The Power of Purpose: Be a ‘Movement Leader’ at Work

People want more than just a job, they want to do work that matters to them

By Rodger Dean Duncan

“When you’re surrounded by people who share a passionate commitment around a common purpose, anything is possible.”

That’s not from a philosopher. It’s from a guy who sells coffee—Howard Shultz, the purpose-driven visionary who built Starbucks into a multinational chain with more than 35,000 stores worldwide.

Jennifer Dulski also knows a thing or two (many more things, in fact) about the power of purpose. She’s filled leadership roles at Facebook, Google, and Yahoo! She was president and chief operating officer at Change.org, and today’s she’s CEO (and founder) of Rising Team, a platform that provides tools and training for leading engaging team development sessions. Her bestselling book is PURPOSEFUL: Are You a Manager or a Movement Starter?

Dulski says that when business leaders have a clear and compelling vision, they can motivate employees to feel passionate about their work, and see how their jobs contribute to a larger purpose.

“Movements also thrive on community and shared values,” she says. “By fostering a sense of community within an organization, business leaders can ensure employees feel connected to each other and to the larger mission, leading to greater collaboration and innovation. Incorporating the mindset of a movement leader allows business leaders to transcend traditional corporate structures and create organizations that are more adaptable, engaged, and purpose driven.”

Dulski says successful movement starters begin with a clear vision for what they want to accomplish, and people at any level within an organization can create a vision for their movement using these steps:

• Articulated future—what the world (or your organization) will look like if you are successful

• Purpose—why this matters to you and others (employees, customers, etc.), ideally with data to support it

• Story—compelling real-world examples of how people are impacted by the issue

“Ideally, you want to gather others to support your cause before you make a proposal or request,” she says. “For example, when I worked at Change.org, our all-team meetings were traditionally held on Friday mornings Pacific time. However, our European team members put together a petition to move the meeting to Thursday mornings instead. They explained in a compelling way how morning Pacific time was Friday evening for them and added photos of their children missing them on Friday nights. While they probably could have been successful in this campaign without a petition, creating a petition in this case was particularly effective because Change.org is a petition platform. Overall, it had all the components of a strong vision—articulated future, purpose, and personal stories.”

As most of us realize, the disruptions triggered by the Covid pandemic caused people to re-examine the importance of purpose in the workplace? Dulski says the pandemic fundamentally altered workplace dynamics, leading many employees to reflect deeply on both the meaning of their work and how their work fits into the full picture of their lives. She says it also provided a view into both the value of relationships (given how isolated people were) and the value of time (given that people saw how quickly it could be cut short).

With this new appreciation, Dulski says, people want to do work that matters to them and they want their work to be flexible enough to accommodate all aspects of their lives. “Employees want to work at organizations where they will feel trusted and valued and can build strong connections with their colleagues whether they are remote, hybrid, or in person. Companies that emphasize purpose and meaningful work will be better at fostering employee engagement and commitment during uncertain times.”

Dulski says that what sometimes keeps people from stepping forward to take action is “a misplaced sense that we haven’t earned the right to have a voice in certain movements, that perhaps we don’t belong in particular fights in our communities or in our companies because we are outsiders to those struggles.”

So what steps can people take to overcome this hesitation and jump in to make a difference in a particular cause?