STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE

Purpose Finder

Purpose

The purpose is the reason why your team exists. Why it was formed. Why it's needed in the organization.

When to use it

This tool is great for both a new team to find their common ground or to re-energize an existing team purpose.

Area

Strategy, innovation, and transformation

Time

1-3 Hours

Participants

1-5 People

Difficulty

Easy

Capabilities Needed

Facilitation

Wordsmith

Templates

Ready to go deeper?

Did you know we offer courses in facilitation (among other things)? See what we have open or contact us to learn more!

Method

STEP 1 Pre-workshop

This is all about getting your team to prepare for the task at hand.

A couple of days before your workshop, send out a survey or simple email asking your team members to reflect on the following questions:
- What is our job as a team?
- Who do we work for?
- What’s our goal? How do we know when we’ve done our job?
- What value are we bringing to the company? why are we important to the company?
Once you have your answers, review your team’s reflections; what are the themes you see? Is there anything that stands out, is missing, or is unclear? If needed, follow up with specific team members to gain clarity.
Then synthesize your answers into first themes and then 2-3 different proposals of purpose statements (see template to the right). Put it on two slides to be used in the workshop.

Note! You might feel that you have done a lot of ” pre-cooking” that most other tools suggest you do in the workshop. In our experience, this is a much better use of people’s time. It might take a bit more of your time pre-workshop, but the workshop becomes much more focused on discussion and agreement rather than creating.

STEP 2 - Workshop

Time to get your team to think and do together! Your key task - ensure all team members around the table have been listened to.

Introduce the task at hand and your decired outcome. If its a new team (or a team who needs a bit of warm up - do a simple check-in.
Introduce the pre work that was done, then let everyone share what they submitted pre-workshop and why.
Present your synthesis and the theme you uncovered. Important - do not jump straight to your conclusion but rather stop at the themes and have the team reflect on them first. Remember, you have to take them on the same journey you have gone through.
Then, once you have collected their feedback on the themes, show the 2-3 different purpose statements you created beforehand and tell them how you came to these: pros and cons, strengths and weaknesses.

Why 2-3 different and not just one? Again, this is all about letting the team come on a journey with you. Even though you might know which one you think is best, you want to ensure people feel they have been part of the creation and not just had something shoved down their throat
After you reveal your 3 options, let the team reflect in silence for 1-2 minutes before going around the table, asking what they like, don’t like, and miss. When everyone has had their chance to reflect (without interruptions), synthesize what you have heard (on the screen or whiteboard) and ask if all agree with the feedback themes.
Jointly decide, either by dot-voting or race of hands, which one of the three is the one you all wish to continue to build on, and if you are not able to adjust it then and there, agree which feedback to take with you, iterate on the final version. If there is any disagreement, ask your decider to make the call.

STEP 3 - Post Workshop

Time to focus on words.

Words are more important than you think they shape worlds.

Dedicate some time after the workshop to look at the feedback you received and what the team said (and did not say). Rewrite and adjust the purpose statement. Follow up with key members if needed to gain their trust (focus on those with influence and those with good word-smithing).
Time to present your final proposal. This can be done in a follow-up meeting or in one of your regular team sessions. But remember to tell the story of how you came to the proposal you did, let them be part of the journey all the way.

Remember! A team’s purpose is only good if it is lived. Your next step is to make sure you not only prioritize according to your purpose but also work according to it - that’s when purpose on paper, becomes your culture and way of being!

Good luck!