Now you have all the ingredients for creating your team purpose statement.

Counterintuitively, drafting your team purpose statement will begin with you and each individual team member working independently. Each person creates their own draft team purpose statement by answering the question:

What will make you proud of your team 2–3 years from now?

Have your statement start with, “I will feel proud of my team 2–3 years from now when . . .”

Consider integrating the following criteria when you are drafting your purpose statement:

• In our sphere of influence
• Highest impact
• Unique to us
• The work that only we can do

Pro Tip: Don’t overthink this. Have these words come from your heart, Allow what wants to surface to flow out with ease. Use words that matter to you.

Examples of components that make up Team Purpose Statements include:

• We have a culture of collaboration, sharing, information, power, and credit.
• Students are excited about their futures and bold in their creative endeavors!
• We are the world’s best operations team and making extraordinary impact on business, people, and this planet!
• Our team fosters a culture of inclusion.
• When we are driving profitable sales by creating a unique treasure hunt experience!
• We unlock the potential for our team to advance our mission together.

Step 2 Activity | Small Group Breakout: TRIO Draft Purpose Statements

By the end of the session each trio will create a draft team purpose statement in the following format “We will feel proud of this team in two years from now when…“

Instructions:
• Remind participants to complete and bring their individual responses to the last activity “My most meaningful job” and “I will feel proud of this team 2-3 years from now…”
• Ask the participants to break out into small groups of three individuals.
• Share the above information with group participants.
• After the groups have formed, share the activity objective and steps.

Segment 1 Duration: 10-15 minutes

Step 1. One person shares their individual team purpose statement that finishes the statement, “I will feel proud of this team 2 years from now when…”

Step 2. The other two people in the group listen and share what they love about the first person’s statement.

Step 3. Repeat this for each person in the group.

Segment 2 Duration: 20 minutes

Step 4. Once all TRIO members have shared, all members of the TRIO discuss the following:

Step 5: Update your individual team purpose statement incorporating elements you like from other statements.

Step 6. Work with your small group to craft a small group team purpose statement that integrates the fewest, most essential aspects that effectively finish the statement, “We will feel proud of this team 2 years from now when…”

Consider aspects that may need to be added, omitted, or rephrased.

Step 7. Paste your small group draft team purpose statement into the shared repository for the larger group to review together in the next section.