Business Analyst - July 5

Tuesday, July 5, 2022
ENTERPRENUERSHIP
Dear enterprise leader,
make purpose your guide
WE are in the month of
March. This month
means a lot to
Ghana. In a couple of
days, Ghana will be
celebrating its Independence
Anniversary. I believe it means a lot to
you too as a leader and a citizen of this
land. As leaders, we play a great role in
the realization of Independence for our
people. I will encourage you to make this
month a month of Purpose.
Last Saturday, I held a session with a
group of CEOs on the CEO Accelerator
Program to discuss Leadership Purpose.
Without purpose and purposeful
leadership, we spend our days in a
quagmire being battered by the events of
the day and on some occasions, we
comfort ourselves with the shallow
victories we achieve. Several research
studies points to the positive impact of
purposeful leadership on financial
performance of organisations. Research
by development dimensions
International Inc. indicates that
“purposeful organisations outperform
their market by 42%”
On the call, we discussed Leadership
Purpose as a:
Compass – providing direction on the
journey;
Lighthouse – a beacon of hope and a
resource, helps individuals to find their
way when they get lost;
Anchor – what keeps you grounded in
spite of circumstances and situations,
and your reason for being; and
Star – the aspiration and future that
the leader sees and people yearn for.
As you go through the month of
March, I will encourage you to give
yourself the meaningful gift of Mission
Clarity. This is one of the tenets of the
CEO Accelerator Program. I believe every
enterprise leader must achieve Mission
Clarity in every moment.
You must make your purpose plain
and share it with your stakeholders. That
is the beginning of being purposeful as a
leader. Sharing your inspired purpose will
enable you to rally support to achieve the
big aspirations you have set for your
organisation. This is because there are
stakeholders who are waiting to be
stirred on by a purpose they also share
but need a leader to articulate it for them.
That’s what Nkrumah, Maya Angelou,
Martin Luther King, Yaa Asantewa,
Mandela, Rosa Parks, etc. did for us.
“For this end Africa needs a new type
of citizen, a dedicated, modest, honest
and informed man. A man who
“I will strive to
exceed our
expectations by
building a team
that will be
attractive to
the market and
also
empowered to
step out their
comfort zones,
challenging the
status quo.”
submerges self in service to the nation
and mankind. A new type of man whose
humility is his strength and whose
integrity is his greatness” ― Kwame
Nkrumah,
This month, do not continue on your
daily grind without a clearly articulated
leadership purpose. Attempt to answer
the question of leadership purpose
properly before Independence day. Every
leader has a purpose that needs to be
identified and acted upon. When I speak
of leadership purpose, I am not referring
to the exercise of “finding one’s life
purpose”. This exercise tends to cripple
many because one is encouraged to find
that one path or thing that makes all life
complete. Also, leadership purpose is not
being in a position to advance your career
or to achieve a financial target.
I believe leadership purpose is what
you are inspired to achieve and the value
you bring to your stakeholders given your
context. And this may change as your
context changes. You can use the
following reflection prompts as a guide.
You define your leadership purpose when
you answer these two questions.
—Given your context what leadership
is required; what specific outcome are
needed?
—What enduring value will you
deliver to your stakeholders through your
leadership?
As you craft your purpose avoid
vague, flowery language and overused
phrases as used in this example: “I will
strive to exceed our expectations by
building a team that will be attractive to
the market and also empowered to step
out their comfort zones, challenging the
status quo.” This lacks clarity as several
phrases are open to different
interpretations. Choose words and
phrases that reflect your own story and
context. Use your own language to define
your agenda. Below is an example of a
leadership purpose statement I
supported a CEO to craft:
I am at peace with the work I do. It
utilizes my skills. My ambition is to build
a….(redacted)
Currently, I need to make sure there is
support for the work each other does,
there is open communication, and we all
clearly understand the new strategy.
This purpose is simple and yet
powerful. It reflects the challenges of the
moment, the unique context of the leader
and his team, and what needs to be
achieved. As an enterprise leader, your
purpose and the purpose of the
organisation you lead means more for the
prosperity of our communities and our
ultimate independence. Hence any effort
your put into this process of clarifying
your leadership purpose advances our
communal prosperity.
I trust that you will make time to
reflect and write your leadership purpose
before Independence day. You will
achieve a lot more when you align your
daily activities to your purpose. You will
find more energy and fulfilment as you
lead purposefully.
Hopefully, you will share your
leadership purpose with your
stakeholders on Independence day. Above
all, let us choose to lead purposefully each
day by aligning our daily decisions with
our values and aspirations.
“To live is to choose. But to choose
well, you must know who you are and
what you stand for, where you want to go
and why you want to get there.” – Kofi
Annan, Former UN Secretary General
Happy Independence day!
Robert Bennin, is a trusted advisor
and an executive coach to Boards, CEOs,
senior-level executives in several African
countries. Robert’s global perspective and
intimate understanding of the changes
and trends taking place across several
industries, in emerging markets have
made him an invaluable resource to
leaders and organizations as they seek to
resolve the challenge of building
enduring and highly competitive
enterprises.
He has also led the design and
delivery of over 750 executive learning
and coaching programs in strategy,
leadership, organizational
transformation and board effectiveness.
As the Convener of the CEO Accelerator
Program,(ceoacceleratorprogram.org)
Robert facilitates a peer learning and
coaching program for elite business
leaders across Africa.
He is also the Founder and Chief
Learning Strategist at TEMPLE Advisory, a
leading strategy consulting, leadership
development and an executive coaching
firm. Robert is a Leadership Subject
Matter Expert and Leadership Coach on
the Leadership MBA Program at the
African Leadership University in
Rwanda.
He can be reached at
ceoprogram@thelearningtemple.com