What is mutuality as a business model? A good working definition of mutuality is: “The creation of shared and lasting positive benefits across stakeholders through an organization’s activities.”

Mutuality is a business model that’s focused on putting the interests of all business stakeholders—employees, suppliers, customers, communities and the wider society—ahead of profit maximization. The best mutuals can generate more value for the stakeholders and the business, which can help to make them stronger and more sustainable than those focused on profit alone.

We know that many businesses, and certainly public companies, have historically focused on maximizing their short-term earnings for the benefit of their shareholders. Mutuality aims to shift that focus to the longer term by incorporating broader goals and considering the human, social and environmental benefits the business can generate.

With the constant talk of economic growth, productivity and shareholder value, it’s hardly surprising that work for many modern employees feels devoid of meaning. Working long hours and enduring long commutes simply to generate a return for shareholders and business owners does not motivate many workers—and frankly, it’s a wonder it ever did.

A YouGov poll from 2015 found that 37% of U.K. workers said their work made no meaningful contribution to the world. A more recent survey from McKinsey found just 15% of front-line managers and front-line employees said they were living their purpose in their daily work. These attitudes have heightened corporate interests in the meaningfulness of work and how a connection to a worthy purpose can boost the engagement of employees.

The mutuality business model is born out of that search for meaning. It can unlock meaningfulness by giving stakeholders a range of positive objectives that can add value to their working and personal lives. Businesses that want to mutualize and unlock meaningfulness in their work must promote existing mutual values or uncover new ones. This process requires the collaboration of all stakeholders.

However, what often happens in this scenario is that senior managers typically develop the values, usually through CSR initiatives, and then try to impose them on stakeholders. This goes against the very principles of mutuality, where to find true meaning, the goals should be agreed on as one.

Putting stakeholders first and acting ethically is a cornerstone of the mutuality model. This is one of the reasons why trust, which is such an important currency for today’s businesses, remains high in mutuals. This trust is built on the fact that without the short-term goals of shareholders to consider, more pragmatic and longer-term decisions can be made that focus on the right outcomes for customers, employees, suppliers and communities.

As mutuals are managed in the interests of their stakeholders, it is they who attend the annual general meetings and decide on the future strategy of the business and ensure it’s aligned with their interests. That’s in stark contrast to traditional businesses, where the shareholders make their interests the focus of attention.

With no shareholders to consider, mutuals can also build trust and engage their stakeholders by profit sharing through various initiatives. Mutuals also reinvest profits back into the company to build a stronger and more sustainable business that will benefit the members for years to come.

I’ve found the idea that you have to be single-minded and ruthless in business to succeed is a damaging misconception. If you want to grow a business, earn the trust and commitment of employees and deliver sustained profits over time, it is crucial to value your community, help others and not see how much you can get away with until it all comes crashing down. In fact, it’s often the case that caring about a cause can become a competitive advantage for businesses.

If you make a genuine effort to treat your employees, suppliers, customers and community well, you’ll likely have a more loyal customer base, more engaged employees and a more sustainable business, which is the perfect recipe for healthy profits and growth.