By shifting focus from a collective purpose to an individual impact, a company achieved significant boosts in morale and engagement. Encouraging employees to determine who specifically benefits from their work led to a profound response. This approach of personalizing purpose, finding the 'who' instead of the 'why', can greatly motivate teams. Leaders are urged to become Chief Storytelling Officers, sharing stories about how their work positively impacts others. Even non-leaders can motivate themselves and others by collecting instances where their work serves someone. Ultimately, people strive to do meaningful work and appreciate leaders who recognize their value, making it crucial to help individuals find purpose in their work by understanding the 'who' they serve.
Using paychecks, perks and carefully worded mission statements plastered on posters, companies are on a never-ending quest to find what drives morale at work. An underappreciated solution lies in the answer to one simple question, says management researcher David Burkus. With notable examples backed by decades of success, he presents a clear path to inspiring your team — and finding your purpose at work. After the talk, Modupe reveals how she motivates herself.