# Leaders have influence but lack purpose

> The leadership industry measures what leaders accumulate, not what improves because they lead.
- Title: Leaders have influence but lack purpose · Newsweek | Shortify
- Summary: The leadership industry measures what leaders accumulate, not what improves because they lead. Purposeful leadership requires clarity about what you're…
- Keywords: leadership, employee engagement, organizational culture, purpose-driven leadership, management, workplace productivity, decision-making, trust in organizations, human judgment, executive responsibility, Leaders, influence
- Source: Newsweek — https://newsweek.com/too-many-leaders-too-little-purpose-opinion-12448791
- Published: 2026-09-16T15:27:26+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: leadership, employee engagement, organizational culture, purpose-driven leadership, management, workplace productivity, decision-making, trust in organizations, human judgment, executive responsibility
## Influence without purpose
The leadership industry has mastered influence but hasn't answered the crucial question: influence for what? We measure what leaders accumulate, not what improves because they lead.

> influence for what?
## Engagement crisis despite abundance
Only 20 percent of employees were engaged at work in 2025, with productivity loss estimated at 10 trillion dollars globally. Manager engagement fell sharply too.
## When metrics become the mission
Businesses need revenue and margins, but the mistake comes when the metric becomes the mission. External goals tell you if you're moving; internal purpose tells you if you're moving in the right direction.
## AI demands human judgment
Artificial intelligence is accelerating work at unprecedented speed, but it cannot replace human judgment. It cannot decide who may be harmed by a decision or what kind of organization we want to build.
## Purpose has measurable consequences
U.S. employees with a strong sense of purpose at work were 5.6 times as likely to be engaged as those with low purpose. Purposeful leadership marries internal intention with external goals.
## Three requirements for purpose
Clarity: know what you're trying to change. Responsibility: understand that every decision reaches employees, families, customers, and communities. Action: purpose means nothing if it never changes behavior.
## Leaders must reach the frontline
The strongest leaders make themselves available to frontline staff, asking what they need and what's getting in their way. Communication silos destroy organizations; leadership should make information travel, not hierarchy harden.

> The strongest leaders I know make themselves available to the frontline.
## Managed versus trusted
A leadership culture driven by ego and metrics produces people who feel managed but not trusted. A culture grounded in purpose produces people confident enough to take calculated risks and connected to their work's value.
## Reframe the leadership question
Stop asking how successful you can become. Ask instead: as a leader, how can I create natural success through self-motivated people? Measure success by what people become capable of because you led them.
## Key takeaway

Purposeful leadership requires clarity about what you're trying to change, responsibility for decisions that ripple through organizations, and actions that match your stated values.