Tim took us on a fascinating exploration of our survive and thrive instincts, and uncovered some best practices for how Higher Purpose can function as an effective leadership tool throughout the Covid-19 crisis.

Here are the key takeaways from this webinar:

Organizations, like people, are capable of focusing on survival needs AND higher order self-actualization and transcendence needs simultaneously, if we get the conditions right.
Tim took us on a brief overview of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and introduced some lesser known concepts about the way people – in general – react In crisis situations, revealing that we don’t always have to take flight or fight; we can avoid this survival reaction if we are able to remain optimistic in a crisis.

Leaders can use their company’s Higher Purpose to keep their people optimistic and actively engaged in long-term strategic thinking.
It’s probably not best to only focus on purpose during a crisis; it can lead to pie-in-the-sky thinking that’s unrealistic and potentially dangerous. Similarly, it’s dangerous to only focus on survival too –  as a result you are likely to get short-term, fear-based decisions that are likely to alienate your stakeholders. Instead, you can use your company’s Higher Purpose to inspire creative solutions that will help to keep the company alive.

Purpose can be used as a navigational tool during a crisis.
Tim tells us that If you start behaving purposefully, “weird stuff starts to happen in our favor”. If you are behaving in accord with your purpose, luck will favor you. Your Higher Purpose will often give you better answers to strategic questions than logic will.

If your people are passionate about your Higher Purpose, they will be more committed to the organization’s survival. (This applies to external stakeholders as well.)
Victor Frankl was a psychologist and Holocaust survivor who observed his fellow prisoners and discovered that the people who were most likely to survive the prison camps weren’t the strongest or the smartest; they were the people who possessed a higher purpose. Purpose – in this sense – is the ultimate survival tool. If you want your organization to survive this crisis (or any crisis), your team needs to feel connected to and passionate about your purpose. Tim invites leaders to consider bringing your whole organization (including external stakeholders) into the Purpose Discovery process, making everyone who participates in the process an immediate advocate for that purpose.