Purpose

In the context of leadership practice, there is a creative tension between the definable and undefinable aspects of purpose. This chapter begins by challenging the dominance of the understanding of purpose as something that can be described with precision. This has supported an approach to the leadership of organisations dedicated to the pursuit of utilitarian ends and undisputed growth. Instead, we suggest that purpose can emerge as a sense, as well as a set of measurable outcomes, and the leadership challenge is to hold in balance these definable with undefinable elements of purpose. This idea is explored in a case study that highlights the complexity faced by leadership practitioners, particularly in relating to others who demand clarity and simplicity—and sometimes irritably reach after fact and reason. We introduce the idea that a sense of purpose can be experienced at the level of the ordinary, where we find ourselves in the liminal space between knowing and not knowing, as well as at the level of the extraordinary, where the ineffable engages us with its Mystery. Drawing on themes from other case studies explored in the book, we investigate how leadership practitioners can develop a ‘poetic sensibility’ from working with an emergent sense of purpose in a state of flow, whilst also holding the important balance between internal and external expectations that must be met.