Leadership in Action: Issues and Observations - Leading with Purpose - Where it All Begins

Issues & Observations

Leading with Purpose: Where It All Begins

Victoria A. Guthrie

Leaders need more than words to provide direction to and a mission for their followers, their organizations, and themselves. Making sense of complex challenges requires a sense of purpose, which gives leaders the power to think, feel, and act—not just react—effectively amid fast-changing events.

Leaders with a clear sense of purpose choose the directions they take toward achieving their goals, in both their careers and their lives. They accept responsibility for those choices and for the opportunities and outcomes their decisions make possible. Purposeful leaders don't see themselves as victims of circumstance and are resilient during times of transition.