What is Purpose? When stripped back, leadership is a question of why.

Why do we show up? Why does this matter? What is it that truly drives me?

But it is also a question of how. How do we show up every morning, or in tension, in conflict, in complexity?
What is the quality of our presence? Are we present, or simply performing presence? To have situational influence, we must understand that every leadership moment is situationally specific.

Influence is not a static trait. It is dynamic. Responsive. It demands awareness and a deep anchoring in values and purpose.

Purpose is the engine. Values are the compass. Beliefs are the interpretation. Behaviour is the outcome. We speak of purpose often, but rarely do we stop to ask what it actually does. Purpose gives us direction. It sharpens intent. It creates resolve when conditions shift. It gives structure and clarity to our values and beliefs. It is a force, and it lives in the choices we make when pressure hits. It becomes the container for everything that matters. What we prioritise, what we protect, and what we are willing to walk away from.
But how many leaders have truly paused to ask: Does my purpose align with my values? Do I even know what those values are? Because values do not begin with choice. They begin with experience. Values are not chosen; they are forged. Formed through family, culture, adversity, and formative ecosystems, they shape us long before we are conscious of them. Values become the moral and ethical radar we carry into every conversation, decision, and high-stakes moment. They are not flexible. They are not situational. They are the deep, subconscious benchmarks through which we interpret the world. These values give rise to beliefs—our interpretation of fairness, trust, effort, and leadership. And those beliefs inform the choices we make in real time.
This is where purpose becomes essential.
Without a clearly articulated purpose, those values and beliefs remain dormant or disjointed. But when purpose is defined, truly internalised, it aligns what we stand for, how we act, and what outcomes we pursue. It creates congruence. And from that congruence comes consistency.
And consistency is what creates situational influence. It’s the capacity to respond, rather than react, with decisions that are deliberate, values-aligned, and contextually aware. But none of this is possible without clarity of purpose.
Organisations need a purpose that’s not just written, but lived. When leaders lack clarity on their own values and beliefs, they can’t align with organisational purpose, and without that alignment, trust erodes. People don’t follow strategy; they follow coherence. And coherence begins when leaders embody the purpose they ask others to believe in.
Values are the foundation. Beliefs put them into motion. Purpose channels both into clarity and influence. Leadership without purpose is position. Without values, it’s performance. With both, leadership becomes situationally influential.