The missing piece: Reconnecting product teams with their purpose
Purpose is often overlooked, yet it can be what separates feature factories from high-performing teams. Drifting teams lose focus, but a clear purpose helps brings them back on track
High-performing product teams don’t succeed by chance. Many factors need to be in place, from strategy to seamless delivery. But one crucial element is often overlooked: a shared sense of purpose that keeps teams aligned, focused and engaged.
While strategy provides direction, purpose helps teams understand why their work matters. It keeps them intentional, connected to impact and empowered to make decisions that drive meaningful outcomes. Yet, many teams struggle to define their purpose, leaving them feeling disconnected and uninspired.
If your team feels out of sync with the bigger picture, purpose might be the missing piece.
How teams lose sight of their purpose:
Most teams can explain what they do and how they do it, but when asked why their work matters, the answer is often unclear.
In startups and high-growth companies the relentless pursuit of product-market fit keeps product teams and their strategy deeply aligned to the company’s mission. The business lives and breathes it’s purpose - using it to attract funding, draw in early employees and keep the team motivated during periods of uncertainty. With purpose embedded in strategy, teams stay aligned, adaptable and relentlessly outcome-driven.
However, as companies scale, complexity creeps in. Layers of bureaucracy emerge, priorities shift and teams become siloed. The once-clear link between the product strategy and the company’s mission becomes disconnected. Product Managers go from solving meaningful problems to shipping features that serve short-term goals over long term-impact. The pressure to deliver persists but the connection to why fades.
Signs your team lacks purpose:
When a team loses their sense of purpose, they drift. Work becomes transactional and success is measured by output rather than outcomes. If you recognise any of these signs, it might be time for a reset:
Shipping without impact: The team ships features but no one can articulate why they’re important.
Conflicting priorities: Stakeholders pull the team in multiple directions, creating misalignment and frustration.
Disengagement: Work feels transactional and team members hesitate to challenge decisions or suggest improvements.
Reactive decision making: Instead of thinking strategically, the team is stuck firefighting - responding to short-sighted, ad-hoc requests.
Lack of empowerment: The team defers every major decision to leadership instead of owning their choices.
A well-defined team purpose cuts through the noise and keeps teams aligned, motivated and intentional about their work.
Defining and embedding your team's purpose:
In empowered product teams, purpose isn’t an add on – it's embedded within the strategy and culture. These teams have a clear understanding of what they’re striving towards, who they’re serving and why their work matters. They don’t just execute against a roadmap, they shape it based on the outcomes they want to drive.
But not all teams have this luxury. In larger organisations, strategy is often set at the top and the link between company mission, product strategy and team decisions can feel detached. This is where team-level purpose becomes essential. Even if the broader strategy is set elsewhere, teams can still define their own purpose – one that anchors them in why.
Defining your team’s purpose should be a collaborative process, stepping back from the day-to-day and reflecting on the bigger picture. It’s an opportunity to have open, honest discussions where every voice is heard. The goal is to surface key themes that shape a purpose the team truly owns and believes in.
These questions can help kick start the discussion:
For the team:
Why does our team exist?
What value do we create and for whom?
Why does the business and our users need us?
What sets us apart from other teams in the business?
What is one thing we wish people knew about our team?
For individuals:
What excited you about joining the team?
What impact do you personally want to make within the business?
What’s one achievement you’re proud of making in the team?
What motivates you to do your best work for the team?
As with other strategic tools, defining purpose is only the first step. It must also be embedded to have real impact. Following these principles can help ensure purpose becomes a lasting part of the team’s mindset:
Align with the mission: Connect to the company’s broader goals while defining the team’s unique contribution.
Make it actionable: Purpose should help guide decisions and trade-offs, not just sound inspiring.
Keep it concise: The purpose should be clear and memorable.
Reinforce regularly: Purpose should be embedded in the team through roadmaps, retros and planning.
Evolve over time: As businesses and teams evolve, revisit and refine the purpose to keep it relevant.
Examples include:
Payments team: "We enable fast, secure and frictionless transactions so that customers can trust our platform with their money - every time, everywhere.”
Internal tooling team: "We streamline internal processes by building efficient, user-friendly tools that reduce manual processes and help our colleagues be more efficient and effective."
Retention: "We create habit-forming experiences that keep users engaged, helping them unlock ongoing value and deepening their connection with our product."
Summary:
Purpose isn’t just a nice to have – it's a key driver for high-performing teams. Whether deeply embedded in your strategy or defined at a team level, it keeps teams grounded in why their work matters.
Without it, product teams risk becoming feature factories by shipping work without meaning. With a clear purpose, they make smarter decisions and stay motivated to delivering meaningful outcomes.
If your team is drifting, don’t wait. Help them to find and define their purpose – it could be the key to unlocking their full potential.
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