In our work, we lean heavily into The Leadership Circle Profile (LCP) to help people find their unique path to becoming the type of leader who brings out the best in their teams. Our belief in the LCP stems from its human-centeredness, of course, and also its tested and true effectiveness.
Years ago, The Leadership Circle undertook a study to measure how the LCP correlates to business performance and leadership effectiveness.
The research revealed some strong connections between the LCP’s dimensions and business impact, suggesting that “creative” behavior dominates in organizations that perform well, and “reactive” behavior dominates in organizations that perform poorly.
When you dive deeper into the findings and the specific dimensions that correlate most strongly to leadership effectiveness, what you see is perhaps not-so-earth-shattering … but it is thought-provoking and reflection-inducing for a lot of leaders.
The research found a strong correlation between effectiveness and a leader’s capacity to express purpose and vision. In fact, the Purposeful & Visionary dimension emerged as the highest correlation (at 0.91) to leadership effectiveness among all the other competencies.
Although The Leadership Circle’s research is more than a decade old, it still resonates today. You could pull up any issue of any current business publication and find dozens of articles citing purpose and vision as crucial to building a winning team, culture, and environment in today’s context.
Why? Because our most important job as leaders is to foster an environment in which people can meaningfully contribute.
What ‘Meaningful Contribution’ Really Means
In a recent blog, we wrote about the fallacy that productivity matters above all else. It feels like the pressure to deliver results has intensified, and in some organizations, that’s led to a dangerous shift in leadership. We get it: results matter. But how we achieve those results matters just as much.
Meaningful contributions go far beyond the metrics your team is measured by come annual review time. They might look like:
- Creating a safe space where team members can offer a fresh perspective that sparks a new approach or a breakthrough idea.
- Seeing people taking initiative to solve a problem without being asked—because it aligns with the values and purpose you’ve articulated.
- Hearing people ask the tough questions that challenge the status quo and lead to better outcomes for the team.
- Knowing you can advocate for customers, clients, or each other in ways that strengthen trust and connection to your organization’s mission.
Why Purpose, Vision, and Leadership Matter
The first step toward creating an environment in which people can meaningfully contribute is to articulate your purpose and vision. When you fail to do so, it comes at the expense of so many things that positively impact both organizational performance and individual effectiveness:
True collaboration and teamwork
Without a clearly defined purpose, you may overlook opportunities for people to come together and think bigger. You may inadvertently stay in your ‘swim lane’, where each team or individual focuses narrowly on their ‘assigned task’ rather than working side-by-side to solve tough challenges.
Identifying what you stand for and why you do what you do allows you to reach further and make a broader impact.
Innovation and creativity
When you haven’t set out a vision, you may rob yourself and your team of opportunities to probe, learn, and grow. Without the feeling of working toward something bigger and better, you may stifle innovation, bypass chances to explore new ways of doing things, or miss out on major breakthroughs.
Setting your sights on the long-term allows you to open yourself and your team to new ideas, perspectives, and experiences that could strengthen your chances of reaching big, important goals.
Forward progress and evolution
If you lose sight of your purpose, you face a lot of the same risks as reverting to “default mode” (something we discussed in this blog post). In default mode, you habitually fall into the same patterns, behaviors, or ways of thinking. In other words, you stay “stuck,” relying on an approach you’ve used in the past, which may be all wrong for what you’re facing in the present.
Recalling what called you to your work fortifies you to endure change and complexity and stay focused on making a meaningful impact.
Meaning and fulfillment
Without a compelling vision, work can feel a lot like “going through the motions.” You may repeat the same cycles, giving little thought to what you’re doing and—even more importantly—why. That contributes to an environment devoid of passion or enthusiasm. It probably makes it harder to motivate yourself—and your team—to get out of bed and come to work every day.
Articulating (and continually rearticulating) your vision keeps you focused on the “why,” creating a gravitational pull or calling that helps people find greater meaning in and engagement with their work.
When you understand the importance of purpose and vision and accept your responsibility to create it as a leader, your role begins to shift. You’re no longer bogged down by defining tasks, managing activity, and evaluating performance. Instead, you’re energized to set context, create alignment, and inspire something bigger and more meaningful.
If you’re interested in exploring your ability to create vision and purpose, consider engaging in the Leadership Circle Profile. The LCP will help you identify your strengths, traits that may be limiting you, and opportunities for growth—and Transitions Coaching can help you use the results to map a plan to become the leader you want to be.
