“What are we even working toward?”
If your employees ask this, you’re in trouble.
They’ve read the vision and mission statements on the company website. But they’re still stumped about how their work connects to the organization’s goals and its future.
Why do mission and vision statements flounder?
Too many cooks in the kitchen.
A team should have a voice in crafting the organization’s vision and mission. Yet, forming the final direction works best when a select few are responsible. When everyone feels compelled to include their own priorities, the final product can become confusing and uninspiring.
The vision and mission are unclear.
It is hard to be motivated by a vision lacking clarity and a mission that’s muddled with clichés. Cut the clutter and tackle the mission – what you’re doing (or should be doing). Then, focus on where you want to be – the vision.
The communications team at North Carolina State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences narrowed their mission and vision to succinct points of purpose.
Mission: We heighten the visibility and reputation of CALS, attract students, and enhance a culture of philanthropy.
Vision: Elevate the opportunities and impact our academic programs, research, and NC State Extension create for the state, the nation, and the world.
Motto: We tell the stories of CALS.
Their mission, vision, and motto are clear, simple, and summarize the communications team and its work.
You don’t execute.
Do you have the right people on the team to execute your vision? Do they believe in it, or are they there just to collect a check? When hiring, include interview questions that ask candidates to explain how their experience would help fulfill the organization’s purpose.
In one of my past job interviews, a marketing and communications team asked me to describe how I exemplified their university’s principles. They believed a successful candidate would connect their unique skills and experience to their core values.
You don’t practice what you preach.
While a creed (what is believed) differs from vision and mission (purpose), values lay the foundation for how an organization perceives itself and its work. It can be a starting point for developing a vision and mission.
A leader’s vision is only as good as their ability to live into it. Leadership is akin to parenting – your team internalizes more of what you do than what you say. If you’re not working toward the vision, why should they?
A major 🔑
For mission and vision statements to thrive and for your employees to truly live into them through their work, they must be clear, actionable, regularly revisited, directly connected to the employees’ roles, and, most importantly, actively championed by leadership.
Don’t allow your vision and mission statements to become empty words on a slide deck or website.