A higher purpose has a big influence on the work motivation of professionals. Prof. Dr. Bas Kodden is Professor of Leadership and Management Development at Nyenrode Business University and has been researching what makes people perform sustainably for years. Nyenrode We asked him everything about work engagement, purpose and meaning.
Bas, what exactly is a higher purpose?
"A higher purpose, your purpose, is a task that is never finished. It is your 'why'. Why are you in this world? A purpose is important for a company too, because people can identify with it. It gives meaning, and that keeps people motivated."
"A higher purpose makes sure you stay motivated to keep going, even when you have already achieved fantastic results. My own purpose is 'turning talents into HEROES'. Everyone is a talent, but if you don't use your talents or aren't allowed to use them, that talent doesn't come into its own. There are too many people in the world to let everyone discover their talents. So I am never finished, and that keeps me motivated to keep striving for the 'impossible'."
Research by Shawn Achor and colleagues among 2,285 American professionals also shows that meaning matters. More than nine in ten were willing to give up part of their income in exchange for more meaningful work. Harvard Business Review
Do you have a nice example from practice?
"Coolblue has a wonderful purpose: 'Anything for a smile'. It also stands for one of the company's most important values. At Coolblue, everything revolves around engaged employees and loyal customers, or even better: around creating ambassadors. The purpose fits what the company stands for, and you see that in the way people talk about Coolblue: as a fun, spontaneous and inspiring company to work for and to shop with." Coolblue You can read more about the company in engaged entrepreneurs: Pieter Zwart of Coolblue.
"We are not so much on a mission with our company. We are all on a journey together."
How do you find that higher purpose?
"Ask yourself at what moment in your life you felt truly happy. Moments that have nothing to do with prizes or business success. Those are important to bring back. Once you have found them, you are in fact creating your own myth: your own journey that you believe in. Which habits, rituals and roles belong to me, and how can I use them to serve someone else as well as possible? That is how a higher purpose emerges that helps not only the other person, but also yourself and your organisation."
Why do you take other people along on that journey?
"Professionally speaking, it should always be about the other person. If you don't do that, you isolate yourself and eventually lose your role. Only if you are of use to someone else can you contribute and become successful. For that you need a story that someone else can identify with. That story is you: it stands for who you are and what you want to achieve for others. Radiate usefulness, focus and happiness. Then people will want to travel with you."
"Be of use, be in shape, be happy."
What does a higher purpose deliver?
"A purpose keeps you moving, precisely because it is never finished." Kodden links this to the Zeigarnik effect: tasks that are not yet finished keep going round in your head until you complete them. Kodden So a goal that is never quite achieved keeps motivating you. "As a person, you always want to strive for higher work motivation, in other words work engagement. That extra motivation delivers a lot for organisations, both in knowledge and in results."
"The only guarantee of sustainable performance is your work motivation. The Netherlands sometimes seems satisfied with a meagre pass mark. Every professional should move away from that. Nobody's place is secure any more; the only certainty is yourself. So make sure you take yourself to a higher purpose. Find your 'why', as Simon Sinek described so beautifully." TED "Only then will your work motivation and your results really increase. Winning is only valuable if we can repeat it."
Also read purpose gives your work value and purpose: what is it, really?.
