The Finance, HR, Marketing, Purchasing, Sales, and other departments work collaboratively, with their size and structure varying based on the type and industry of the business. Each department is led by a head or officer responsible for guiding its strategic direction and managing day-to-day operations.

Each department is a crucial asset to the business. HR professionals position themselves at the core of the organisation, ensuring that people are prioritised. The Finance team sees money as the business’s lifeblood, making their role indispensable. In this digital era, the IT department serves as both the brain and heart of the operation. The Planning department crafts the mission and sets the strategic direction. At the helm is the CEO, the highest-ranking leader, overseeing the entire enterprise.

The Purpose Department, led by the Chief Purpose Officer (CPO)

Discussing the Purpose Department and the role of the Chief Purpose Officer requires us to emphasise the following:

Businesses themselves do not have purposes; their leaders do. A company is ultimately a collection of people working together. The greatness of a business is determined by the clarity and consistency of its leaders’ purposes. It is the leader’s purpose that defines the bigger picture for the organisation, outlines its broader contribution, and shapes its ultimate impact.

Purpose is different from vision, mission and goals. Find out more.

Many businesses lack a clear purpose. This often happens when founders and leaders fail to establish a meaningful direction for the company. For CEOs who aren’t the original founders, challenges arise, particularly when financial performance starts to decline. They often turn to complex charts and graphs to stabilize the company, overlooking the deeper need for a guiding purpose.

Not every CEO is suited to be a Chief Purpose Officer (CPO). Over time, many CEOs take on more of an operational role, similar to a COO, focusing primarily on keeping things running efficiently. In doing so, they can lose sight of their core responsibility: ensuring that the business stays on track to fulfill its purpose.

The perfect candidate for the role of Chief Purpose Officer (CPO) is someone whose values and personal purpose align deeply with those of the organisation. This individual must be committed to integrating purpose into the business at every level and should have a demonstrated passion for driving meaningful impact. The role requires an ability to inspire others and maintain a constant focus on the synergy between the company’s purpose and its final impact, making it central to the company’s leadership.

Not everyone is suited to assume the role of CPO. As the saying goes, “no one can flood the world from a drained ocean”—an individual without a sense of purpose cannot inspire it in others. Therefore, appointing a purposeless leader, regardless of their rank, disqualifies them from being an effective CPO. This is particularly relevant for CEOs, officers, executives, and managers who are tasked with shaping the organization’s direction.

Candidates for the CPO role must have a proven track record of advocating purpose, both in their personal and professional lives. However, there are several challenges to overcome:

1. Lack of Clarity on Purpose: Many organisations confuse having a vision with having a purpose, and they often mistake goals for a strategy. Establishing true purpose requires more depth than just setting targets.
2. Skills-Based Recruitment: Traditional recruitment focuses predominantly on skills, which is insufficient for selecting individuals driven by purpose, values, and cultural alignment. Hiring for a CPO role demands a different metric—one that places purpose and values at the forefront.

Before discussing the role of the Chief Purpose Officer, organisations must address these underlying issues. Only then can they effectively appoint a CPO who is capable of embedding true purpose into the company’s culture and direction.

More insights on the importance of the Chief Purpose Officer role will be featured in Kamil’s upcoming projects.