What Makes A Purpose-Driven Organization?

The idea of purpose in organizations has been around for a while now. But the number of folks who believe they truly work for a purpose-driven organization hasn’t increased all that much. One of the core questions at the heart of Gallup’s employee engagement survey is “Does the mission/purpose of your company make you feel your job is important?”

And yet in the 20 years since Gallup started administering the survey, the percentage of engaged employees has hovered between the mid-20s and the low-30s the entire time. We know that people want a sense of purpose, and they want it for more than just their personal lives. They want it at work as well. But we also have to admit that a lot of organizations stumble in portraying that purpose in a way that helps their people feel their job is truly important.

In this article, we’ll review four misconceptions about purpose-driven organizations that cause a lot of those stumbles. And we’ll share how to know whether or not you’ve got a sense of mission or purpose that will truly drive motivation in your organization.

1. Purpose Is Not Corporate Social Responsibility

The first misconception is that a purpose-driven organization equals corporate social responsibility (CSR). And no one would say this outright. No organizational…