I have been coaching CXOs as well as consulting as an HR Business Partner owner driven companies for quite sometime now. Surprisingly, I find the ‘purpose’ missing in many such organizations.
A lot of thought goes into crafting an organisational purpose. I have observed that many organizations are merely scratching the surface; they’re missing the full power of the kind of purpose that can transform. After all, purpose is the organisation’s reason for being, it’s a singular construct that communicates a Collective Vision.
However, the reality is far more different. Who has final say on business deals? Who has final say on new hires? Who approves marketing materials and promotional items? Who sets the pricing? Who innovates? Who handles employee reviews?
In an owner-driven company the answer is: The Owner. But this is where organizations can lose their way. Having a team that is a mixture of different backgrounds, cultures and ways of thinking keeps the workplace fresh and encourages innovation while sticking to old practices can lead to stagnation. Invite and include them to answer these questions:
- Can we personalize how a person’s role is structured to align to the individual’s purpose?
- Are our recruitment practices targeted to attract talent whose intrinsic motivations we can support?
- Can we co-operate to build a culture of a world- class employee experience?
Yes…! purpose isn’t a one-way conversation; how an individual receives and acts on the organisational purpose will not only depend on whether they can personally connect to it, but also how the organisation enables that individual to pursue their own purpose.
What happens if the owner is forced to be away from the company for an extended period of time? Can it survive if the team is not empowered enough?
By enabling individuals to pursue their own purpose alongside the organisation’s purpose, companies attract people who are far more engaged. A recent study states that 79% of people said they are more loyal to purpose-driven companies than non-purposeful equivalents.
An HR Business Partner can certainly provide the much-needed alignment, clarity, guidance, and energy. That energy acts as fuel to a transformation by developing an emotional connection that inspires greater commitment.
The CEO hires a friend or relative for a high-powered role at a company where workers are expected to be at their desks and working by 9 o’clock every morning. This individual shows up first at 9:15, then 9:30 and then finally starts rolling in around 10:30. Everyone else is still held to the 9 o’clock standard by watching the video cameras. When nepotism results in manipulation, it can mean the end of a business due to making of policies that don’t take the rest of the employees’ well-being into account or allowing a toxic organizational culture to develop. Of course, if the owner enjoys creating and promoting a political environment, I have nothing to say.
However, if your goal is to create a larger company that you intend to sell or take public one day or if you want to franchise or have dozens or hundreds of locations, then making it systems-driven is critical. Build your systems as you build your company:
- Document what you do and communicate how you do it.
- Standardize ordering, billing and reporting.
- Design hiring procedures that produce the best results.
- If your HR policy clearly states that signing an NDA is non negotiable strictly adhere to it too.
- Build a management training program to promote your best and brightest so they will continue to reinforce the culture as well as create new leaders.
My final say here is with the popular sport: Football. It is a simple game based on the giving and taking of passes and of making yourself available to receive a pass.
So, please don’t try to do everything on your own. Leave it to the specialists by encouraging them to lead.
About the Author :
Mr. Amiit Dabke is an HRBP | Certified Emotional Intelligence CXO Coach | Depression Healing Counsellor | NLP Practitioner | MSME Business Guide | Trainer | Story-Teller | Panel Speaker who has also driven Global Sales, Marketing, Quality & Customer Centric Strategies across Industry verticals such as IT& ITES, BFSI, Retail, Healthcare and Manufacturing.
He Can be contacted at
e-mail : [email protected]
Mobile : +91-981-983-4862
Website : www.amiitdabke.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amiit-dabke-7617233/
Twitter : AmiitTrg
