It is a sunny Saturday morning as I write perched on our lunch cooler in a bright green field, alongside a creek and bordering an elk farm. I have joined my husband and a group of volunteers to design and construct the effigy of a man and a wooden temple for a festival next weekend.

Ever since commencing the research for my book, Feet to the Fire, I am more acutely attuned to examples of accountable behaviour, inside and outside of companies. When the skies opened with rain and hail, I watched these people, strangers to each other, unite with a common purpose and passion. I was compelled to grab my laptop.

Many companies encourage and support organized volunteer activities; such as, Habitat for Humanity build days, The Ride to Conquer Cancer, Run for the Cure, or the MS Bike Tour. Some of these same companies suffer from a lack of shared commitment and/or have little innovation within the walls of their offices at their field sites.

What compels people who seemingly lack enthusiasm while at work to voluntarily construct art in a remote field on a spring weekend? Or to cycle for MS as many are doing today?

It is a sense of purpose; a desire to contribute to something larger than themselves. Often it is something they are passionate about.

Those of us in executive roles seek out and often thrive on the challenges, ambiguity and demands of the role. The scope of responsibility provides a sense of purpose. This may not exist for others within the company. Are your employees “working in a call centre ” (selling insurance) or “creating peace of mind for customers taking a trip of their lifetime”? Would your staff say they are “struggling to implement that da—project on time” or “I am part of implementing a new system that is going to transform how we do business”?

Years ago I accepted a role leading a large team that had the dubious distinction of having received the lowest customer satisfaction score of any division in the entire company – ever. There was months of backlog, frequent errors, yelling customers and stressed out staff. As part of our solution, we elevated the purpose of the employees’ work from a day-to-day grind to: “We help Canadians achieve their retirement dreams.” One Friday, we posted this commitment in every work area, signed by all employees and management. The following Monday morning, even though many had worked on the weekend, the backlog was almost the same size it had been on Friday. In spite of this, the energy and level of commitment had changed. Everyone had a new sense of purpose and a more important reason to restore service and performance.

Leaders create a purpose, aligned to a compelling vision. How does the staff in your company describe their purpose?

If you found this beneficial, click here for more ideas.