Why Do You Work? A Question Every Leader Must Answer
My leadership reading and thinking time this week pressed me with a simple question:
Why do you work?
In Mere Christianity, Lewis argues that people should work not just to earn, but to give. That giving purpose is not meant to end with ourselves, but rather to flow through us to others.
This idea challenges modern leadership. Most organizations are built around performance, profit, and growth. Those are important. But they are not enough to sustain the human spirit.
People do not find lasting joy in what they accumulate. They find it in what they contribute. Things bring short-lived happiness. Purpose brings lasting fulfillment. As leaders, our responsibility is not merely to drive results. It is to create a purpose within our organization that extends beyond ourselves. A purpose that teaches our teams how to serve, give, and impact others.
When people connect their work to something bigger than themselves, everything changes. Energy increases. Resilience grows. Joy shows up in places where it used to be absent.
Lewis would remind us that we are not just managing output. We are shaping souls.
The Inputs Shape the Outcomes
Lewis also asserts that people act based on what has been put into them.
Their upbringing.
Their experiences.
Their training.
We often judge behavior without understanding the various inputs behind it. Leadership requires a different approach. When someone on your team is not meeting expectations, it is easy to jump to frustration. It is harder, but more effective, to ask better questions first.
Have I trained them well enough to succeed?
Have I equipped them with what they need?
Have I motivated them toward the right outcome?
If the answer to any of those is “no,” the responsibility shifts back to the leader.
You want different choices from your team? Change the inputs.
Better training creates better decisions.
Better tools create better execution.
Better motivation creates better effort.
This does not remove accountability. It refines it.
It moves leadership from reaction to ownership.
A Simple Leadership Standard
If Lewis were guiding us today, I believe he would advise us something like this:
Build organizations where people work for something greater than themselves. And lead people with the understanding that their behavior is shaped by what you put into them.
That combination creates something powerful: a team driven by purpose. And a culture built on intentional development.
A Simple Challenge
This week, I challenge you to ask yourself:
Is our purpose big enough to inspire people beyond themselves?
And am I giving my team the inputs they need to succeed?
Great leaders do not just demand better outcomes. They create them.
Stay steady.
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God Bless!
~ Schuyler Williamson