Guest Editors: Oana Branzei and Dusya Vera
Abstract Deadline: June 15 (~300 words)
Article Deadline: Full articles due August 1 (upon acceptance of abstract)
Amplify is a thought leadership journal from Cutter (an Arthur D. Little Company). https://www.cutter.com/journals/amplify
Purpose sounds beguilingly easy, but the journey to it is daunting, even for seasoned executives. Although many eventually claim to have reached it, purpose is not a "destination" leaders achieve. Rather, it is a tool that many master for the smaller as well as the greater good. On a personal level, purpose grounds and gives leaders an everyday stake in the greatest challenges, including crises, that their organizations face. Professionally, purpose is one of the few currencies and topics of discussion that transcends hierarchical levels and positionality. Individual purpose matters, but achieving organizational purpose relies on fostering sustained commitment from many individuals as they unite around common challenges.
Some might perceive purpose as a luxury reserved for exemplary leaders with compelling success stories to share. Yet, purpose matters most when leaders collaboratively design and develop architectures of purpose that attract others who care about the same issues. Climate change. Injustice. Biodiversity. Inequality. The list is long, but the majority of new start-ups move our world forward by scaffolding purpose, one business model at a time. Such is the power of everyday purpose, to the extent that some business schools qualify profit as purposeful, while new leadership strategies underscore the importance of organizations serving multiple goals.
An upcoming issue of Amplify, with Guest Editors Oana Branzei and Dusya Vera, will curate timely and relevant insights on "how to purpose". The focus will be on initially identifying the differences between every day and extreme purpose, followed by illustrating the transformative potential of scaffolding purpose through storytelling. We invite both real-life experiences and academic deep dives that demystify "how to purpose" by identifying strategies for scaffolding purpose in today's organizations. Our goal is to elevate the discussion by providing guidance to leaders who are ready to engage in purpose-driven leadership.
We welcome global researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and stakeholders to contribute their insights and expertise to this critical discourse. We're particularly interested in the application of purpose to pressing issues like climate change (COP-28), biodiversity (COP-15), regeneration (Davos 2024), decarbonization, and Agenda 2030. Authors are invited to make explicit links to the Sustainable Development Goals, the Inner Development Goals, as well as ESG priorities, when applicable.
Articles can address, but are not limited to, topics such as:
- What is purpose good for; who should invest in it; when and how? What returns can be expected when leaders invest in purpose?
- What are the distinctions and connections among every day and extreme purpose? Can we have one without the other?
- Purpose washing: when do declarations of purpose become performative rather than transformative? Can a rush towards purpose lead executives into virtue signaling or grandstanding? Can purpose washing be off-putting and what are the short and long term-costs of lacking an implementation plan?
- Why is purpose better understood as a verb (purposing), or a series of actions (scaffolding) rather than a noun?
- How do leaders connect purpose and profit? Purpose and grand challenges? How can elevating purpose inform and even transform business models, ecosystems, and economies?
- What are the connections between purpose at different levels (individual, team, organization, industry, sector, partnership etc.) and ESG priorities?
- What are the benefits and the costs of purpose-first language? Can purpose-first leadership, strategies or economies lure us into a false sense of security where we believe we truly understand and support each other's purpose?
- What analogies are used in different echelons to reveal, evolve, and uphold purpose?
- What role does communicating purpose play within and between individuals and organizations? What trade-offs exist in communicating purpose too soon versus too late?
- Does purpose make a difference on the continuum between surviving and thriving in a world riddled with inequities?
- Can purpose change? Should it? When and where does purpose shift, and most importantly why and how?
- How can purpose-driven frameworks help us find opportunities in crises? Paths out of misery and suffering? Paths towards solidarity and flourishing?
- How does purpose shape our view of future challenges and guide our choices and actions?
FOR CONSIDERATION: Please send an abstract (~300 words or less of proposed article scope and author(s) bio) to obranzei@ivey.ca, dvera@ivey.ca andGenerali.Christine@adlittle.com
Abstract submissions will be evaluated upon receipt, and authors will be notified soon after of acceptance status. Final article length is 2,000-3,500 words plus graphics.
Special Issue link: Call for Papers | Cutter Consortium
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Dusya Vera
Professor of Strategy
Executive Director, Ian O. Ihnatowycz Institute for Leadership
Ivey Business School at Western University
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