The Power of Purpose in Leadership Development

When CHROs were asked their top priorities for the year, over half (51%) pointed to leadership and manager development, according to SHRM’s CHRO Priorities and Perspectives  report. But in a constantly changing world of work, how can leaders continue their own growth while supporting and engaging their teams? It all comes down to purpose.  

In a recent webinar, SHRM Linkage CEO Tamla Oates-Forney and SHRM CHRO Jim Link, SHRM-SCP, dove into the demand for strong, values-driven leadership and how SHRM Linkage’s Purposeful Leadership Model is equipping leaders to meet challenges head-on while driving business outcomes.  

Here are some of their key takeaways about how leadership is changing and what leaders can do to remain strategic, inclusive, and purpose-driven.  

Purposeful Leadership Can Help Navigate the Evolution of Leadership 

The attributes that got leaders into the position they’re in today are not going to be the same going forward, Oates-Forney and Link noted. Whether an organization’s idea of leadership was one-size-fits-all, a person who embodied the “command and control” style, or was simply a subject matter expert, leaders are going to have to go above and beyond to motivate and inspire others. 

This is especially true given that we’re living in what Oates-Forney referred to as a “VUCA” world: volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. For leaders to successfully navigate a VUCA world, their leadership style must be embedded in a strategic sense of purpose. This is where the Purposeful Leadership Model can be helpful for developing your high-potential leaders.  

The framework uses a 360-degree assessment to measure leaders against five attributes (inspire, engage, innovate, achieve, and become) as well as 16 behaviors of inclusion. Because the assessment contextualizes those attributes and behaviors against an organization’s unique needs and goals, it allows leaders to identify gaps, then create interventions that help leaders move their business needs forward with purpose. 

“What I love about these five commitments is that they are relevant along the continuous journey of being a leader from manager up through the C-suite,” Oates-Forney said. “Those commitments and the behaviors aligned to them evolve as you matriculate up through the leadership ranks globally. It’s grounded in leadership essentials — agnostic of geography — and you can contextualize it for what you need when you need it.” 

Create Future Leaders

For leaders, having expertise in specific areas is important — what Oates-Forney referred to as “deep domain expertise” — but that doesn’t necessarily make a great leader. Additionally, the higher one moves up the leadership ladder, the less time one has to commit to those areas. Delegation becomes essential, but even more important is how leaders can inspire and engage their teams. It’s incumbent upon leaders to create a clear vision to which every team member can envision themselves contributing.

“I learned a long time ago that the absolute most important thing that you can do as a leader is to create other leaders,” Link said. “You leave a legacy of your own leadership behaviors and actions behind you for others to role-model and to exemplify as you move a business forward.”

Inclusion Is the Tie That Binds Purposeful Leadership Attributes Together

Purposeful leadership is anchored by inclusion, both Oates-Forney and Link noted, because it offers each team member the opportunity to contribute in their own unique way. When organizations get the five anchors of the Purposeful Leadership Model right, they end up with a more inclusive workplace. 

“Without [inclusion], it’s just going to be a frail five commitments that have no connectivity,” Oates-Forney said. “The world of work is evolving: We have five, six generations in the workplace. That in and of itself is diversity. But to maximize the power of that diversity, everybody has to be included.

“If you want to win as a company, as a leader, you’ve got to get players on your team, but you have to allow them in the game to play. You don’t want to hire exceptional talent and keep them on the bench.” 

The Importance of Continuous Learning for Leaders

Just as employees across an organization are encouraged to continuously learn, so, too, are leaders because their journey also requires self-reflection and awareness.

“When you say that you want to be a leader, know what it is you’re signing up for and prepare to position yourself to progress through intervention,” Oates-Forney said. “None of us are self-made. It’s about continuous learning and having self-awareness in terms of what you’re good at, what you’re not, and recognizing that you’re always going to be [in a process of] becoming.”

But just because leaders are expected to be at the forefront of these efforts does not mean they’re alone in their endeavors. Link emphasized the importance of SHRM Linkage as a resource for leaders along their paths to purposeful leadership. 

“The experts do not go it alone; we are here to support you and be on this journey with you,” he said. “If it’s a work thing, it’s a SHRM thing, and we want to be there with you along this journey. We all recognize that things are evolving. … None of us have the answer, but collectively, we can all work together to solve that.”