Common Purpose

PowerPoint Definition: Common purpose necessitates and contributes to a high level of group trust involving all participants in shared responsibility towards collective aims, values, and vision.

My Definition: Common purpose is the movement toward a unified goal. It takes time to "norm and storm" with those around you to get to know your followers. Only then can a goal be identified to come towards. The goal is unified so that everyone feels a sense of purpose and belonging as they work toward that goal.

So What? My experience... The first thing I did last year when I was elected president of my ASDA chapter was to sit down with my cabinet and write a mission statement. This was a wild task. I was asking everyone to agree on one simple goal "to prepare our members to become the most compeditive applicants to dental school." It had to be simple for us all to agree. In this way, in whatever we did, we worked toward that common goal. Every meeting, every group text message, every email. They all had a purpose because we established it together. Everyone truly cared and had belonging within the goal. It was our goal, not just my goal.

Now What? My reflection... When working together, you have the ability to work bigger. But, it's impossible to reach lofty goals alone. Reach high and aim even bigger. But, without your team, you limit what you can do. When rallying your team though, you have to have them buy in. The easiest way to do this is by working together on a goal so that everyone feels invested. Then, the team will work together towards a common purpose, a goal they have bought into.