Bringing clarity from complexity and purpose to the work

As we embark on 2024, one consistent theme resonates—there is much complexity and uncertainty around us. This is when I draw on two concepts that have guided me for years: bringing clarity from complexity and purpose to the work.

Bringing clarity from complexity

Many years ago, I was talking to a group of teammates about a project. I said it was going to be “a complicated effort.” Afterward, a teammate came up to me and said something I will never forget. She asked me, “If you think this is complicated, how do you think I feel?”

That comment has stayed with me. It’s up to leaders to simplify whatever that thing is—the task, the message—and it is up to us to forge that clear path so teammates always understand and never lose sight of what we’re working to accomplish together. That’s important for any organization, and it’s critically important during times of change and transformation, when an organization faces challenges and needs everyone rowing in the same direction. Bringing clarity from complexity might be an innate talent for a fortunate few, but it’s a discipline every leader can develop, practice, and refine over time. And effective leaders know that when the environment seems noisy, it is even more important to paint a clear vision. The harder the task, the easier it needs to feel to teammates. Everyone wants to know they can get there and the steps along the journey.

Being able to see the ultimate goal for the company, the business unit, and each team within an organization are equally critical. Teammates need to clearly understand how their roles are important to the performance of the team and how what they do supports the success of the organization as a whole. Leaders can help every teammate tap into the realization that, whatever their individual role, they are part of something bigger—something meaningful and important to the people and institutions the company serves, to the community, and personally important on a deeper level.

That’s why I believe the second essential quality of great leaders is bringing purpose to the work.

Bringing purpose to the work

It’s not enough for teammates to understand what the organization does. The real key to unlocking potential is helping teammates understand the WHY. Why does your company provide the services it provides? Why do your customers choose to do business with you, and what problems are they looking to you to help them solve? Your why is your purpose—the reason your company exists. And it’s up to leaders to make sure teammates understand the purpose that drives everything your company does, every decision you make, every action you take on behalf of the people and institutions you serve. Great leaders live their purpose. They state it clearly. They talk about it constantly. And they model it consistently.

At Truist , our purpose is to inspire and build better lives and communities. If you spent a week with our most effective leaders, you’d be hard-pressed to sit in on a single meeting where we don’t talk about our purpose and evaluate decisions through that lens. Having a strong understanding of our company’s purpose provides teammates with a North Star to guide them in their daily work, and it gives us the opportunity to each see ourselves as part of something bigger—something meaningful that really matters to the clients and communities we serve.

As leaders, we go a step further at Truist and encourage each teammate to spend time reflecting and working to define their individual purpose—what matters most to them in their own life. Research has shown there is an incredibly high correlation between purposeful work and individual happiness. And we know that when individual teammates figure out where their personal purpose intersects with our company purpose, they are more engaged, happier in their work, perform at a higher level, and are more likely to stay with the company.

That is the experience we all want at work and in life!

Purpose is a journey. Personally and professionally, we’re all at different points along the path. But recognizing its power—to transform, to empower, to elevate—is the first critical step. It’s the key that unlocks the door to what’s possible. And I’m looking forward to taking a closer look at purpose with you in future editions of my On Purpose newsletter. I hope you’ll subscribe if you haven’t already done so. And thanks for joining me on the journey!