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Writer's pictureNORA MACK

NM:MN What if? #purpose would drive our organizations & our lives?


Let's find answers to this question by following the first two out of five dimensions or so-called disciplines Franziska Fink & Michael Möller defined for Purpose Driven Organizations:

 

black & white photograph of 2 hands on steering wheel
Organizations / Lives DRIVEN by #purpose

1st discipline: dominant purpose

First of all, a purpose has to be formulated. In order to do that, the following format might be useful:

Contribution … What contribution or added value does the organization provide?

Stakeholders … Which group or individual does it do this for?

Impact ...What effect should this achieve?

[ Our contribution ] to [ these stakeholders ] to achieve [ that impact ].

✨ A similar structure can also be applied to come up with one's individual LIFE PURPOSE.

 

You may consider several tips with regard to the wording of the purpose statement:

Use a simple, clear and action-oriented formulation - verbs instead of nouns – a positive, affirmative formulation (no negations). Choose words which are appropriate for your organization's members or for you personally (#lifepurpose).

 

2nd discipline: codified self-organization

Secondly, there are a whole series of proven practices when it comes to (codified) self-organization:

  • Enabling autonomy & distributing authority >> authority lies where the need to decide arises - instead of prescribing a decision or the approval of a decision by superiors. #empowerment

  • High-frequency organizing & learning >> in an environment of increasing digitalization, globalization and at the same time individualization, rapid learning from experience and early improvement (adaptability) becomes a central factor for success. #agility

  • Self-organization process according to fixed rules >> members and teams are largely authorized to structure themselves and their work - the way in which they come to these structures is regulated and therefore restricted. #codifiedself-organization.

  • Teams and circles as a nucleus >> teams or groups are viewed as the basic building blocks of the organization. #sociocracy #holacracy

  • Coordination without hierarchies >> functions of hierarchy are reduced and measures are taken to avoid that hierarchy takes on a life of its own over time. The actual core function of hierarchy in organizations has always been the coordination of differentiated tasks and roles. In Purpose Driven Organizations, this power lies in the codified self-organization process.

  • Creating spaces for contact & relationships >> self-organization models thrive on separating persons and roles. Every member of the organization consciously differentiates: What role or function am I currently in? What is the purpose of the role? What actions can be expected from her? What do I need from other roles in this role?

 


Having covered discipline 1 & 2 of the 5 disciplines of Purpose Driven Organizations it has become clear(er) how a purpose driven organization achieves its purpose and how it is then used and maintained in the organization:

🚀 Define purpose

🚀 Find and give meaning

🚀 Address purpose and make it manageable

🚀 Create space for purpose

 

In reality, there are 4 spaces which are created for #purpose:

  1. Organizational Space,

  2. Role Space,

  3. Personal Space and

  4. Tribe Space or Community Space.

The fact that spaces are specifically created for informal communication, points to the increased importance of people in purpose-driven organizations.

And that brings us to the third discipline, which will be covered in one of my future posts (together with discipline 4 & 5)…

 

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