Mission Matters
When the Mission Doesn’t Matter to the Team
Not long ago, I went through the checkout line at a big box department store. The clerk was obviously harried from the busyness of her day. But what surprised me most was her willingness to share with me how much she hated her job, her employer, and even her customers (of which I was one!).
In preparing to write this article, I thought it would be interesting to look up the department store’s mission statement. If I shared it, I doubt if you would even be able to identify the company of whom I am speaking. Needless to say, while they have a mission statement, the store is not committed to their mission, nor do their employees live out their mission.
What is the lesson here?
Perhaps we can gain much by asking ourselves some thought-provoking questions:
Does my organization have a mission statement? If so, do I know it? If not, do we need one?
Consider the time, energy and resources spent by organizations around the globe creating mission statements, only to have those statements become nothing more than a trendy marketing phrase.
The purpose of a mission statement is to clearly state your mission.
Motivational speaker and author, Zig Ziglar, is known for saying, “If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.” Your mission statement can serve as a target, a driving force in your day-to-day operations.
But how can you “hit it” if you don’t even know it?
Is our mission statement relevant today?
Sometimes, organizations take the time to craft a mission statement, never to review it again. Time passes, the focus and even goals may change, but no one takes the time to revisit the mission of the organization.
I recommend a full review of your mission by your organization’s leadership every three to five years.
Do I understand my role in achieving our mission?
Leading the way in living out your mission is key to the success of your organization. And critical to you living out your mission is clearly understanding your role in achieving your corporate goals.
Do all of our team members know our mission and can they recite it?
At Heartland Conference Retreat Center, we require that every team member be able to recite our mission. We have a saying: “How can you live it if you don’t know it?” Such a simple truth, but a stark reality!
As Zig implied, to reach your goals, your team has to know both your mission and purpose and their mission and purpose, which leads me to the final question…
Do team members understand their role in achieving our mission?
Another key to the success of your organization (hitting your target aka achieving your mission) is to help each team member understand his or her role.
For example, at Heartland, it’s all about creating an experience for our campers and guests. Therefore, we walk each team member (from Housekeeping to Food Services to Maintenance to Guest Services to Program personnel) through an exercise helping them identify ways in which each one can create an awesome experience for all who grace our grounds. This not only fosters buy-in, but helps each team member experience fulfillment in his or her duties!
Developing the Mission Statement
Looking for ideas on how to develop a powerful mission statement? Click here to access 27 great statements from industry leaders. You will also find a link there to 9 of the worst mission statements ever written, according to the article’s author.