PERSONAL SPECIAL .......The Purpose of Work

The Purpose of Work

Have you ever asked yourself if work ought to be fun?

Should there be joy in our jobs? Can work ever fulfill our lofty expectations? Will a sense of purpose ever come to fruition in our roles while working?

Maybe we ought to take a lesson from Englishman Sam Pointon.

As a six-year-old boy in 2009, Sam wrote to the National Railway Museum in York indicating he would like to replace the outgoing Director who was about to retire. Somehow, Sam got it in his mind that he was qualified to perform such work at the museum. After all, as Sam says in his application for the role, “I have an electric train track. I am good on my train track. I can control two trains at once.”

You might be thinking those that run the museum turned down Sam. You would be wrong. Instead of becoming the Director at the museum outright, Sam was offered a new role entitled Director of Fun. What is telling about the story is that Sam had the gumption to apply for the role in the first place. It made me stop and think about the three categories of purpose—personal, organizational and role—that make up the “sweet spot” in my new book, The Purpose Effect: Building Meaning in Yourself, Your Role and Your Organization.

The Purpose Effect is a three-way relationship between an individual’s personal sense of purpose in life, the organization’s purpose and a person’s purpose in their role at work. When all three aspects of purpose are properly defined, are well aligned, and function in partnership with one another, then the employee, the organization and society mutually benefit.

When they are not in alignment, it can lead to significant damage in society and in the organization. The Purpose Effect is the pattern I have exposed.

Ultimately, The Purpose Effect results in a higher calling, where individuals and organizations seek to improve society to benefit all stakeholders. When all three categories of purpose are aligned, I describe The Purpose Effect as having reached the “sweet spot” denoted by the following diagram:

Each category that makes up The Purpose Effect is defined as follows:

·         Personal Purpose: What motivates someone in life; their why. An individual’s values, experience and beliefs inform personal decisions and actions.

·         Organizational Purpose: Why the organization exists. An organization’s principles, ethics and culture inform its ways of operating.

·         Role Purpose: Why a role exists in the organization. To achieve its goals and objectives, an organization establishes a variety of roles to support its mission.

The majority of us have to work in order to live. We have bills to pay. We have to save for holidays. We either work independently (as a self-proprietor, contractor or part-time employee) or we work for an organization. Sadly, far too many organizations are devoid of a truly engaging and meaningful purpose. This results in so many individuals occupying a “job mindset” at work, where they are simply at work for a paycheck.

An organization has a responsibility to redefine its overarching purpose. It will help both employees, and society as a whole. An organization’s (be it a for-profit or a non-profit) purpose is tied to how its principles, ethics and culture inform its ways of operating. If an organization demonstrates what I refer to as the “Good DEEDS” framework, it will be known as a purpose-driven organization by its employees, stakeholders and customers. The Good DEEDS is defined as follows:

·         Delight your customers.

·         Engage your team members.

·         Ethical within society.

·         Deliver fair practices.

·         Serve all stakeholders.

If the purpose of the organization and its team members is aligned—and the organization is operating in an open, collaborative and harmonious culture—it delivers societal, employee and organizational benefits.

You can see a “sweet spot” organization a mile away. Either it has reinstituted its organizational purpose or people are constantly talking about it. The National Railway Museum is a perfect example.

Sam’s story may sound far-fetched, even ludicrous—after-all, not many of us will become Director of Fun and it’s not as though Sam was actually getting paid—but it serves as a reminder about the purpose of work. Sam was unafraid to write the letter indicating his worthiness of the Director of Museum position. So too, the Museum itself did not throw Sam’s letter into the trash. It demonstrated a higher organizational purpose. And Sam was demonstrating both personal purpose … and eventually, role purpose when he ultimately joined the Museum.

In fact, Sam said as much when asked by the BBC about his role, he replied: “It is the best job in the world. I love it. It is good fun.”

Sam’s story and that of the National Railway Museum in England is an example of The Purpose Effect in action. The organization delivered the ‘sweet spot’ to all of its stakeholders.

So yes, work ought to be fun. But like with our lives, it ought to be filled with a purpose as well.

·         Posted by: Dan Pontefract