HBR On Leadership — "Why Purpose Is Foundational in Leadership"

Date: November 5, 2025
Host: Kurt Nickish (Harvard Business Review)
Guest: Nicholas Pearce — Clinical Associate Professor, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University; Pastor; Executive Coach; Author of The Purpose: A Guide to Pursuing Your Authentic Life’s Work

Episode Overview

This episode delves into the foundational role of purpose in both personal and organizational leadership. Executive coach, pastor, and business professor Nicholas Pearce argues that true leadership—whether as an individual or as a company—requires deep alignment with a sense of authentic purpose, not just a drive for profit or career success. Through reflections, case examples, and challenging questions, Pearce shares insights on how individuals and organizations can discover, articulate, and live out their "why" for enduring success and fulfillment.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Link Between Purpose and Organizational Success

• Purpose is more than a mission statement; it’s the “why” that drives “what” you do daily.
• Successful organizations attract talent whose personal purpose aligns with the company's overarching purpose.
  • Pearce: "Purpose ought to motivate what companies do every day, because the why should drive the what." [02:33]
• Pearce distinguishes profit (an outcome) from purpose (a reason for being), urging organizations to clarify what sets them apart beyond financial goals.

2. The Misconception of Profit as Purpose

• Many companies default to profit maximization as their reason for being, which fails to inspire employees or stakeholders.
  • Example: Pearce recounts consulting with top executives who struggled to articulate their company's purpose beyond "to remain in existence." [04:23]
  • Pearce: "You mean to tell me the reason why you exist is to keep on existing? That is not going to motivate me to wake up and go to work." [04:33]
• Millennials and a growing workforce segment now make job choices based on purpose alignment rather than pure financial compensation.

3. Personal Purpose as Life’s Guiding Principle

• Individuals face similar challenges to organizations in finding and living out their purpose.
  • Many operate on “autopilot,” not questioning the deeper reasons behind their work. [05:52]
• Purpose is often viewed through differing philosophical and spiritual lenses, but at its core, it’s about seeking meaning beyond what’s visible or immediately tangible.
  • Pearce: “There is more to life than just what can be seen or experienced with our senses.” [06:45]

4. Authenticity and Life’s Work

• Pearce urges listeners to distinguish a job from a vocation—a deeper “calling.”
• Authentic life’s work comes from connecting our “souls with our roles.”
  • Pearce: “It's the work that we cannot not do. It is engaging in the radical act of connecting our souls with our roles.” [09:01]
• Meaningful careers aren’t limited to nonprofit or social impact work; true purpose can be found wherever one’s unique calling leads.

5. Recognizing Misalignment and When to Move On

• Signs you’re in the “wrong job” include stagnation, toxic culture, or feeling forced to be inauthentic.
  • Pearce: “If the work they're doing is disconnected from their purpose...it may be time to consider walking away.” [10:20]
• Pearce acknowledges such reflection is a privilege, but emphasizes the importance of seeking purpose even in less ideal circumstances.

6. Changing Nature of Work and The Rise of the Gig Economy

• The erosion of traditional employment contracts compels individuals to proactively seek purpose.
  • Pearce: “If you're working in an organization that treats you like employee number 742,017...you're probably a lot more personally incentivized to figure out what am I doing with my life?” [11:51]
• As AI and automation advance, uniquely human traits—soul, self-awareness, transcendence—become even more critical.

7. The Role of Education in Purpose Formation

• Existing education systems are more focused on career-matching than helping students discover genuine purpose.
  • Pearce: “It is a radical act to reframe the purpose of education...to be able to accomplish your life's work, whatever it may be.” [14:21]
  • He argues that purpose isn’t linked to class, salary, or prestige: “There are some people at Northwestern who clean the whiteboards after I teach who have a lot clearer sense of their life's why than some of my faculty colleagues...” [15:36]

8. Leadership’s Responsibility to Foster Purpose

• Leaders must facilitate environments where employees can align work with personal purpose, rather than holding onto top talent at the expense of their fulfillment.
  • Pearce: “We owe it to that person to not hold them hostage...coach them and...put our social capital on the line to help them land in a place that will allow them to merge their daily work with their life's work.” [18:01]
• Leaders are stewards, not creators, of others’ purpose.

9. Superficial Purpose vs. Authentic Purpose

• CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) as a superficial fix doesn’t create deep fulfillment.
  • Pearce: “A lot of companies are trying to put corporate social responsibility patches on purposelessness, and ultimately that does not really help...” [19:53]
• Purpose must be embedded in daily practices, decision-making, and culture—not just charity events or marketing.

10. Signals of a Truly Purpose-Driven Organization

• Ask employees how their work advances the company’s purpose—authentic purpose is felt and known, not just stated.
• Example: Mary Kay’s employees display genuine passion tied to the company’s impact, not just its brand.
  • Pearce: "They believe that in their bones...the work they're doing every day is not just for economic profit, but it is for social impact." [22:35]

11. Biggest Myth about Purpose in Business

• Purpose is not a consolation prize for lacking profit; rather, it’s a driver of all kinds of profit—economic, social, and human.
  • Pearce: “Purpose is a driver of profit. Whether you're thinking about profit from an economic perspective or from a human perspective or from a social perspective. Profit is enhanced by purpose.” [24:05]

Notable Quotes

• Nicholas Pearce:
  • “Purpose ought to motivate what companies do every day, because the why should drive the what.” [02:33]
  • “You mean to tell me the reason why you exist is to keep on existing? That is not going to motivate me to wake up and go to work.” [04:33]
  • “It's the work that we cannot not do. It is engaging in the radical act of connecting our souls with our roles.” [09:01]
  • “We owe it to that person to not hold them hostage...help them land in a place that will allow them to merge their daily work with their life's work.” [18:01]
  • “A lot of companies are trying to put corporate social responsibility patches on purposelessness, and ultimately that does not really help...” [19:53]
  • “Purpose is a driver of profit...Profit is enhanced by purpose. And purpose is foundational to any organization.” [24:05]
• Kurt Nickish:
  • “Are there things you can do without shaking it up horribly? Like, can you turn your organization into one that does more community service and volunteer work together...?” [19:30]

Key Timestamps

• 02:33: What distinguishes purpose-driven companies
• 04:23–05:46: Real-world example of executives unable to articulate purpose
• 06:30: Pearce on societal and philosophical roots of purpose-seeking
• 09:01: “Connecting our souls with our roles” — authentic life's work
• 10:20: Signs you're in the wrong job
• 11:37: Why finding purpose is more important in the gig economy era
• 14:21–15:36: Critique of education's role in purpose discovery
• 18:01: Leadership’s ethical responsibility for purposeful workplaces
• 19:53: The limits of “patching” purpose through surface CSR
• 22:35: Mary Kay example of living, contagious purpose
• 24:05: Purpose as a foundational driver of profit

Memorable Moments

• The Mary Kay Example: Pearce describes the near-religious zeal and pride of Mary Kay’s employees as the gold standard for being “on purpose” in corporate culture. [22:35]
• The “Soul and Role” Connection: Pearce’s turn of phrase on integrating the deepest values (“souls”) with professional functions (“roles”) resonates as a core theme. [09:01]
• Pin-Drop Moment: The silence among top leaders unable to state their company’s purpose underscores the challenge facing organizations. [04:23]

Conclusion

Nicholas Pearce’s conversation with HBR highlights that purpose is not just icing on the leadership cake—it is the essential ingredient that powers authentic engagement, sustained motivation, and meaningful success. Both leaders and employees must courageously seek and prioritize purpose at every level, transcending profit and title, to create organizations—and careers—worth committing to.