I was fortunate to recently have the opportunity to return to visit my father’s place of birth with my family. We also visited the gravesite of my grandfather. As fate would have it, the day we chose to visit, the usually locked yard was open.


When we walked inside, we ran into a woman who has lovingly volunteered two days every week to care for the overgrown garden surrounding the graves and to tend to the crumbling building beside it. We were extremely grateful for her efforts and were excited to meet her and hear her speak about the history of the graveyard. I think, however, that she may have been equally grateful and excited to meet us. Here we were, live beings who validated the importance of her work.

I don’t know how many families or individuals--with a connection to her work-- she has met in this way. I did learn, upon speaking with her, that she had not grown up in the area. Her devotion was obvious; she did the work because she loved it.

We all had a common purpose on that day--to see that the graveyard was still in good shape. Our common purpose united us with that woman; the stranger in the graveyard.

Common Purpose

-a common purpose cements relationships
-a common purpose gives us a reason to interact and devote our time to something
-a common purpose motivates us when we see others benefit from our work

In a business organization, a common purpose drives success. It gives us a reason to support each other, to communicate well, to express appreciation and to problem solve together.

To drive performance, a common purpose needs to be:

-clearly communicated
-reflected in decision making
-linked to individual job expectations and objectives
-whenever possible, linked to personal objectives
-reflected in the company’s final product

Do you have any others characteristics to add to this list?