Purpose in leadership means that people in your organisation understand what their work counts for and get to help shape it. In turbulent times it becomes the reason people keep following, when plans change faster than anyone can explain them.
Purpose in leadership describes a way of leading that answers the question of purpose before the question of next steps. Direction comes from the leader. The meaning gets worked out together with the people who do the work.
I wrote about this in my LinkedIn newsletter in March 2022, under the title «Leadership. Power. Purpose?». There were turbulent times behind us, and it looked as if they'd stay with us for a while. Reading the news, the world seemed to be going haywire: One crisis after another.
Our working reality keeps changing. The months before had left their mark on society and on working life. What remained was the task of using this new normal in a positive way and building it into everyday work.
In that kind of environment, plans have a short shelf life. What lasts longer is the answer to why the work matters. In my experience, people in uncertainty look for exactly that answer, and they look to their leaders first.
Motivation research backs this up. Edward Deci and Richard Ryan describe three basic psychological needs in their self-determination theory: Autonomy, competence and relatedness (overview: Self-determination theory). Where the environment meets these needs, motivation tends to come from within.
The newsletter title put power at the start and purpose at the end, with a question mark. That order reflects where many leaders begin. Power, control and decision rights are real parts of the job.
Power stays part of the role. With purpose, you need it less often, because people move on their own initiative. A leader who rarely has to insist on position has usually used it well.
How people see you is decided by those around you. More on that in Leadership lives in the minds of those you lead.
Explain the why first. Before you announce what changes, say why. «We're rebuilding the process because customers wait two weeks for an answer» carries more weight than any strategy slide.
Involve people in decisions they'll live with. Clarify upfront which decisions sit with the team and where you want to be informed. Delegating and then checking every step quietly takes the responsibility back.
Show attention to contributions. Appreciation becomes visible in the details, including small contributions that rarely make it into a board presentation.
Match words and actions. People believe what you do. A purpose statement that contradicts your next budget decision does more damage than having none.
For leaders who want to stay effective as things keep shifting, I've written about the future-ready leader.
Purpose in leadership asks more of you than leading through power. You have to explain decisions, tolerate disagreement and actually hand over responsibility. That takes time, and in my experience it pays off several times over. I regularly meet leaders who consider explaining a waste of time, until they see how long it takes to correct decisions their teams never understood.
My position: In uncertain times, people look for a why before they follow a what. Leaders who give that answer need their power less often.
Two objections to the extreme. Purpose can be misused: If you use purpose rhetoric to justify extra hours, you burn trust fast. And some situations simply need a clear instruction, for example in an acute crisis with no time for involvement.
It gives people a clear answer to what their work counts for and involves them in shaping it. Direction comes from the leader, meaning from the shared work.
Yes. Hierarchy settles who decides in the end. How you reach that decision and how you explain it is still up to you, even in a classic line organisation.
With the next decision that affects your team. Explain the why before the what, and ask who wants to help shape the implementation. Then watch what changes in engagement.
It can be abused that way, and teams notice quickly. Real purpose shows in decisions that cost the leader something, such as dropping a project that no longer serves the goal.
Further reading on hofmann.coach: Leader as coach: How trust and standing grow in your team · Crisis leadership: How leadership teams lead out of a crisis · Change management: How to make change a success
Note: This article was first published on 24 March 2022 as my LinkedIn newsletter (title: «Leadership. Power. Purpose?»). It was revised and expanded in October 2026.
Cristian Hofmann is an executive coach in Zurich and Schaffhausen (MAS Coaching & Supervision BSO, Forbes contributor). Over more than 20 years he has coached more than 1,500 leaders: CEOs, executive boards and leadership teams in Switzerland, with measurably agreed goals and, on request, pay-for-results. More about Cristian Hofmann.
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