Reflections around the "purpose/ primary task" of the non profit

In my work with groups to build collective strategic focus, one of our core questions for exploration right at the beginning is "what is your core purpose as a group?" - what is your group's north star - what makes you wake up in the morning every day despite the many moments of frustration and despair? What is at the core of your work beyond the issues, the projects, the strategies? 

It is a unique combination of what is our passion, what is our competitive advantage and what the world will pay for/ what it needs. It is a deeper sense of what is the heart of our work! Over the years I have found inspiration from various sources to facilitate this conversation (Jim Collins, Simon Sinek, the Genuine Contact program). 

While it can be a very inspiring and uplifting conversation, it is also be very challenging. Recently I had the opportunity to participate in a very exciting dialogue around "the primary task of the non profit" hosted by Group Relations India. The discussion there spurred a lot for me and I wanted to pen down some thoughts - 

1. Talking about purpose/ primary task is fuzzy - it needs both the heart and the mind to be activated - and this can be hard for the group - because the daily typical conversations have become so intellectual - that it takes a while for the group to start tapping into what is at the heart! For some they get to it quick quickly, while for some folks it takes some time...therefore, it really helps to do some work on "readiness" to get into this zone. 

2. "Where does the core lie?" - while I encourage the group to uncover the purpose by asking lots of questions, unpeeling the layers of their work....it often is difficult to know where to stop. Is it at a point where the group just feels "that is it!" or is it when there is no further layer to explore? I wait to sense from the group where to stop and I often wonder whether I stopped too early (when it still sounds much like a heady mission statement) or too late (when the purpose becomes so broad and overarching that it often sounds like the "vision" - a future desired state).

3. Whose purpose is it anyways?  -  One starting point for this conversation is what personally motivates us about the work we do in the group. So people go back to what is it that drives them and makes them stick to this work. So it is hard sometimes to separate the "individual" purpose/ primary task with that of the group. The intention is to enable a space where everyone can listen and hear what drives the individuals and then pull out from these gems what is emerging as the "common driver"....This can be a painful process as well for some as some people may realise that the group's purpose/ primary task is far removed from what drives them personally. I often warn the groups I work with about this - and maybe it is even healthy. 

4. Is it static or open to change? - How long is the primary task/ purpose valid for/ should be valid for? This is a fuzzy question again. One of Jim Collin's test questions on purpose is - would you see this purpose valid for 100 years? Simon Sinek in his process for discovery of personal why says that the "purpose" gets formed quite early in life and pretty much stays the same. I often wonder about this. Many times I have also heard groups say that in times of crises we discovered that what we were meant to do was different to what we spent most of our time doing. A group that has been working on issue X for over 20 years began to question their purpose in the last 2 years when they started doing far more work on mental health/ self care whether they had strayed from their core purpose or was their core purpose something beyond this "X" they had chosen to dedicate their group's work towards? Often groups shift the focus of their work to respond to what their communities/ users need. Often donors/ funders question groups about their core purpose when they see this sudden shift in the focus of the work. So who decides this? Is this driven by what internally the group feels they are called to do in the service of their communities/ users? Or is it driven by what the external environment deems important? Is a shift in purpose/ primary task a reflection of "instability" or is it actually an indicator of "responsiveness, adaptability and resilience"? 

5. Push or pull of the environment - In choosing their purpose/ primary task - how far does the support of the external environment matter (funds available for the cause, people ready to work on the cause, communities/ users ready to engage/ the other stakeholders who impact this work, the system that legally allows the work to happen)......Sometimes groups choose very consciously to work on very difficult issues which makes them a hostile target of the current climate and a stand alone entity. Sometimes they analyse what the environment is ready for and choose their moment of initiation/ entry. Here also what is the interplay between the purpose/ primary task and the environment? 

I find these questions very very interesting yet perplexing. One of the best things I heard in the GRI dialogue was that non profit groups are on a path of striving to live by their purpose/ primary task - and it is a constant "dialogue" within and with those outside - to zoom out once in a while and ask - what is our primary task/ purpose - how aligned are we to that - what do we do to come back to it? And to expect and even welcome all the good, bad and the ugly that may surface as a result of these questions! 

I am so grateful for the amazing conversations I have had with all the groups I have worked with over the years. You have expanded my understanding of this and keep inspiring me to not be "stuck" to one way of thinking about this and keep striving to explore what these questions can lead to. 

P.S.: I remember this lovely scene from a medical TV drama where a young girl who sails professionally is in the hospital battling with some injuries and who cannot wait to get back to a sailing competition. One doctor says to her "you must just love every bit of this"...and the girl says..."well no, I sometimes hate the wind in my hair and all the craziness......"..the doctor is perplexed and says "so, why do you do it?"...the girl says..."because when I am up there sailing...it just feels like thats I am meant to do- that is where I belong!"