission.
2. Connect Your Mission to That of the Company
Once your personal mission is defined, link it to your organization’s goals. Here are a few tools to help:
The “Why” exercise: Ask yourself three or more times why your company exists beyond financial gains.
Why did I create or join this company?
What is my long-term vision for it or my team, beyond financial results?
Do my employees understand and share this vision? That’s the shared vision: formulate one that resonates as much with your people as with yourself.
Then ask yourself: What concrete actions can I implement to align my business with this mission?
These reflections may be uncomfortable but they are necessary. You cannot expect your team to find meaning in their work if you haven’t first done that work yourself. To be a leader is, above all, to be a human aligned with your values, making decisions and showing through your actions that those decisions are coherent with your mission.
What next to strengthen your leadership?
The quest for meaning is not a gimmick to look trendy. It is a fundamental pillar of your leadership, your company, and your mental health. Without it, you risk chasing empty goals until exhaustion.
So, ask yourself this final question: Does your leadership serve a purpose greater than performance, or are you just playing at being the boss?
The answer to this question could change everything!
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