Common purpose is so important to any group effort as it is the unifying objective that brings people together to work as a team. Upon reflecting on this weeks text, the questions posed at the beginning of chapter seven stood out to me. "Why are we here and what are we doing" and "what is our shared or common purpose" are key questions that any organization must ask themselves. Especially as a leader for an organization, it is imperative to stay on the same page as your members so no one feels out of the loop or frustrated with the goings on and goals of the group. An important point that was made during this chapter is that for there to be a common purpose, there must be a group, meaning more than one person. So communication of that common purpose is essential. 
A big part of common purpose is how this idea affects groups, shared visions, aims, and values, and working with others. Just like the common purpose concept cannot be separated from the larger Social Change Model, those smaller components cannot be removed from common purpose. While I touched on my interpretation of groups and working with others earlier, I loved the way the book layed out some questions a group must ask to define their shared visions, aims, and values, my favorite of which being "why does this organization exist?" It is so important to examine why an organization is around because it naturally brings up why said organization is necessary and what are the goals of that org. That particular question resonated with me as I am constantly asking myself that question as president of my fraternity and being reaffirmed in our purpose.
A big part of common purpose is how this idea affects groups, shared visions, aims, and values, and working with others. Just like the common purpose concept cannot be separated from the larger Social Change Model, those smaller components cannot be removed from common purpose. While I touched on my interpretation of groups and working with others earlier, I loved the way the book layed out some questions a group must ask to define their shared visions, aims, and values, my favorite of which being "why does this organization exist?" It is so important to examine why an organization is around because it naturally brings up why said organization is necessary and what are the goals of that org. That particular question resonated with me as I am constantly asking myself that question as president of my fraternity and being reaffirmed in our purpose.
I think it's great that you are constantly reaffirmed in your purpose. As president, burn out is a serious issue and sometimes connecting to the reason of your chapter's existence is the best way to fight it. I really appreciated the question about why the organization exists because it really makes you think. If you can't answer that question, it's a sign that one needs to review the goals/aims/values of their chapter.
ReplyDeleteThe questions posted in the book really stood out to me as well. Asking why we are are or why we even exist is an amazing way to reflect on the purpose of our chapters and set future goals for ourselves. I always like to lay out our common purposes at the beginning of every year, it reminds the chapter why we are there and what we represent.
ReplyDeleteConstantly asking yourself the question of why your organization exists is extremely beneficial to keeping it moving in the right direction. I like to ask that question to my fraternity brothers when I feel like we're no longer in alignment with our purpose to help get them back on track.
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