The Power of Purpose

The power of purpose

For many who pursue a life in What should be changed to better serve government service, purpose matters — our employees and our constituents? Uniting around you are here to serve. Whether you are What are our priorities; does everyone your purpose a part of a newly elected administration understand? And, perhaps the most or not, government leaders engage and challenging question of all: How do 1 are responsible for a large public sector we earn and maintain an inspired and workforce who must collectively deliver. energized workforce? The demands of a new generation of As a member of any administration, To answer these questions, we believe employees searching for meaning in you will be faced with critical questions, an opportunity exists to leverage the their work and declining levels of trust such as: What will be different today? power of purpose. Purpose determines in government are reshaping the way who you are as an organization and that state and local governments must inspires your workforce to align their think about galvanizing their workforce. Recent research shows efforts with a shared, easy-to-understand Management research is increasingly intention. It explains why you do what focusing on purpose as a key driver of Organizations that embody purpose you do and strengthens every single improved engagement, collaboration enjoy a workforce that is activity and initiative that occurs within and outcomes. a department or agency, or any other “The sense of being part of something government entity. Based on compelling greater than yourself can lead to high 1.4x data, a strong shared sense of purpose, levels of engagement, high levels of more engaged clearly articulated, unites employees and creativity, and the willingness to partner agencies, builds a workforce equipped across functional and service boundaries to deliver upon the vision, and enables within an organization, which are hugely transformational results. 1.7x powerful,” said Rebecca Henderson, the times more satisfied John and Natty McArthur University Professor at Harvard Business School.1

1 “Why business must harness the power of purpose,” EY Global, 2018. incentivized. Purposeful leaders not only diverse manner as measured by gender We push decision-making to talk about purpose and embody it in their and culture and are reaping the benefits. actions — they actively engage employees “the local level so that we can be However, there remains an opportunity and empower them to take action. nimble. If we didn’t all have a to unleash a new level of performance, common purpose, if we didn’t by incorporating a “shadow board” of millennials, boomers, and Gen Xers, as know what we were striving for, well as members who contribute to the we couldn’t do that. With this board’s cognitive diversity. (“Cognitive model, we put innovation in place diversity” is diversity in the way quicker and it sets up a better way individuals process information.) The for us to innovate even more. shadow board advises and offers input that can serve as a model to further April Blackburn, State of Florida, Defining actions develop inclusive leadership at the highest Department of Transportation Chief of echelons of government. Transportation Technology • Engage at a human level by defining your purpose Organizations finding a balance between The results speak for themselves. • Create a communication and change “new blood” and tenured associates Organizations that embody purpose plan for your organization to embrace who already know the business of enjoy a workforce that is 1.4 times more that purpose state and local governments and engaged and 1.7 times more satisfied.2 citizen expectations will be rewarded. • Allow your purpose to guide your As brainstorming and better ways to Tremendous opportunities await those strategic actions drive efficiency and effectiveness are state and city leaders who create a united discussed, leaders should ask themselves platform around a purpose. By highlighting and their teams, “Is this a preference, the common ground that people and tradition, or requirement?” organizations share, purpose helps to Building a build bridges across business functions workforce to carry Examining decisions and criteria through as well as between organizations. This out the purpose this exercise can disrupt our natural provides powerful fuel for collaboration, 2 tendencies, bringing to the surface which is necessary for success in the 21st unintended biases that may be underlying century. Leaders mistakenly often believe certain processes. Outcomes realized they are doing a good job of articulating a The leadership team will need to continue are faster innovation and more state-of- compelling purpose and using it to guide building for the future you’ve imagined. the-art capabilities around your shared their decisions. An assessment of what new roles, new purpose. skills, diversity in thinking, and change in Centering on purpose is also an effective When we asked one executive, for expectations there will be is essential to recruiting tool in today’s market, example, if his employees thought that his carry out your purpose. Recent research with a public-sector career promising organization was living its purpose as well clearly shows that teams make better an opportunity to make a difference as executives said it was, he told us, “I bet decisions than individuals 66% of the time.3 employees would rate it pretty much the and to work on impactful projects. way I do. I think we see eye to eye on that.” When adding diversity to the equation LinkedIn research shows that purpose (including age, gender and geography), is important to millennials, Gen Xers He or she might want to reconsider that teams make better decisions 87% of the and baby boomers, and that purpose- bet. Our research and observations time.4 To their credit, many state and local driven candidates are highly productive suggest a pervasive overconfidence governments are currently operating in a performers who stay in an organization bias that leaves leaders viewing their organizations’ commitment to purpose far more optimistically than their employees. Recent research shows As with any new strategy, all levels of Teams make better decisions When adding diversity to the equation, an organization must be involved and than individuals teams make better decisions

2 “State of the American Workplace,” Gallup, Inc., 2017. 3 “Diversity + Inclusion = Better Decision Making at 66% 87% Work,” Cloverpop blog post, 19 September 2017. of the time of the time 4 Ibid.

2 | The power of purpose longer. That’s good news for the the increase of powerful, real-time data be incorporated into the performance government and social services sector analysis will create new opportunities metrics of individual employees, from job because 45% of employees consider for state and local governments to know descriptions to key performance indicators themselves to be purpose-driven.5 With and serve their citizens better. As data to compensation. EY Beacon Institute’s 58% of millennials leaving their job within and digital technology affect every research found that more than 90% of three years, purpose is an imperative in piece of your operations, there will be leading-class purposeful organizations engaging and retaining your workforce. tremendous opportunity and built-in regularly evaluate whether they’re making pressure to innovate. progress toward their purpose.8 Executives who treat purpose as a core These metrics aren’t just measured driver of strategy and decision-making quantitatively. Sometimes, the most reported a greater ability to drive effective way to tell whether an successful innovation and transformational organization is living its purpose is change. “Most change initiatives seek to employee feedback. Other firms might create a sense of crisis or urgency,” said find surveys of employee well-being or Valerie Keller, EY Beacon Institute Global customer satisfaction or quality scores to Defining actions Leader. “But there is a need to balance be more effective metrics. the burning platform with a burning A well-conceived purpose captivates • Assess new roles and new skills ambition: creating a compelling ‘run to’ and motivates employees, to powerful required to live your organizational vision that is magnetic and can help break effect. Because your employees, in their purpose through fears and inertia.” A clear sense interactions with internal and external of purpose can be used as a force to guide • Build diverse and inclusive teams stakeholders, drive the organization’s the organization through change and who examine decisions through a strategic agenda, they are the ones who transformation as pressures demand new new lens — is the recommendation a bring your purpose to life. preference, tradition, or requirement? ways of operating. Eighty-four percent of executives believe • Consider purpose as a strong an organization that has a shared purpose recruiting tool will be more successful in transformation efforts.6 Confirming that performance metrics and incentives are aligned with Achieving purpose is also critical, as it makes the innovative, tie between purpose and performance transformational explicit for each employee. results with purpose The research behind “How can purpose Defining actions 3 reveal a path through disruption?” • Effectively navigating change requires found that 39% of employees think acknowledgement of all that has their performance isn’t linked to their changed so you can spot gaps and Being the change you want to see in 7 organization’s purpose. That means that opportunities your state or city means acknowledging one in three employees are walking the all that has changed. Consider this: it halls questioning whether the time they • Create a compelling “run to” vision took more than 10 years for mobile spend at work means anything. • Measure what you treasure by aligning broadband to reach 2 billion people. performance metrics and incentives In the next three years, that number We believe you should measure what you with your (transformation) purpose is projected to nearly quadruple, treasure. If purpose really matters, it will to 7.7 billion. This instantaneous interconnectedness among citizens and

5 “Purpose at Work, 2016 Global Report,” LinkedIn and © Imperative, 2016. We like to measure optimism. Do they feel connected to our 6 “The Business Case for Purpose,” Harvard Business “ Review Analytic Services (sponsored by EY Beacon purpose? That’s the mark of whether we are going to be a Institute), 2017. department that innovates and moves forward with the future. 7 “How can purpose reveal a path through disruption?,” the EY Beacon Institute, 2017. Judy Fitzgerald, State of Georgia, Department of Behavioral Health 8 Ibid. and Developmental Disabilities Commissioner

The power of purpose | 3 A path forward Contact This thought leadership piece underscores the benefits organizations see when Brad Duncan they make purpose a priority. Organizations execute better when everyone is US State, Local & Education leader rowing in the same direction. Famed former NBA coach Phil Jackson was known [email protected] to say, “The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each +1 404 817 5371 member is the team.” Without a shared purpose, organizations tend to run in circles, never making Mike Herrinton forward progress but always rehashing the same discussions. The EY purpose-led Americas Government and framework provides government and public companies an engagement model that Public Sector Leader inspires and harnesses the power of purpose to drive performance that will provide [email protected] your state, city or agency a leading edge. For more information, you can contact +1 703 747 0935 Brad Duncan who is responsible for advising state and local governments on the topic of purpose. Roberta Mourao GPS Agency Transformation Leader [email protected] +1 703 747 0865

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