Purpose ignited: the transformative power of epiphanies in driving social profit orientation

Many leaders of service organizations express a genuine desire to create positive societal impact, yet few manage to make this aspiration a core to their enterprise. Unlike traditional product-based businesses, service organizations operate through relational exchanges, continuous value co-creation and complex stakeholder ecosystems, making the integration of social profit goals both uniquely challenging and vital. While “doing good” often features prominently in mission statements and public communications, service leaders often find their social impact efforts remain peripheral – failing to penetrate core service operations, customer interactions and the broader service ecosystem.

The path from aspiration to genuine social impact within service contexts is inherently complex. Service organizations rely heavily on authentic, sustained leadership engagement with diverse stakeholders – customers, employees, partners and communities – over extended periods. When this engagement is fragmented, insufficient or misaligned, social profit initiatives often falter, undermined by competing operational priorities, unclear strategic direction and conflicting stakeholder interests within these multifaceted service ecosystems. Without embedding social profit deeply into the design, management and delivery of service, social impact risks being relegated to a secondary concern rather than a central organizational driver.

As Crofton (2024) observes, “It's easy to want to make the world a better place, to create a ‘social impact’. It's much harder to do in practice. Most people have limited success that quickly fizzles out.” This challenge is amplified in service organizations where social impact depends on relational dynamics and sustained engagement across service ecosystems. Many leaders launch socially oriented initiatives with enthusiasm, yet sustaining momentum and integrating these goals into everyday service processes is difficult. The inherently interactive nature of service demands leadership capable of transformative insight and relational innovation.

Yet some services successfully shift their organizations to fully embrace Social Profit Orientation (SPO) – an integrated approach embedding positive social and environmental impact into the core mission, strategy and ongoing service relationships (Berry et al., 2025). What distinguishes these leaders? How do they navigate the relational complexity of service ecosystems to transform not only strategies but also the meaning and purpose of service itself? Our study explores these questions by focusing on epiphanic moments – those sudden, profound insights or realizations that fundamentally shift leaders' understanding and inspire them to adopt a SPO, thereby redefining their approach to service leadership.

Building on the rich qualitative data collected by Berry et al. (2025), including interviews with 62 service leaders across 21 organizations, we conduct a focused reanalysis through a lens centered on epiphanies ^[1]. This reveals four distinct pathways through which these transformative insights emerge: Personal Crossroads, Immersion, Purposeful Imagination and Intentional Exploration. Contrary to the idea that epiphanies are purely spontaneous, our findings, consistent with Dane (2024), demonstrate that deliberate reflection and immersive service experiences often foster these profound insights – highlighting the deeply relational and experiential nature of service leadership epiphanies.

Our study contributes to service research and the expanding field of Transformative Service Research (TSR), as well as to broader management scholarship on Transformational Leadership Theory (TLT), in several important ways. First, we deepen understanding of how service leaders' personal experiences and sense-making – shaped through relational interactions and stakeholder engagement – influence strategic change within complex service ecosystems, a core concern of TSR and TLT scholarship. Second, we identify distinct pathways through which leaders come to embrace SPO, particularly in organizations where value is co-created through ongoing human and organizational interactions. Third, we provide rich, detailed examples of transformational service leadership, illustrating how social innovation often begins not with a business case but with deeply human moments embedded in service encounters and relationships. Finally, we offer actionable guidance for service managers seeking to cultivate epiphanic insights that catalyze authentic, systemic transformation – advancing the societal and relational goals central to TSR and enhancing understanding of transformational leadership in practice.

Prior work defines SPO as the organizational commitment to generate sustainable social and environmental value, yet little is known about how leaders personally come to embody this commitment. This study explains such transformation through flow-based epiphanies – moments of deep engagement that reframe purpose and motivation toward the common good. In doing so, it clarifies the psychological process linking personal insight to lasting service impact and outlines how organizations can create conditions that nurture these purpose-forming experiences.

In what follows, we present the theoretical foundations of our work, describe the methodological approach used to identify and analyze epiphanic leadership moments and offer case-based evidence from a diverse set of service organizations operating across sectors and geographies. We conclude with implications for scholars and managers seeking to understand and advance purpose-driven transformation in the service economy.

TSR has emerged as a foundational stream within service scholarship, focused on enhancing individual and collective well-being through service design, delivery and innovation (Anderson et al., 2013). It challenges traditional metrics of organizational success, arguing instead for the centrality of well-being and social progress as guiding outcomes of service systems (Rosenbaum et al., 2011; Russell-Bennett et al., 2019). In doing so, TSR reconceptualizes service as more than mere economic exchange – positioning it as a catalyst for human flourishing and societal betterment (Anderson and Ostrom, 2015).

TSR highlights the unique relational, experiential and systemic nature of service. It emphasizes how interactions between diverse stakeholders – service providers, recipients and broader communities – create opportunities for social innovation and transformation (Anderson and Ostrom, 2015). Scholars have demonstrated how service can be a powerful driver of well-being, including in domains such as healthcare (Berry et al., 2024), financial inclusion (Soetan et al., 2024) and environmental sustainability (Russell-Bennett et al., 2019). Across these studies, service is seen not simply as transactional, but as a vehicle for fostering meaningful, life-enhancing experiences. At the same time, scholars highlight that service initiatives often involve paradoxes, where gains in one dimension of well-being may create trade-offs in another (Russell-Bennett et al., 2020), underscoring the complexity of achieving truly transformative outcomes.

Despite TSR's emphasis on outcomes that improve lives, relatively little attention has been paid to the individual-level transformations of those who lead and shape these service innovations. Much of the focus has been on service ecosystems, customer experience and institutional change rather than understanding how purpose-driven shifts take root within leadership itself. Recent research has proposed bridging TSR with service design and social entrepreneurship to provide actionable frameworks for systemic change (Alkire et al., 2020). Our work complements this by examining the leader-level epiphanies that often ignite such transformation. By examining how these leaders experience and interpret pivotal moments of insight, we extend the conversation in TSR to include the personal and psychological dimensions of transformation that underpin socially impactful service leadership.

We argue that these personal transformations – often beginning with a moment of insight or epiphany – are not merely about organizational strategy or performance. They represent a fundamental rethinking of service itself: from an instrument of economic success to a platform for social progress and human well-being. In this way, our work contributes to TSR by illustrating how transformative service outcomes – and the broader shift towards SPO – can emerge not only through systemic innovation or customer experience design but also through the profound, individual-level transformations of leaders who choose to serve differently.

Transformational leadership, first conceptualized by Burns (1978) and developed by Bass and Riggio (2006), describes a process by which leaders inspire followers by appealing to shared higher ideals and aligning individual and organizational purpose. Unlike transactional leadership, which emphasizes exchanges and performance management, transformational leadership fosters intellectual engagement, moral commitment and collective vision (Bass and Riggio, 2006). It is characterized by four core components: idealized influence (acting as a moral role model), inspirational motivation (articulating a compelling purpose), intellectual stimulation (encouraging innovation and critical thinking) and individualized consideration (developing others through empathy and support).

This leadership approach has been linked to a range of positive organizational outcomes, including improved employee satisfaction, innovation, engagement and overall effectiveness (Avolio et al., 2009; Wang et al., 2011). In service contexts – where relational dynamics, emotional labor and co-creation of value are central – transformational leadership has been shown to elevate service quality, customer experiences and team cohesion (Liao and Chuang, 2007). It also helps foster a culture of trust and shared purpose, enabling service employees to see their work as meaningful and to engage more deeply with customers and colleagues.

Yet despite these benefits, most studies of transformational leadership have focused on what leaders do to inspire and mobilize others rather than how leaders themselves experience the internal shifts that enable them to lead in a purpose-driven way. Although Avolio and Gardner (2005) explored aspects of leader development, much remains to be understood about the personal journey of becoming transformational – particularly in the context of service. This distinction is crucial: while conventional management often emphasizes performance and stability, transformational leadership in service contexts emerges from a deeply personal reimagining of one's role and responsibility in creating meaningful, life-enhancing service experiences.

For leaders who embrace a SPO, this journey is not merely about charismatic communication or strategic innovation. It involves a profound rethinking of the purpose of their organization's service offerings and their own identity as stewards of human flourishing. Our study contributes to this underexplored area by investigating the moments of insight – epiphanies – that precede and enable such transformations. In doing so, we connect the literature on transformational leadership to the broader goals of TSR, emphasizing how personal meaning-making fuels socially impactful service innovation.

Flow theory describes how moments of deep engagement function as the psychological mechanism through which epiphanic experiences precipitate enduring transformation in leaders. Originating in Csikszentmihalyi's (1990) foundational work on optimal experience, Flow describes a mental state in which focused attention and intrinsic motivation converge to generate absorption, clarity and a sense of purpose. In such moments, awareness and activity merge.

Flow is a structured organization of consciousness that channels attention toward meaningful goals (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990). When leaders operate within challenging but manageable contexts supported by clear goals and immediate feedback, experience becomes self-reinforcing and intrinsically motivated (Lambert and Csikszentmihalyi, 2020). This focused concentration reorganizes motivation and identity, linking immediate action to a broader sense of contribution. Through this mechanism, flow connects the psychological experience of purpose with systemic outcomes central to TSR.

Extending Flow theory beyond individual episodes, recent research shows how flow operates as a developmental and moral process over time (Tse et al., 2020, 2022). It explains how leaders sustain purpose across career stages through recalibration of goals, challenges and feedback systems. This lifespan view positions flow as a capability for adaptive renewal: the ability to re-engage deeply with meaningful challenges even amid complexity or uncertainty. Consistent with TLT, such engagement supports moral agency by aligning personal growth with service to others. Within purpose-driven organizations, flow thus becomes an enduring motivational infrastructure that fuels well-being, innovation and social value creation.

Flow theory also offers insight into why epiphanic experiences described by service leaders are so powerful. During these moments, leaders often move from self-referential striving to a state of absorption in collective purpose, an event that mirrors Csikszentmihalyi's description of the loss of self-consciousness that enables transcendent meaning. As engagement deepens, motivation becomes intrinsically directed toward contribution rather than recognition, converting awareness into ethically grounded action. The shift from individual to relational consciousness reflects what Transformative Service Research refers to as transformative value creation: the co-emergence of well-being for self and stakeholders through meaningful service.

Furthermore, individual differences in the frequency and intensity with which people experience flow offer insight into why some leaders exhibit sustained purpose and resilience (Ullén et al., 2012). Flow-prone individuals demonstrate higher conscientiousness, lower neuroticism and greater intrinsic motivation, which are traits that reinforce their capacity to maintain engagement in complex service contexts. Such predispositions align with the attributes of transformational leaders who sustain long-term commitment to social good.

Integrating Flow Theory with Transformative Service Research, therefore, reveals how inner psychological states translate into outward systems of service. Flow provides a psychological mechanism of transformative value creation: the process linking deep engagement, moral clarity and intrinsic motivation to lasting improvements in organizational and societal well-being.

Although epiphanies are often associated with spiritual or literary revelations, recent scholarship has begun to examine their significance in organizational life (Dane, 2024). An epiphany is defined as a sudden, self-referential insight that dramatically reconfigures one's understanding of the world and oneself within it (McDonald, 2008; Dane, 2020). These emotionally intense turning points are important because they can reshape a leader's sense of purpose and identity – factors that are particularly relevant in service leadership, where authentic relational engagement and meaning-making are central to value creation and stakeholder well-being.

Importantly, an epiphany is defined not by whether its trigger was accidental or intentional, but by the sudden, identity-shifting clarity it produces. Even in proactive or exploratory contexts, there is a distinct moment when everything clicks – an immediate and often irreversible insight that reconfigures the leader's sense of purpose and responsibility. While these moments can be shaped by preparation and reflection, they carry an emotional and cognitive intensity that sets a new course in motion. This perspective underscores that practices such as reflection, immersion, imaginative thinking and boundary-crossing exploration are not peripheral activities, but deliberate strategies for fostering transformational leadership grounded in social purpose.

These experiences differ from ordinary insights in both intensity and consequence. While insights may yield tactical solutions, epiphanies catalyze enduring shifts in personal values and self-concept (Miller and C'de Baca, 2001). In work and service contexts, they can prompt reappraisals of career purpose, moral responsibility and one's role in advancing well-being through service (Dane, 2020). Such moments are therefore highly relevant for leaders pursuing a Social Profit Orientation, as they often mark a threshold after which service becomes not just a function of the organization but a calling for broader social good.

Past research has identified common features of epiphanic experiences: antecedent struggle or psychological tension, sudden insight or emotional clarity, personal transformation, meaning-making and enduring impact (McDonald, 2008; Miller and C'de Baca, 2001). While these experiences are often felt as spontaneous, they are more likely to occur in contexts that foster openness, reflection and identity exploration (Dane, 2020; Yacek and Gary, 2020). For instance, Dane (2020) found that career-related epiphanies are often co-produced by inner readiness and external circumstances – what he calls a dance between self-reflection and situational triggers.

Yacek and Gary (2020) conceptualize epiphanies as morally and intellectually transformative experiences that disrupt habitual patterns of thinking, uncover previously hidden ethical commitments and motivate leaders to realign their actions with deeper, core values. Building on this, Dane (2024) suggests that organizations can intentionally cultivate “epiphany-promotive conditions” by providing immersive service experiences, engaging storytelling rich with values and challenging situations that stimulate reflection on identity and purpose – elements that closely align with the relational and experiential nature of service work. In this way, epiphanies act as a vital bridge between a leader's internal sense of self and their outward actions, enabling a shift from viewing service as merely transactional to embracing it as an opportunity to generate meaningful social value. While much of the leadership literature emphasizes observable behaviors and competencies, our findings emphasize the importance of these profound, often emotional and deeply reflective personal experiences as foundational catalysts for authentic, purpose-driven leadership.

In the context of SPO, we find that epiphanies function as inflection points. They reconfigure how leaders perceive their organization's role in the world and their own accountability to society. Whether sparked by personal loss, immersion in human suffering, a flash of imaginative foresight or deliberate exploration of new domains, these moments represent a threshold after which their view of the purpose and capabilities of the organization is no longer just business, but a platform for meaningful change.

This paper draws on qualitative data originally collected for the Berry et al. (2025) study, which introduced the concept of Social Profit Orientation (SPO) and explored how organizations pursue profit with purpose. In that foundational work, an inductive, theory-building research design was adopted to investigate the emergence and practice of SPO across diverse organizational contexts. In the present study, we reanalyze the original data through a new theoretical lens, focusing specifically on the role of epiphanic experiences in catalyzing leaders' commitment to an SPO. While the data collection and foundational coding processes were described in detail by Berry et al. (2025), here we briefly summarize the data context and then outline our distinct analytical approach.

The dataset collected by Berry et al. (2025) included 62 semi-structured interviews with leaders (e.g., CEOs, directors, senior managers) across 21 organizations with strong SPO practices. The sample spanned both for-profit and nonprofit organizations in sectors such as financial services, technology, education and health. Archival materials – company reports, media articles, internal documents – were also gathered to supplement the interviews. All interviews (averaging 30–60 minutes) were open-ended and explored topics such as the motivations, processes, challenges and lessons associated with integrating social purpose into organizational missions. Field notes were also taken during data collection. For more detailed information on the data collection process and sampling strategy, we direct readers to the original Berry et al. (2025) paper.

For the current study, we conducted a focused and systematic re-analysis of the existing dataset to explore a previously unexplored question: how epiphanic experiences shape leaders' adoption of a SPO. We adopted an inductive thematic analysis approach (Braun and Clarke, 2006; Gioia et al., 2013), proceeding through several rigorous stages. First, all researchers independently read the transcripts in full, noting initial ideas and instances of turning points, realizations, epiphanies or transformative events. Second, we conducted open coding across the dataset, with each researcher independently identifying references to experiences described as transformative. This inductive phase was intentionally broad, capturing a wide range of potentially relevant transformative moments. Third, we met as a team to compare our emerging codes, resolve discrepancies and collaboratively refine a shared codebook, ensuring consistency and clarifying conceptual boundaries.

We then moved onto the fourth stage, where we engaged in axial coding (Corbin and Strauss, 1998), grouping descriptive codes into broader conceptual categories and identifying relationships and patterns across the dataset. This process led to the development of a provisional framework of epiphanic experiences, outlining different ways these events shaped leaders' trajectories toward SPO. Fifth, to strengthen the trustworthiness of our analysis, we triangulated our interview interpretations with archival materials, looking for corroborating evidence of transformative events. Where needed, we reached back out to selected respondents to gather further context or clarify their experiences. Finally, through iterative discussion and repeated review of the data, we refined and validated the typology, ensuring it thoroughly captured the key dimensions of how epiphanic experiences catalyze SPO commitments. This rigorous approach resulted in a robust epiphany framework, which we present and discuss next.

Our analysis identified two fundamental dimensions shaping epiphanic transformations in leadership: focus and engagement. These dimensions provide a lens to understand the diverse ways leaders experience profound insights that catalyze their commitment to SPO. We explore these dimensions before introducing the four pathways through which such epiphanic experiences typically arise.

Focus refers to the leader's primary locus of attention during the lead-up to and experience of the epiphany. This ranges from an inward focus on personal values, identity and meaning, to an outward focus on societal challenges, stakeholder needs or the organization's broader social role. Simply put, focus captures what the leader is paying attention to at the moment of breakthrough. Some leaders reflect deeply on their personal purpose and ethical alignment, while others are more attuned to external realities and social impact. This inward–outward attentional spectrum shapes the nature and trajectory of the epiphany. Prior research supports this distinction, with McDonald (2008) and Covey (1989) emphasizing internal reflection and Dane (2020, 2024) highlighting the interplay between self-assessment and contextual awareness.

Engagement refers to how the leader becomes involved in the experience triggering their epiphany – whether they are responding to an unplanned event (reactive) or deliberately seeking insight (proactive). Unlike the conventional use of engagement in service research, which often denotes ongoing relational involvement (e.g., Aksoy et al., 2022; Hollebeek et al., 2016), we conceptualize engagement episodically, focusing on the mode of interaction that precipitates transformation. Epiphanies can arise spontaneously in response to disruption (McDonald, 2008; Miller and C’de Baca, 2001; Yacek and Gary, 2020) or emerge through intentional reflection, immersive experiences or strategic openness to new perspectives (Dane, 2020, 2024). This reactive–proactive distinction proved critical in understanding how leaders come to embrace and sustain a SPO.

Building on the dimensions of focus and engagement, our findings reveal four primary pathways through which epiphanic insights most commonly arise: Personal Crossroads, Immersion, Purposeful Imagination and Intentional Exploration. These pathways vary in process – some unfolding serendipitously, others through intentional engagement – but each culminates in a profound, identity-shifting moment of clarity. Importantly, these pathways are not mutually exclusive; in practice, leaders' transformational journeys often weave together multiple triggers. For example, a personal crisis may spark new exploratory behavior or witnessing social injustice may inspire visionary thinking. Thus, the four pathways serve as a conceptual heuristic – ideal types that illuminate the diverse conditions under which epiphanic insights emerge, while respecting the complexity of real-world experiences. Table 1 summarizes these pathways by highlighting their primary focus, mode of engagement and offering concise definitions, which we further elaborate on below.

The cases we used to illustrate each pathway are real-world examples drawn from our qualitative research. These cases exemplify leaders' transformative insights that catalyzed the adoption of a SPO within their organizations. Selected for their empirical rigor, verifiability and alignment with our conceptual framework, each case begins with a contextual overview of the pathway, provides support with quotations and concludes with an analysis of how the leader's epiphany translated into renewed organizational purpose. It is important to note that we do not present every instance of epiphany discussed in our data; rather, we have carefully chosen representative cases that clearly demonstrate each pathway. Table 2 includes further illustrative cases to highlight the broader range of epiphanic experiences across our dataset, reinforcing the empirical robustness of our findings.

Personal Crossroads epiphanies occur when leaders encounter moments of profound internal dissonance – often triggered by a personal experience, identity conflict or moral tension – that prompt them to reassess their professional direction. These insights typically emerge reactively and are internally focused, arising when leaders must reconcile a misalignment between personal values and an existing path. Such moments are frequently associated with pivotal life events (e.g., illness, loss, becoming a parent), exposure to injustice or an acute recognition of an ethical disconnect. Although often emotionally intense and disruptive, these episodes can catalyze enduring transformations in leadership orientation.

Epiphanies based in Personal Crossroads are strongly aligned with the core tenets of transformational leadership, particularly idealized influence and individualized consideration (Burns, 1978; Bass and Riggio, 2006). Leaders experiencing these pivotal moments often shift toward a more authentic and value-driven leadership style, demonstrating moral conviction and heightened empathy. This reorientation fosters a more relational approach to leadership, reshaping both organizational culture and broader social impact. The following empirical illustrations underscore how such epiphanies can emerge in practice and drive leaders to integrate social purpose into their professional endeavors.

Jeff Jordan's pivotal moment occurred when he joined a youth advocacy group to prevent teen smoking (Rescue, 2025). He noticed that the public health campaigns of the time were not only ineffective but also disconnected from the very youth they were meant to reach. As he explained (Stermer, 2025):

This disconnect inspired him to found Rescue, a behavior change agency that leveraged music, fashion and subculture to craft more resonant and effective health messaging. Over two decades, Rescue grew to collaborate with national health agencies such as the CDC and FDA, exemplifying how moral tension and personal conviction can drive innovative social purpose models (Rescue, 2018). Reflecting on the limitations of traditional campaigns, Jordan noted (Stermer, 2025): “[Understanding] what's going on in their lives, why some people are making these choices, and what you'll realize is that these behaviors are a lot more complicated, and changing them is going to be a lot more nuanced. It's not going to be about just telling people not to do something, but it's going to be about trying to connect their values with the behaviors you want them to do. And that's going to take an understanding of their values first.” This realization led him to challenge the status quo, emphasizing empathy, cultural sensitivity and a deep understanding of barriers as essential to effective behavior change.

For James Gutiérrez, a critical juncture emerged during his MBA studies at Stanford University. Positioned on a conventional finance career trajectory alongside peers targeting elite banking roles, Gutiérrez, as the son of Mexican American immigrants, was acutely aware of a pervasive systemic inequity: millions of Latino families were effectively excluded from access to traditional credit markets. Rather than overlook this disparity, he confronted it directly. As Gutiérrez explains (Draper, 2018):

Rejecting the conventional path, he founded Oportun (originally Progreso Financiero), a mission-driven fintech enterprise designed to extend responsible small-dollar loans to “credit-invisible” consumers traditionally marginalized by mainstream financial institutions (Draper, 2018; Reckard, 2012). By leveraging alternative data sources and AI-driven underwriting algorithms, Oportun developed innovative credit assessment methods that bypass traditional barriers, enabling safe, affordable lending to underserved populations. Reflecting on his motivation, Gutiérrez states: “Building credit in this country is a catch-22. To get a loan or mortgage, you need credit, so we've got to solve the problem of helping people build credit scores without a credit score. We're working on the pain point that there's no good option between a credit card and a predatory payday loan. If someone doesn't have a credit score, our whole banking system looks at them like they don't have any value” (Draper, 2018).

By the end of 2023, Oportun had disbursed over $18.2 billion in credit, saving customers $2.4 billion in interest and fees (Berry et al., 2025; Oportun, 2024). Gutiérrez's recognition of systemic financial exclusion fundamentally shaped his career trajectory, leading him to challenge the assumption that social impact and financial viability are mutually exclusive. Instead, he leveraged Oportun as a platform to prove that business success and social purpose can be mutually reinforcing.

Both Jordan and Gutiérrez exemplify the Personal Crossroads pathway, characterized by critical moments of internal conflict wherein deeply held personal values came into tension with prevailing professional norms. These affectively charged experiences rendered continued inaction untenable, prompting a substantive reorientation toward purpose-driven endeavors. Importantly, their commitments to a SPO did not arise from strategic calculation or external mandates, but were instead precipitated by an intrinsic imperative for coherence between their personal identities and the ethical significance of their work. This alignment fundamentally transformed their career trajectories and established the foundation for organizational models that integrate financial sustainability with social impact.

Immersion-based epiphanies occur when leaders are thrust into unfamiliar and demanding environments where they encounter systemic inequities or pressing human needs firsthand. These are not quiet moments of introspection but intensely affective and embodied experiences in which the disparity between personal privilege and collective suffering becomes unavoidably real. Immersion involves sustained engagement in consequential service contexts – such as frontline deployment, community development or humanitarian coordination – where individuals experience full alignment of attention, action and purpose. Through field exposure to underserved communities, direct work with marginalized stakeholders or hands-on participation in crisis response, such experiences dissolve the distance between abstract understanding and lived reality. They exemplify Flow, aligning high challenge with cultivated skill to generate deep engagement and self-transcendent focus. Immersive experiences compel leaders to re-evaluate their assumptions, reorient priorities and broaden their conception of business as a vehicle for societal well-being.

Unlike reflective epiphanies, immersion is visceral and catalytic – a disruptive exposure that generates empathy, a heightened sense of urgency and moral obligation. These experiences often precipitate a fundamental shift in worldview, installing a durable commitment to embed social impact into the organization's strategic framework. Immersion epiphanies align closely with TSR principles, particularly the emphasis on service ecosystems as dynamic platforms for promoting human flourishing (Anderson et al., 2013; Russell-Bennett et al., 2019). By engaging with vulnerable service contexts characterized by exclusion or unmet needs, leaders not only gain insight into complex socio-economic systems but also recognize the potential for their organizations to act as transformative agents within them. In this sense, immersion-based epiphanies do not merely broaden awareness – they reconfigure leadership identity and mobilize systemic, purpose-driven innovation.

In January 2010, shortly after a devastating earthquake in Haiti, José Andrés – already a world-renowned chef – traveled to Port-au-Prince intent on contributing in any capacity possible. Amidst the devastation, he found not only physical ruin and acute hunger but also resilience and pride manifested through culinary practices (World Economic Forum, 2025). Cooking alongside local women in makeshift kitchens, he learned to prepare black beans in the Haitian style and saw how food could transcend nourishment to become a medium of dignity and cultural affirmation (Swiers, 2023). Reflecting on similar experiences after Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, Andrés said (Giorgis, 2018):

Far from a theoretical exercise, Andrés’ immersion in the heart of the crisis revealed systemic inequities and urgent human need that he deeply internalized. This transformative insight inspired him to redefine his role – not merely as a chef, but as a humanitarian mobilizing food as a tool for dignity and hope. Later that year, leveraging $50,000 in prize money from the Vilcek Foundation, he founded World Central Kitchen (WCK) (Farley, 2024). Since its inception, WCK has provided tens of millions of meals worldwide in response to earthquakes, hurricanes, wars and other crises – revolutionizing disaster relief through the delivery of culturally appropriate, chef-prepared meals.

For Andrew Youn, a similar immersion epiphany emerged in a rural Kenyan village. As an MBA student at Northwestern, Youn traveled to East Africa to conduct field research, where he encountered a farmer – a mother of several children – who, despite her best efforts was still unable to feed her family (Scaling Pathways, 2019). He recalls (Nardella, 2019): “The first family that I met … this farmer's name was Christine. And she was just desperately poor – I'd never met a family this poor. She had lost a child. Her remaining children were just always hungry, visibly thin, and I just knew that that was deeply and morally wrong.”

Youn was deeply struck by this and similar encounters. Seeing hardship firsthand shattered the abstraction of “food insecurity,” transforming it into a tangible, urgent crisis. He noted (Youn, 2016):

These immersion experiences collapsed any distance between his privileged perspective and the stark realities of subsistence farming, evoking empathy and a moral imperative to act. It compelled Youn to confront the systemic barriers – rather than individual shortcomings – that perpetuate poverty and hunger.

This was not a detached realization but a visceral, embodied awakening that compelled Youn to rethink business and development's role. Motivated by this insight, he relocated to Kenya and launched One Acre Fund in 2006, starting with just 38 farmers to provide seeds, training and financing (Audacious Project, 2020). Today, over 1.4 million smallholder farmers across Africa participate in the program (Impact Assets, 2025). Youn's experience underscored a vital truth: markets often overlook the poor's potential, not because of a lack of ability, but systemic exclusion (One Acre Fund, 2023). This epiphany sparked his enduring commitment to bridging that gap – one acre at a time.

These narratives underscore the transformative potential of immersion experiences. Neither Andrés nor Youn initially sought out a cause, but by bearing witness to profound human suffering, they encountered realities that demanded a personal and professional reckoning. Their epiphanies were not abstract but visceral, embodied moments that reordered their priorities and redefined their sense of purpose. In response, they built organizations explicitly focused on addressing the urgent needs they had personally encountered. For both leaders, SPO did not emerge from calculated strategy; rather, it arose as a moral imperative – a deeply personal response to systemic inequities they could no longer ignore.

Purposeful Imagination refers to a type of leadership epiphany in which leaders proactively envision a significantly improved future, motivated by dissatisfaction with the current state and a belief in the feasibility of transformative change. Unlike reactive epiphanies, these insights are internally generated through deliberate reflection and a willingness to challenge established norms. Leaders who experience Purposeful Imagination are not simply reacting to existing challenges; rather, they identify unmet needs, question orthodoxies and articulate new possibilities that have not been fully recognized or pursued. These leaders are idea pioneers whose visions may initially appear unrealistic or disruptive, yet they possess the capacity to inspire followership and mobilize resources precisely due to the clarity of their ideas and the moral intensity that underpins them.

Purposeful Imagination aligns with transformational leadership, specifically the dimensions of inspirational motivation and intellectual stimulation (Bass and Riggio, 2006; Avolio and Gardner, 2005). Leaders who embody Purposeful Imagination articulate compelling visions that unify and motivate others, while fostering an environment that encourages creativity, critical inquiry and the co-creation of future possibilities. This type of leadership challenges teams to move beyond incremental improvements, embracing bold, purpose-driven innovation that is anchored in a shared sense of meaning and impact.

The leadership of Jim Anderson at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center illustrates Purposeful Imagination. When he became CEO in 1996, Anderson saw an opportunity to elevate the hospital beyond its already strong reputation. He made quality and safety central strategic priorities, championing transparency in reporting medical outcomes and driving the redesign of care processes to prevent harm and improve patient results (Reinertsen, 2006).

Anderson's visionary leadership was instrumental in organizing Learning Health Networks (LHNs) that brought together clinicians, researchers, parents and patients from hundreds of clinical sites across North America to share knowledge and accelerate improvement (Berry et al., 2025). He explained (Cincinnati Regional Chamber, 2025):

Anderson's purposeful imagination fueled a bold vision to eliminate preventable harm and optimize pediatric health. Rather than accepting existing limits, he challenged both his organization and the broader healthcare community to pursue systemic, transformative change through strategic vision and collaborative action. Today, Cincinnati Children's Hospital is recognized globally as a leader in safety and quality improvement (Cincinnati Children's 2024).

Similarly, Professor Michelle Haber, Executive Director of the Children's Cancer Institute in Australia, experienced a purposeful imagination epiphany when she recognized the potential of precision medicine to dramatically improve survival rates for children with cancer. Haber recognized that, despite major advances, achieving a 100% cure rate for childhood cancer would require a bold departure from traditional approaches; this realization led to the launch of ZERO, a national initiative using genomic profiling to tailor treatment strategies. Her imagination bridged the gap between what was technologically possible and the bold mission to cure every child with cancer. Reflecting on this pivotal realization, she notes (Children's Cancer Institute, 2023):

The ZERO initiative exemplifies the proactive and morally grounded approach of Purposeful Imagination, highlighting the need to move beyond incremental improvements toward systemic change. Today, ZERO is reshaping clinical practice in Australia by providing more targeted and effective care, offering new hope to families (Department of Health and Aged Care (Australia) 2025).

Anderson and Haber's leadership exemplifies how Purposeful Imagination does not rely on external crises to trigger action. Instead, it emerges from an internalized conviction that existing systems are insufficient to meet future challenges and that bold, systemic reimagining is necessary. This proactive orientation drives leaders to challenge conventional assumptions, align organizational resources around visionary goals and foster cultures where teams move beyond problem-solving to collectively reimagine what is possible. Purposeful Imagination, in this sense, functions both as a personal awakening and a strategic framework, guiding organizations toward innovative and socially impactful futures.

Intentional Exploration epiphanies occur when leaders proactively seek out novel experiences, geographies, industries or domains to gain a broader understanding of the world and their place within it. Unlike reactive insights triggered by crisis or discomfort, these epiphanies are driven by curiosity and a desire to transcend conventional boundaries. Leaders engaged in intentional exploration believe that exposure to unfamiliar contexts – whether through international assignments, interdisciplinary collaboration or engagement with non-traditional partners – can generate fresh thinking and purpose-led innovation. Such epiphanies are externally focused yet deliberately cultivated, resulting from a conscious decision to disrupt familiar routines and reveal patterns, needs and opportunities that would otherwise remain invisible. The clarity gained through these exploratory journeys enables leaders to reimagine organizational purpose and realign strategies toward broader societal contributions.

Theoretically, this pathway aligns with TSR, which advocates for systemic innovation to enhance human well-being across service ecosystems (Anderson et al., 2013). TSR encourages moving beyond the dyadic service encounter to understand value co-creation among multiple actors, institutions and networks. In this context, Intentional Exploration allows leaders to identify leverage points within systems, facilitating collaborative transformation and social impact. This approach also resonates with TLT (Bass and Riggio, 2006), which emphasizes fostering shared vision through strategic narratives that inspire collective action.

Henrik Müller-Hansen's journey exemplifies intentional exploration. After his tenure leading a major telecommunications company, Müller-Hansen actively sought to enter a sector “ripe for transformation,” ultimately drawn to the global commercial printing industry – long-plagued by inefficiency, waste and outdated logistics. He has described his desire to step outside his previous domain, immerse himself in new contexts and find “a customer at the other end who will benefit from what you deliver, and will live a better and more efficient life because of your existence” (Gauslaa, 2018).

Inspired by a mentor's advice to prioritize platforms over ownership and an appetite for broad, systemic impact, he directed his exploration toward radically rethinking print and production networks. Müller-Hansen recognized that while technology had transformed many industries, the printing industry was largely unchanged. He observed (Shepherd, 2016):

This insight led to the creation of Gelato, a software-based platform that connects with 130 creative and production partners in more than 30 countries to enable on-demand, local production of print goods and customized products for the “creator economy” (Buss, 2024; Gauslaa, 2018). “We built a software that connects to printers, that we do not own, all over the world … That way, [global brands] can print and distribute locally,” he explains (Gauslaa, 2018). Gelato's networked approach reduces unnecessary shipping and overproduction, allowing products to be made only when ordered and as close to the customer as possible – cutting waste and supporting both environmental and entrepreneurial goals (Shepherd, 2016). Müller-Hansen has described the experience as “about reducing the overall print volume by 50% and the need of transportation by 90% on a two-year perspective” (Gauslaa, 2018).

Through his intentional and opportunity-seeking exploration of a new sector and acute attention to systemic change, Müller-Hansen's journey demonstrates how leaders can generate epiphanies that not only redefine their own work but also realign value creation across global, digital and physical networks.

A parallel example of intentional exploration is found in Kate Bowmaker's journey. After almost 15 years as a public servant – designing communication strategies and policy engagement for multiple Australian government agencies – Bowmaker took a sabbatical abroad, seeking new ways to make a difference. That sabbatical, particularly her immersion in diverse models of community and behavior change, was the spark for her epiphany: effective communication goes beyond policy and messaging; it must center access, inclusion and real collaboration (The Social Deck, 2025; UNSW, 2023). Upon returning to Australia, Bowmaker co-founded The Social Deck. Reflecting on this evolution, she explains (Bowmaker, 2021):

Under Bowmaker's leadership, The Social Deck has played a key role in shaping national policies and programs – ranging from domestic and family violence prevention to disability, education, housing and health – by centering inclusive consultation, co-design and participatory engagement (The Social Deck, 2024a, b, c). The company's ethos is to “engage with heart and purpose” and “accept new challenges with an open mind and a willingness to learn,” allowing the team to continually adapt its values and strategies to meet society's evolving needs (The Social Deck, 2019; The Social Deck About 2024a, b, c, d).

Bowmaker's example demonstrates how intentional exploration – stepping outside the familiar, learning from new models and purposefully realigning one's mission – can become the catalyst for personal and organizational epiphany, fueling innovation and more inclusive social impact.

In contrast to epiphanies born of personal crises or direct engagement with suffering, the insights of Müller-Hansen and Bowmaker emerged from deliberate inquiry. Their journeys underscore that exploration, driven by curiosity rather than necessity, can surface previously unrecognized leverage points for systemic transformation. For Müller-Hansen, this involved reimagining a legacy industry through platform thinking and sustainability; for Bowmaker, it entailed advancing public engagement by centering co-design and lived experience. Together, these examples highlight how intentional exploration can align commercial innovation with social impact, demonstrating its potential as a strategic pathway to more inclusive, sustainable systems.

The four epiphany pathways – Personal Crossroads, Immersion, Purposeful Imagination and Intentional Exploration – form an integrated framework, depicted in Figure 1, which emerged from our qualitative analysis. This framework illustrates how these distinct experiences serve as catalytic mechanisms reshaping leaders' identities, values and strategic directions. It extends recent work on epiphanies in organizational life (McDonald, 2008; Dane, 2020, 2024; Yacek and Gary, 2020) by offering a novel view of how profound, identity-altering moments drive individual and organizational transformation. Additionally, the framework contributes to transformational leadership literature by highlighting how leadership change often emerges from deeply personal, emotionally charged experiences. It also advances Transformative Service Research by emphasizing the role of leadership in steering organizations toward societal well-being, rooted in epiphanic experiences.

This study contributes to both Transformative Service Research (TSR) and Transformational Leadership Theory (TLT) by theorizing epiphanic experiences as catalytic mechanisms for leadership transformation. We identify four distinct types of epiphanies – Personal Crossroads, Immersion, Purposeful Imagination and Intentional Exploration (see Figure 1) – that provoke shifts in leaders' identities, values and strategies. These shifts often prompt leaders to adopt a SPO and reorient their organizations toward broader societal impact. This perspective complements Keränen and Olkkonen's (2022) argument that transformative service frequently depends on actors who can spark new directions and challenge taken-for-granted assumptions within service ecosystems. Leaders who experience epiphanies, by redefining their sense of purpose, often become such catalysts for systemic change. In this way, we underscore the significance of personal insight and emotional engagement as antecedents of transformative change.

Our work extends Transformational Leadership theory (Burns, 1978; Bass and Riggio, 2006) by demonstrating that leadership transformation frequently emerges from deeply internalized revelations rather than solely from style or strategy. While extant literature emphasizes dimensions such as idealized influence and individualized consideration, we elucidate how leaders' internal epiphanic experiences – particularly those associated with Personal Crossroads – precipitate a fundamental reassessment of values and organizational purpose. These findings suggest that identity conflicts, moral tensions and value realignment are not peripheral to transformational leadership; rather, they are foundational to the emergence of leaders who prioritize social profit outcomes through a renewed mission.

The Purposeful Imagination epiphany aligns with TLT's emphasis on inspirational motivation and intellectual stimulation (Bass and Riggio, 2006; Avolio and Gardner, 2005). Leaders who experience this type of epiphany actively challenge the status quo and envision bold, purpose-driven futures, transcending incrementalism in favor of radical change. These leaders are not content with simply improving existing systems; they are motivated to fundamentally reshape organizational strategies and operational structures to achieve transformative societal impacts. Their ability to articulate compelling, imaginative visions for the future energizes and unites their teams, cultivating an environment where innovation becomes a collective, values-driven endeavor.

Our theorization of the Immersion epiphany contributes to the TSR literature, which centers the advancement of human well-being within service systems (Anderson et al., 2013; Russell-Bennett et al., 2020). TSR posits that interconnected systems – such as healthcare, education or social services – should be intentionally designed to uplift lives rather than merely deliver economic value. Immersion involves firsthand encounters with stakeholder suffering and systemic inequities that provoke profound emotional responses and redefinition of organizational purpose. We argue that such experiences function as emotional inflection points that initiate shifts in leaders' perceptions of service delivery, aligning organizational strategies with broader societal needs. In this respect, we foreground individual moral engagement as a critical antecedent of systemic transformation – a dimension that has received limited attention in existing TSR frameworks.

Finally, the Intentional Exploration epiphany intersects with TSR's focus on systemic innovation and TLT's conceptualization of shared vision (Anderson et al., 2013; Bass and Riggio, 2006). Leaders who engage in intentional exploration seek external and interdisciplinary insights that challenge established service paradigms. These leaders facilitate cultures of inquiry within their organizations, fostering experimentation and openness to new ideas. In doing so, they reframe organizational boundaries and co-create novel service solutions that extend beyond traditional sectoral confines. This orientation toward exploration and cross-boundary learning positions leaders as architects of systemic innovation, a key dimension in enabling service ecosystems to generate inclusive and sustainable societal impacts.

The four epiphany pathways identified in this study – Personal Crossroads, Immersion, Purposeful Imagination and Intentional Exploration – offer important insights for how leaders come to embrace a Social Profit Orientation. While these pathways differ in focus and form, they underscore the potential for organizations to intentionally design environments and experiences that foster transformational leadership and embedding social purpose directly into service systems, delivery processes and stakeholder relationships.

Leadership transformation can be cultivated as a service innovation process: designing settings where flow conditions – challenge-skill balance, immediacy of feedback and moral clarity – activate intrinsic purpose.

1. Personal Crossroads: frame reflection and mentoring as structured opportunities to transform disruption into directional insight.

2. Immersion: embed leaders in high-challenge, frontline contexts that fuse empathy with purposeful action.

3. Purposeful Imagination: engage leaders in narrative visualization that channels envisioned futures into moral energy.

4. Intentional Exploration: orchestrate boundary-crossing learning that sustains curiosity through progressive challenge.

Through these practices, purpose formation becomes embedded in everyday service activity, demonstrating that flow-based design is not accidental inspiration but intentional architecture for renewal.

Drawing on principles from Transformative Service Research and Transformational Leadership Theory, we delineate six strategies to operationalize these insights within managerial practice. Four of these strategies align directly with the identified epiphany pathways, while the remaining two strategies function as enabling mechanisms that create the psychological and organizational conditions necessary for epiphanic insight and its subsequent translation into practice. Together, these strategies form a coherent framework for fostering leadership that prioritizes both service excellence and broader societal well-being.

Facilitating Immersion. Organizations can create opportunities for leaders to engage directly with the lived experiences of stakeholders or communities facing systemic challenges (e.g., through field immersion programs, service sabbaticals). Such experiences are critical in provoking visceral, emotional responses that mirror the transformative effects associated with the Immersion pathway.

Enabling Reimagination: Organizations should allocate time and resources for leaders to critically reimagine the role of their services in addressing societal needs. Mechanisms such as structured innovation retreats and visioning exercises (e.g., “blue sky” strategy sessions) can enable leaders to articulate purpose-driven futures that transcend incremental change, resonating with the Purposeful Imagination pathway.

Promoting Cross-Boundary Learning. Facilitating exposure to diverse service contexts and stakeholder groups can catalyze novel insights and systemic innovation. Cross-sector partnerships, international assignments and collaborations with non-traditional partners provide critical opportunities for intentional exploration, aligning with the Intentional Exploration pathway.

Leveraging Lived Experience. Recognizing and integrating the lived experiences of leaders can provide unique, socially grounded perspectives that inform service innovation. Organizations may strategically recruit and empower individuals whose backgrounds afford them particular insight into systemic inequities and underserved stakeholder groups.

Creating Epiphany-Enabling Environments. Psychological readiness for epiphanic insight can be supported by cultivating organizational contexts that surface internal tensions and foster deep reflection. As Dane (2024) suggests, such environments may include immersive experiences, emotionally resonant storytelling and identity-relevant challenges that encourage leaders to question assumptions and re-evaluate the social purpose of their work.

Institutionalizing Critical Self-Reflection: Providing structured opportunities for ongoing reflection – through mechanisms such as executive coaching, guided journaling or purpose-centered leadership retreats – can foster the identity work and value realignment associated with Personal Crossroads epiphanies. Institutionalizing these practices supports sustained leadership transformation and strengthens alignment between personal and organizational purpose.

To support the deliberate cultivation of epiphanic insight, we propose an Epiphany Roadmap, shown in Table 3, structured across two stages: cultivation and evaluation. The cultivation stage emphasizes conditions that increase the likelihood of epiphanic experiences, such as reflective practices, exposure to diverse perspectives and the creation of psychologically safe spaces for sharing insights. The evaluation stage provides a structured approach for assessing the organizational relevance and feasibility of emerging insights. Key evaluative questions include: Does the insight address a substantive societal challenge? Can it be articulated into a clear and actionable mission? Is there a viable pathway for integrating social, environmental and financial considerations? This roadmap enables organizations to move beyond ad hoc or serendipitous transformations by integrating these experiences into broader strategic and operational planning processes.

We acknowledge several limitations. First, our reliance on retrospective interviews and secondary sources introduces potential recall bias and post-hoc rationalization, which may affect the accuracy and interpretation of reported epiphanies. Second, our qualitative approach identifies conditions conducive to epiphanic experiences but does not assess their prevalence, generalizability or sustained impact on organizational outcomes. Third, the focus on individual leader narratives may overlook the influence of broader organizational and contextual factors.

Future research should investigate how organizational culture, structure and policy systematically enable or constrain epiphanic transformation among leaders (Dane, 2024). Longitudinal studies are needed to assess the durability and diffusion of socially positive outcomes following leader epiphanies, as well as to identify institutional barriers – such as entrenched routines or external pressures – that may hinder the translation of individual insight into organizational change. Finally, moving beyond the individual level, future work should explore how epiphanic experiences can drive team- or system-level transformation, including the dynamics of shared or cascading epiphanies and their role in fostering collective learning and organizational renewal.

The pursuit of Social Profit Orientation often stems from pivotal leader epiphanies – critical inflection points that reshape understandings of role and service potential, yet are frequently overlooked in services marketing and management literature. Our findings show that leadership transformation is frequently rooted in profound personal experiences that reorient perceptions of mission and societal responsibility, highlighting the need for organizational environments that foster such transformative moments. By delineating four epiphany pathways – Personal Crossroads, Immersion, Purposeful Imagination and Intentional Exploration – we offer a framework linking purpose-driven insight to service strategy. These pathways, grounded in personal conflict, direct encounters with injustice, visionary thinking and proactive exploration, demonstrate how leaders realign personal meaning with organizational mission. For scholars, this points to the importance of examining the personal foundations of organizational transformation; for practitioners, it underscores the value of enabling experiences that catalyze purposeful leadership.

One of the enduring challenges for researchers is our devotion to the empirical and repeatable. While this is necessary and valuable, it can also create a blind spot – a bias against phenomena that are deeply personal, emotional or even spiritual in nature. Yet these are often the very experiences that catalyze profound change. This study demonstrates that epiphanies are more than isolated, anecdotal moments. They are catalysts that can ignite a transformation in both individuals and organizations. By identifying the pathways through which these experiences occur, this investigation provides managers and researchers with a framework for fostering purpose-driven change that advances both business and society. If the goal is to accelerate the adoption of transformative service, then understanding and cultivating such moments is essential.