For its part, Zappos created a customer-service Keep in mind that some people view their purpose line to answer questions and help find solutions as caring and providing for those closest to them— for people dealing with the pandemic. The kicker? and practically everyone else in your organization Callers need not be Zappos customers, and the will be feeling anxiety around these issues right now. topics can be anything—from food delivery and Be sure to tailor your communication to address finding essential supplies to literally anything on their needs, too, so that this time takes less of a toll a caller’s mind. To be sure, with business slower on their personal purpose. and call volumes down, the hotline gives the company’s customer-service reps something to do between their regular calls. Yet it also offers reps Reimagine a purpose-led future the chance to help others and connect with them, As much as the pandemic is testing your leadership which is one way that people can help satisfy the right now, the real test with purpose starts as psychological need for belonging. And research the immediate crisis fades and the hard work around job design suggests that even simple of reimagining and reforming your business for tasks are perceived as more meaningful when our a postpandemic world begins. Embedding and psychological needs are satisfied. activating individual purpose more thoroughly in the various elements of the employee experience will As these examples suggest, purpose and meaning take hard work and commitment. While it’s too soon can be valuable considerations in adjusting day-to- to say what best practice will look like, it’s safe to day routines or even in designing roles. But even if say that the more you can connect purpose to the you’re not ready to go as far as Zappos, there are following areas, the more likely the benefits will build other ways to give people license to be purposeful upon one another: now. When possible, create opportunities, such as the following, for people to live their purpose — Recruiting. Explicitly connect the purpose of during this time by tailoring projects, support, the organization to the personal contributions communication, and coaching to suit different an individual in the role could bring to the needs, values, and situations: company. By backing it up with real, purpose- rich stories from hiring managers who have — F or the up-and-coming leader who views seen this in action, you will increase the odds of her purpose as freedom to learn, grow, and attracting people whose purpose fits well with experiment, empower her to try new things the organization and the work, and help them be in service of customers and stakeholders, productive sooner. keeping projects within guardrails but without multiple layers of oversight. Be sure to frame any — Onboarding. Make purpose part of the first negative outcomes as learning, not failure. conversation with both the manager and the team to build a shared vocabulary. Start people — For a team member who values preserving off right by helping them reflect on how the and upholding tradition, invite him to help plan work and the organization connect with their important organizational or community rituals own purpose. In fact, applied research finds (like team events or company days). Such events that encouraging new employees to focus on create connection and can be critical to build expressing personal values at work allowed and maintain culture. them to significantly outperform peers, be more satisfied at work, and increased retention by — For colleagues whose purpose is aligned with 7 more than 30 percent. equality and opportunity for others, consider connecting them to the forefront of company — Feedback and performance management. initiatives and projects where your organization The value of strengths-based feedback is is helping the communities in which you operate. well known; purpose is a natural extension 7 D aniel M. Cable, Francesca Gino, and Bradley R. Staats, “Breaking them in or eliciting their best? Reframing socialization around newcomers’ authentic self-expression,” Administrative Science Quarterly, Volume 58, Number 1, pp. 1–36, February 8, 2013, journals.sagepub.com. 142 What now? Ten actions to emerge stronger in the next normal September 2020