I was facilitating a strategic planning session when the discussion came to a grinding halt.
We’d been flying high for two hours—sticky notes everywhere, energy buzzing, everyone aligned on the mission. Then someone asked: “But how do we know if we’re actually living our values?”
Cue the awkward silence. The kind where everyone suddenly finds their phones fascinating.
Here’s the thing: we’ve gotten brilliant at measuring everything that doesn’t matter and terrible at measuring what does. We can tell you our donor retention rate down to the decimal point, track every click on our newsletter, and produce engagement metrics that would make a data scientist weep with joy. But ask us if we’re actually embodying “collaboration” or “innovation”?
Cricket sounds.
That’s where Key Purpose Indicators come in—and no, that’s not a typo. These KPIs aren’t about performance. They’re about purpose.
We’ve gotten brilliant at measuring everything that doesn’t matter and terrible at measuring what does.
Your Purpose—call it your mission, your why, your reason for existing—that’s your North Star. Your values should be the compass that gets you there. But here’s what actually happens: Purpose lives in strategic documents that three people have read. Values live on walls that everyone ignores.
It’s like having GPS directions but refusing to look at them while driving. Sure, you might eventually reach your destination. But you could also end up on a side road.
Adam Grant nailed it when he said personality is how you respond on a typical day, but character is how you show up on a hard day. And let’s be honest—leading an organization has its fair share of hard days. That’s when values either become your lifeline or reveal themselves as fiction.
Your Purpose lives in strategic documents that three people have read. Your Values live on walls that everyone ignores. It’s like having GPS directions but refusing to look at them while driving.
Here’s why that matters. First, when it comes to measuring against our values, most of us rely on our gut. We feel our culture is strong, or that the vibes are good.
But would you accept that from your accountant about your financial health? Would you let your program team evaluate impact based on feelings? Of course not. Yet somehow we think organizational culture runs on intuition and good intentions.
We have Key Performance Indicators for everything. KPIs for marketing. KPIs for financials. KPIs for engagement, for retention. So here’s my question: if we can measure performance, why can’t we measure purpose?
That’s where Key Purpose Indicators come in. Same acronym, completely different game. These KPIs aren’t about hitting targets or beating benchmarks. They’re about whether your values are actually showing up to work—or just calling in sick while hanging framed on your boardroom wall.
Key Purpose Indicators transform that gut feeling into something you can actually work with. Think GPS versus “I’m pretty sure we turn left somewhere around here.”
If we can measure performance, why can’t we measure purpose?
Turning your values into measurable Key Purpose Indicators can be challenging because most organizations are trying to align around values that aren’t values at all. They’re platitudes.
Let’s get specific for a moment. “Excellence”? Not a value. Real values are specific. They force a stand. They might even force uncomfortable conversations. They make you choose between two good things, or sometimes between easy money and staying true to who you are.
When you measure values through Key Purpose Indicators, you can’t hide behind pretty words anymore. “We value collaboration” becomes “How many times this month did Sharon from accounting and Pat from programs work together to solve client access issues?”
That’s the difference between values as aspiration and values as operation.
So how do you actually make this real? Start by having conversations with your team about how your values show up (or don’t) in their actual work. Get a neutral third party to run these—people are surprisingly honest when they know their manager isn’t taking notes.
These conversations become your baseline. High engagement with values? You’re doing something right. Crickets when you mention “innovation”? Time to find a way to make it more meaningful or lose it.
Then move to Purpose-Driven Definitions. Transform those lovely-but-useless value statements into behaviours humans can actually do. “Excellence” becomes “We test every program with beneficiaries before launching.” “Respect” becomes “We respond to community feedback within 48 hours, even if the answer is ’we’re still figuring it out.”
Suddenly, values become specific enough to include in performance reviews. Or vendor contracts. Or that awkward conversation about whether to accept funding from that questionable source.
You’ll also need “Make It Real” Workshops & Check-ins. Especially with teams scattered across departments, cities, time zones, and kitchen tables, you need intentional spaces to reconnect with purpose.
I’ve seen organizations transform when they commit to this. The program coordinator in Thunder Bay suddenly feels as connected to your mission as the person sitting in head office. No motivational posters required.
Transforming values into Key Purpose Indicators sets clear expectations for navigating real situations: how to respond to angry emails, what to say when someone asks about that controversial issue, and how to handle that funder who wants their name on everything. When everyone from your receptionist to your ED approaches situations through the same values lens, your brand becomes bulletproof.
In a sector that runs on purpose, Key Purpose Indicators make sure you’re not just talking about values—you’re living them. And here’s what nobody tells you: when you start measuring values, everything shifts.
Decision-making gets clearer because you have criteria beyond “will this keep the lights on?” Team meetings become productive because everyone’s working from the same definition of success. Funder conversations get easier because you’re not performing—you’re just being who you actually are.
In a sector that runs on purpose, Key Purpose Indicators make sure you’re not just talking about values—you’re living them. And here’s what nobody tells you: when you start measuring values, everything shifts.
Most importantly? Your impact grows. Not because you’re doing more stuff, but because everything you do finally points in the same direction.
We operate in complicated economic times. Funders want more transparency. Employees want more meaning. Communities want more authenticity. Key Purpose Indicators aren’t just another measurement tool to add to your already overwhelming stack of metrics. They’re the thread that connects everything else—the thing that makes all your other measurements make sense.
Because at the end of the day, we’re not just trying to do good work. We’re trying to do work that matters, in a way that matches who we say we are. And that’s worth measuring.
