SPROWT ARTICLE | Ana Rita Coelho Sousa Lima

Ana Rita Coelho Sousa

Growing is important. Growing with purpose is transformational

We are in an era where technology shortens distances, businesses scale at an accelerated pace, and goals seem increasingly ambitious. We grew up hearing that success is in the numbers, in exceeded targets, and in the upward curves of charts. However, in the midst of this race for progress, a simple and powerful question gains space: Where are we going and why?

More than seeking results, it is about finding meaning. It is not about abandoning profit, but about expanding our view and knowing how to generate positive impact while we grow.

It is not enough to grow. It has to make sense.

For years, success was measured by financial performance: profit, expansion, and scale. However, nowadays, leaders and organizations are also evaluated by their environmental impact, their relationship with the community, their ethics and coherence. Consumers are more conscious and employees want to work in companies with a clear purpose. Investors look at ESG criteria and the market is demanding not only excellence but also consciousness. All these aspects represent a change of era.

But what is, in fact, to have purpose? It is not just a nice phrase on the wall or on the website. It is what guides decisions, connects people, and generates impact beyond financial return. It is in the reason the organization exists. The purpose is born from the company’s story, culture, and vocation. To be real, it needs to be lived in everyday life, and not just announced in campaigns.

Lighting and sustaining the fire is the role of leadership. No change of course happens without leadership. It is the leaders who translate purpose into concrete actions. Who make it a decision-making criterion, a cultural axis, and a source of inspiration.

Leaders with purpose do not just command, they mobilize, connect, inspire, and transform. They know that results will come and will be more sustainable if there is coherence between what is said, what is believed, and what is done. And in moments of uncertainty, it is purpose that serves as north, that gives firmness to difficult decisions, and reminds us why it is worth continuing.

The idea of progress with purpose is inspiring, but also practical. The power of a culture with purpose is to create vibrant cultures:

  • Employees who feel proud to belong;
  • Clients who become brand advocates – who see the company as “Partner of Choice”;
  • Innovation that arises naturally because there is clarity about the “why” of each initiative;
  • Work that becomes more than an obligation and comes to be seen as a contribution;
  • Access to investors and financing committed to ESG;
  • Creating more resilient and innovative organizational cultures;
  • Being recognized in the market as “Employer of Choice”;

It is not about giving up profit. It is about broadening the meaning of profit. Purpose is not the opposite of profit. A company with purpose does not stop wanting to prosper but decides to prosper with consciousness. It does not ignore financial metrics but broadens its vision to include impact, legacy, and contribution.

Every organization, whether small or large, can find and live its purpose. It does not need to be grand, it just needs to be real. It can be in improving the life of the local community, in guaranteeing decent working conditions, in developing sustainable solutions in the sector, or simply in cultivating an environment where people feel respected and heard.

Purpose is what differentiates companies that just operate from those that inspire.
It is what transforms routine into legacy.

The courage to do it differently!

Placing purpose at the center of decisions is an act of courage. It often means giving up the shortest path in favor of the right path. It implies reviewing practices, resisting haste, remembering the essence. But it is also an act of leadership. The most admired companies in the world today are not the biggest, they are the most conscious. Those that dared to say “no” to what does not match their values. That chose positive impact even when it required innovation, patience, or transformation.

Purpose is not just for CEOs or boards of directors. It is for all of us.
Every professional is a link in something greater. And each one can and should ask: what am I contributing to build with my work?

It does not matter if we already lead a team or are just starting our career. When we work with purpose, our effort gains a different weight and our day has a different meaning. When an entire team works with purpose, it can move mountains.

We are facing a choice:
To continue on autopilot or create something memorable. To repeat old models or challenge the status quo. To maximize profit at any cost or to expand positive impact. To meet immediate needs or to build, with consciousness, tomorrow.

We can continue to operate on autopilot, to meet goals, to deliver results, following the same logic as always. Or we can choose a more courageous path: that of transformation, of innovation with purpose, of sustainability as a pillar and not as an appendix.

With each decision, we have the opportunity to redefine what success is. That is the choice ahead of us: to be just another agent of the present or to be an active part of a fairer, more balanced, more human future?

To lead with purpose is not about being perfect. It is about being conscious, honest, committed.
Being conscious is understanding that our actions have impact on people, the environment, and society. It is making informed, ethical, and sustainable choices, even when that demands effort, adaptation, or courage.

Being honest is acting with integrity, at all levels. It is taking responsibility, recognizing mistakes, and keeping transparency as a principle, not just when it is easy, but mainly when it is challenging.

Being committed is going beyond speech. It is having presence, dedication, and consistency. It is turning values into attitudes, every day, in every decision, in every relationship.

Conscious, honest, and committed companies do not just build solid reputations, they generate trust, inspire people, and leave lasting legacies.

It is accepting that maybe we cannot change the whole world, but we can change our world, our sector, our team, and our story.

Because growing is important, but growing with purpose is what truly transforms.

Conclusion:

Progress without direction is just movement, progress with purpose is transformation.

The progress that is worthwhile is the one that transforms, that respects, and that inspires.

In business and in life, we are all challenged to decide what we will leave behind when the race ends. Results? Metrics? Or something more?

The new measure of success is not only what we achieve, but what we help build. To lead with purpose is to choose to be part of something greater. It is to grow by leaving the world a little better than we found it. Because in the end, what really matters is not how far we advanced, but why we advanced.