{"id":72324,"date":"2022-07-13T12:11:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-13T16:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=72324"},"modified":"2022-07-20T14:37:57","modified_gmt":"2022-07-20T18:37:57","slug":"team-purpose-workshop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/team-purpose-workshop\/","title":{"rendered":"Team Purpose Workshop: Best Method (+Examples)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is the best method for facilitating a team purpose<\/a> workshop? How can a team purpose workshop lead to greater success? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To determine your purpose<\/a> in the first place, Find Your Why<\/a><\/em> author Simon Sinek<\/a> and his co-authors created a step-by-step process that individuals and groups can follow in a group discussion or workshop. Sinek\u2019s process to find your purpose helps you or your team explore past experiences for insight into what moves you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep reading to learn the steps for conducting the most effective team<\/a> purpose workshop, according to Simon Sinek.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Team Purpose Workshop: A Guided Discussion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In this process, you\u2019ll identify important stories in your personal or company experience, share them with a partner or group facilitator, and pull out themes. You\u2019ll then distill these themes to write your purpose statement<\/a>. (Shortform note: While Sinek argues that you can find your purpose by looking inward, Viktor Frankl argues the opposite in Man\u2019s Search for Meaning<\/em><\/a>. He contends that you can only find meaning out in the world\u2014in other people or causes\u2014not in your own mind<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The process of finding your purpose<\/a> for teams is longer than the individual process. It comprises four stages: opening the discussion, mining team members\u2019 stories, drafting the purpose statement, and closing the discussion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stage 1: Open the Discussion<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Sinek suggests starting by sharing an example of an organization that has a clear purpose<\/a>, or Why. That will introduce participants to the theory and show them what they can expect from the discussion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, ask people to pair up and discuss what motivates them about the team<\/strong>. For example, you might ask questions like, \u201cWhen you first joined, what about the team resonated with you?\u201d and \u201cWhat continues to resonate with you and motivate you today?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next, show the video of Sinek\u2019s TED Talk<\/a> about purpose, and ensure participants understand his basic ideas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: During this stage of a team purpose workshop, having team members start by discussing their motivations can create connection because it encourages genuine interactions where peers can listen and affirm each other\u2019s experiences<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stage 2: Mine Their Stories<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The goal in this stage is to extract two key insights<\/strong> from stories participants will share in groups: the core action the team consistently takes, and the effect the action has on others.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To do so, the authors suggest dividing participants into groups that reflect the diversity in the room. During the team purpose workshop, avoid teaming people up with the colleagues they work with every day. (Shortform note: As David Epstein argues in Range<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>people from diverse backgrounds bring different ideas and values to the table, which results in new insights<\/a>. Interestingly, he also advocates striving for diversity in ideals: He contends that an organization with diverse ideals can be more effective than one in which everyone coalesces around a single vision<\/a>, in contrast to Sinek\u2019s belief that everyone in the organization should align with the same purpose.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To extract the first insight\u2014the core actions the team consistently takes\u2014the facilitator should begin by asking participants to share with their small groups stories of when they took pride in being part of the team<\/strong>. Then, ask each small group to share their three most emotionally impactful stories with the rest of the team. Ask follow-up questions<\/strong> after each story to uncover its significance. For instance, you might ask, \u201cWhat feelings did that moment stir up in you?\u201d \u201cWhat did you learn from that experience, and how has that shaped you?\u201d or \u201cWhat made you decide to share that story today?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ask participants to choose an <\/strong>action verb or phrase<\/em><\/strong> for each story<\/strong> they have shared. The verbs should capture the core actions<\/em> the team took. Finally, ask each group to share what they\u2019ve written while you take notes, highlighting phrases or expressions that come up more than once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Team Purpose Workshop Troubleshooting for Facilitators
<\/strong>
The process of finding your purpose for teams is complex, and problems can arise. Facilitators can be most effective by keeping these suggestions in mind:

If a team is struggling to come up with examples, help reframe their thoughts by considering proud moments that may be overlooked. In The Power of Moments<\/em><\/a>, Chip and Dan Heath <\/em>suggest paying attention<\/a> to small wins<\/a> and milestones that usually go uncelebrated<\/a>, as well as focusing on progress instead of results<\/a>.

To come up with good follow-up questions, there are strategies facilitators can apply<\/a>. The most important strategy is to listen while people talk rather than plan what you\u2019re going to say next. Also, there are some easy but meaningful follow-up questions to keep in mind, including asking for examples, raising counterpoints, and simply asking people to tell you more.

If the team isn’t sure how to translate stories into action verbs or phrases, remind them of another process in which they use verbs and phrases to solidify ideas: writing objectives in action-oriented language. The logic behind both processes is the same. Attaching action words to stories makes the stories more concrete\u2014similar to how action verbs help make objectives actionable<\/a>, as John Doerr instructs in Measure What Matters<\/em><\/a>.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To extract the second insight\u2014the key positive effect<\/em> the team has on others\u2014ask small groups to share stories of people whose lives changed for the better, thanks to the team<\/strong>. Then, ask each group to share their responses while you write down a phrase from each response that captures the essence of the team\u2019s effect on others, and note repeated phrases. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: Since the authors encourage participants to focus on the feelings the team generates, rather than the product or services they provide, this could unintentionally make an organization seem more virtuous than it is<\/a>. Since customers are savvy\u2014and as Sinek argues in Start With Why<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>they can detect manipulation<\/a>\u2014you shouldn\u2019t overlook your business model and the less sanitized parts of the work you do. This will help make your purpose statement<\/a> meaningful and truthful.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stage 3: Draft the Purpose Statement<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The third stage is to write the first draft of a purpose statement<\/strong>. Sinek emphasizes that the statement should be actionable and resonate with the team, but the wording doesn\u2019t need to be perfect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To begin, the facilitator should show participants a sample purpose statement and explain where each part of the statement will come from: The team\u2019s core actions will shape the first part of the statement; the team\u2019s effects on others will shape the second part.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ask small groups to draft a purpose statement using the notes from the previous conversations, particularly the repeated phrases and ideas. Each small group should do their own draft. Finally, ask small groups to share their drafts out loud so that all the participants together can decide whether to keep one of the drafts or combine them. For example, two small groups could come up with these purpose statements for a financial services institution: 1) \u201cEmpower customers to secure their financial goals<\/a>,\u201d and 2) \u201cGive people the tools they need to build their financial futures.\u201d The full group might then combine the statements as follows: \u201cEmpower customers to secure their financial futures.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Save all the notes you didn\u2019t use in the final draft of the purpose statement. These are the themes you will use to determine your How.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steps for Effective Collaboration<\/a><\/strong>

To help the team collaborate effectively<\/a> during the workshop, facilitators might want to frame the process using the steps Kim Scott outlines in Radical Candor<\/em><\/a>:

– Listening. Make sure everyone listens to each other and encourage them to build on each others\u2019 ideas<\/a>.

– Clarifying. Help small groups refine their ideas before sharing them with the rest of the participants. If you catch something that\u2019s unclear, encourage them to revise it before presenting it so others will assess their ideas fairly<\/a>.

– Debating. Encourage respectful debating in the small groups and in the larger group. You can do this by stopping a conversation if it becomes about \u201cwinning\u201d rather than exchanging ideas, or if people seem to get tired of the discussion<\/a>.

– Deciding. After some debate, transition to decision-making<\/a>. Remember to leave the decision in the participants\u2019 hands\u2014the facilitator guides but doesn\u2019t participate in the choice.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Stage 4: Close the Discussion<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To close your team purpose workshop, Sinek suggests the facilitator ask the team for volunteers to keep refining the phrasing<\/strong> of the purpose statement. Then, suggest ways the team can start living their purpose,<\/strong> including the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n