In launching a leadership workshop for PhD students, a recurring theme has emerged: How to motivate your team. Something that echoes through my dialogues with my clients from the corporate world:

🔍 How do we truly motivate our teams?

The question is common, because my clients want to understand how they can get their teams to do the work they’re supposed to do. How to get them to act and take responsibility.

But it’s not just about doing the task. It’s about igniting a drive, a shared purpose.

Leadership isn’t only about directives; it’s very much about cultivating a culture where people are inspired to follow—beyond communication, credibility, or hierarchy. And it’s about the often overlooked, yet vital, ‘why’ of our work. Respectively the purpose of your organisation.

Simon Sinek championed this concept. And it remains central: Knowing the deeper reason behind your organisation’s existence can unite and propel your team like nothing else.

Understanding the purpose behind everything you do has a connecting and uniting element. In fact, it will help your team to feel they belong. And that is one of the strongest motivators at work. Belonging.

This post won’t help you define your ‘why’ and it won’t give you any coaching tips on how to find it — but it’s an invitation to reflect:

• 🌟 What is the purpose that drives your organisation?
• 🌟 How does understanding this purpose serve as a cornerstone for motivating your team?
• 🌟 Does everyone know about it? And if not, what will you do to make this happen?

Let’s shift the conversation from ‘how we work’ to ‘why we work.’ I’m eager to hear your insights – why not share them in a message to me directly?

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