PURPOSE | LEADERSHIP
With this 10-year investment , Deloitte is working with leaders , organisations , and communities to help build pathways for social mobility and economic prosperity , with a focus on three areas – education and workforce development , financial inclusion , and health equity .
“ My purpose is to drive impact at scale for societal issues , but also to enable our more than 110,000 professionals to engage in purpose-driven work that is meaningful to them ,” says Kwasi .
Following the launch of this investment , and two years into his role as purpose leader at Deloitte US , we caught up with Kwasi to talk leadership , challenges , and what businesses need to do to successfully embed purpose .
As a Deloitte Principal for 15 years , and Chief Purpose Officer for the last two , how has your leadership evolved ? At Deloitte , we have this thing called ‘ business chemistry ’, and I take the assessment every two years to see how my leadership has evolved . Through and through , I ’ m a logic and a process person . I ’ m like , ‘ I ’ ve laid this out and it ’ s self-evident that this is the direction we need to travel ’. However , that doesn ’ t work with purpose , or with DEI .
Therefore , my leadership skills have evolved from the standpoint of , how do you take people in a partnership structure with several different generations within the workforce along on a journey that ensures they all feel heard and respected and knowing that logic may not matter as much as giving them 15 minutes to share a perspective with you . I have become much more of an integrator in my leadership style and a coalition builder .
However , the core aspects of who I am as a leader haven ’ t changed – I believe
“ In a role like purpose , being able to lead authentically , with honesty , and stay true to the power are essential if you want to make sure you get people on board ”
Kwasi Mitchell Chief Purpose Officer , Deloitte US
everyone should be treated with kindness and respect , and that everyone has a point of view worth listening to . It just doesn ’ t mean it is core to our strategy .
Does working in Purpose require any other specific skills ? For somebody working in Purpose , it ’ s essential they work with honesty and authenticity . People talk increasingly about how CEOs should now be interacting and leading with authenticity , and while I think that ’ s true , I also think CEOs can get away with having a business grow aggressively .
62 January 2023