People behave at the level of their beliefs. That is why, the why matters.
Yes, most organizations have a mission statement. It is something bandied about at fundraisers, it is talked about with the board of directors, it is a phrase and driving force for the executive team. Sadly, that doesn’t mean it always translates to all areas of the organization, just because it exists on a document or website page.
You create a clear mission
The mission must be clear and relatable. It has to have meaning from the board room to the front-line workers. A disconnect between the two causes resentment and employee turnover.
Ideally, reduce it to a phrase or two and list clear outcomes.
Make it usable. Phrase it in a way that makes it a tool against which to apply your goals. Consequently, if not aligned then your goal may be barking up the wrong tree.
Additionally, make it knowable. Make your mission easy to quote and easy to memorize. If you do not have it on the tip of your tongue, it will not become part of your everyday decision-making.
You communicate the mission
Once your organization creates a mission, how do you utilize it as an engagement lightning rod? Well, for starters ensure that the mission is communicated early and often.
Early means include it as part of the employment process. Candidates applying to work in every department should be bathed in the mission of the organization from the job notice, through the interview process, and strongly in the onboarding of new employees. Communicate it before the interviews, during the onboarding process, and absolutely during the early days of learning “what we do around here”.
“Often” means reinforcing the mission consistently and repeatedly. Bringing it up during the hiring process is only the start. Include the mission in everyday conversations, in the normal lexicon of daily tasks, and in the brainstorming and decision-making of everyday operations.
Reinforce the mission. Yes, at times, strong leadership means becoming a broken record of repeating the same phrases over and over again. Repetition builds consistency. Also, repetition builds consistency.
You tie the work of the team to the mission
As a key to employee engagement figure out how to make the mission applicable to each work unit. That is the job of a good leader.
Engagement of the workforce means connecting everyday assignments and conversations around tasks and workflow directly to the mission. Play the long game of cementing the personal connection to the organizational plan.
When talking about what the mission means, also reinforce why the mission is important. Why connects the everyday work with the overarching mission. It creates an emotional connection to the effort. It motivates in a visceral way.
We can learn from the transparency of mission in examples like first responders, health care, and military organizations. Apply those same onboarding and deep-rooted traditions to sales organizations and business units.
Those organizations talk about the mission daily.
They have made it a part of what they do and why they do it – day in and day out. It is part of their ethos, their vocabulary, and becomes their identity – all strategies that can be applied to business teams.
The power of engagement evolves from developing a strong enough why. Why is the superpower of engagement and engagement is the superpower of profitability.
