Project Purpose: The Importance Of Knowing Where We Are Going

Purpose has fluffy connotations these days.

But without purpose - we lack focus and without focus we fall down on performance. 

Focus follows purpose. Performance follows focus. 

When we talk about purpose, we don’t have to be talking about saving the planet (although that would be cool) you can find purpose in anything you do.

For the purpose of this post, we’re talking about project purpose. You can use purpose to drive organisational change by aligning everyones thinking around a common project end goal.

Why should you be aligning your project team under one purpose?

The purpose of a project explains the reason for its existence to all of the project stakeholders from board members to the team delivering the project. 

As project members follow the global trend of employees looking for a higher purpose in their work, a purpose gives a sense of meaning to the work each person is responsible for, building a sense of ownership at every level of your organisation.

Under one common goal, your team is motivated to deliver on the purpose of the project. 

Everyone is moving in the same direction and consistent in their approach to reaching the desired end state. You know there will be bumps in the road, obstacles to overcome and challenges to face but a purpose achieves higher levels of motivation during those hard times and gives us a way to regularly check our progress is consistent with the project's initial ambitions and not veering off in the wrong direction, helping to ensure projects are delivered on time and on budget.

Teams will be united around a common goal, with clear measurables and accountabilities all aligning with the overall project mission and purpose.

Purpose creates alignment of thinking

Members of your project team will approach their roles with different motivations and habits and whilst creative thinking and individual skill sets are all needed, alignment under one common purpose allows for the utilisation of those unique skills for the good of the project and team.

Each person will have their responsibilities but those responsibilities all fit within the overall project roadmap. When your team understands how their role fits into the bigger picture, a new sense of pride and focus is unlocked, one driven by ownership in their role in delivering on the project's mission.

How can you embrace purpose?

Project purpose isn’t just a guide to our end result, it’s a strategic decision making tool, used to ask if the actions you’re taking align with your purpose.

So how can you integrate purpose in your projects?

Ask yourself one simple question: Why does the project exist? Turn the answer into a clear, concise benefit driven statement. Focus on the desired end result, who it benefits and why it’s important.

At the outset of any project, connect purpose to goals. Turning KPIs and goals into more strategic vision and mission statements for your project makes the project more inspiring and relatable to every team and level within your organisation. 

With a clear purpose in mind - any project management decisions will become much easier to make. A clear focus leads to increased productivity.  Performance and quality are common goals in project management. I can’t reiterate this enough… Focus follows purpose. 

Performance follows focus. Keeping projects on track, on time and on budget.

Conclusion 

Purpose can seem like an alien concept to project managers and board members alike - seeming like another fluffy management or marketing term created to add more work to an already overwhelming array of planning tasks.

But when you use it in the correct way. Purpose is a powerful project management tool. One that can help you unlock deeper focus and heightened performance.

It’s time to ask yourself... What’s the point of this project? What’s the real reason we’re doing this? What’s going to get our team aligned to push forwards even when the going gets tough?

Remember: Performance follows Focus. Focus follows Purpose. Purpose isn’t a fluffy nice to have or a once a year blue sky day out; it’s the crux of your performance, ignore it at your peril.