Mission and leadership revised

Mission and LeadershipBy: Solomon BeletteNon-Profit Executive and Consultant“Cutting Edge Leader Achieving Organizational Success”SISAR Document

SISAR -- CUTTING- EDGE- LEADERSHIP

Centrality of Mission in Leadership

• A clearly defined and articulated Mission that is inspiring and motivational is key for any organization to be successful

• Organizational architects and leaders must be front and center in crafting, championing and cultivating the mission while also infusing the mission throughout the organization, embedding it in its culture, and promoting it among those who are considered key stakeholders

• Mission is core and central to how every member of an organization carries out and fulfills his/her role and responsibilities and that there is vertical and horizontal alignment of all the players in an organization with mission serving as the glue that holds everything together


Levels of Leadership in OrganizationsEveryone directly involved in an organization has a “leadership” role to play in how the mission gets translated into action so that the mission is a living principle and phenomenon. These roles are circumscribed by where someone resides in the organizational structure and hierarchy but also by how an individual asserts his/her commitment and motivation in advancing the organization’s mission:

• Mission Leaders – are those responsible for advancing the mission, both internally and externally, and are tasked with creating organizational alignment that is based and driven by Mission.

• Mission Managers – are those who are responsible for oversight, translating the mission of the organization and putting it into action in the day to day operations of the organization. Mission Managers provide the required training and orientation.

• Mission Practioners – are those who are responsible for exemplifying the mission by their daily interactions with others in the organization and segments of the population that is connected to the organization as customers, partners, suppliers, and direct or indirect beneficiaries.


First Group – Mission Leaders• Let us look at the two critical tasks of Mission Leaders:

1. Responsible for Advancing the Mission

2. Responsible for Achieving Organizational Mission Alignment

Advancing the Mission – the what, who, and how- Mission Leaders must be passionate about the organization’s Mission; they must walk the talk and exhibit

behaviors that show total commitment

- The organization’s key leaders, typically C-level leadership and the Board of governance must lead the charge in advancing the Mission

- An organization might also have a dedicated cadre of constituents who have an intimate knowledge and a deep relationship to the agency who may be tasked with being ambassadors and evangelists of mission

- Mission Leaders have numerous opportunities to advance mission: through internal and external media, special events (celebratory or groundbreaking), outreach, opinion editorials, organizing community tours


First Group– Mission Leaders

Achieving Organizational Mission Alignment

- Mission Leaders need to unequivocally articulate the centrality of mission in determining and influencing the organization’s choices and direction; (there is one Mission not multiple missions and this clarity needs to be established)

- The key organizational leaders, CEO, other C-level leadership and the Board of governance, should work together to develop a strategy that will be pursued to promote and achieve mission alignment across the organization; a key aspect of this strategy should be to develop mechanisms and processes that will buffer any conscious or unconscious attempts that would sabotage or jeopardize the strategy

- The mission alignment strategy should be executed and evaluated to ensure organizational success


Second Group – Mission Managers• Let us look at the critical tasks of Mission Managers:

1. Responsible for oversight, translating the mission of the organization and putting it into action in the day to day operations of the organization.

2.Mission Managers provide the required training and orientation

Oversight & Operational Implementation – the what, who, and how

- Mission Managers must be proactive in building an organizational capacity and processes that are geared to integrating the organization’s mission in the day to day affairs of the business

- The organization’s middle managers and supervisors, as well as the HR unit must work together to infuse mission awareness and a mission-centric mentality and work habits

- As needed, Mission Mangers can utilize expert and professional help to develop effective training and orientation programs, evaluation of how the various business segments are implementing mission-centric practices, and how the organization recognizes and incentivizes behaviors that are in line with organizational expectations


Second Group – Mission Managers

Training and orientation

- One of the key roles played by Mission Managers is to provide ongoing training and orientation, coaching and mentoring, of employees under their supervision and oversight to develop a stronger awareness and commitment to the organization’s core values and its value propositions which are seemingly captured in the Mission. (Mission Managers have the arduous task of helping to differentiate the organization’s business, its brand, and overall mission from that of other similar and/or competing businesses and organizations)

- Mission Managers must work consistently on both informal and formal training and orientation experiences to continue reinforcing and evaluating how well the mission of the organization is integrated and a part of the day-to-day business transactions

- The organization should have in place a beginning and advanced levels of leadership development that incorporates mission integration as a core element of the program


Third Group – Mission PractitionersLet us look at the critical tasks of Mission Practitioners

1. Responsible for exemplifying the mission by their daily interactions with others in the organization

2. Responsible for informing and impacting segments of the population that are connected to the organization as customers, partners, suppliers, and direct or indirect beneficiaries as front-line mission advocates

Exemplifying the mission and Connecting with business stakeholders– the what, who, and how

- Mission Practitioner, i.e. those who are in the front lines of selling a product or delivering a service, or transacting in some other ways, are the best representatives that a business has in developing meaningful and trusting relationships with new and/or potential customers or clients; as mission practitioners, they hold a dual responsibility of engaging in a professional manner and come across as authentic advocates of the mission and the organization’s brand.

- Those who fall in the Mission Practitioner role are those who are the face of the organization and, as the saying goes, that is where the rubber meets the road. They can build or destroy a relationship with those seeking your services or product; Mission Practitioners help build the organization’s reputation and credibility from the ground up

- Organizations must support and invest resources in this group so that they are effectively meeting the demands and challenges presented to them by your clients, customers, or strategic partners

Mission Leadership – Measuring SuccessIt goes without saying that Leadership is critical to an organization’s mission and that it is important to understand the different levels through which Mission is expressed and implemented. We have offered three levels, Mission Leaders, Mission Managers, and Mission Practitioners.

An organization or business that is aligned across all three levels and operating in a synergistic fashion is more likely to be successful in accomplishing its mission than one where there is a lack of alignment and operates in a fragmented fashion from the top down.

An organization that is committed to mission effectiveness invests resources and deploys the necessary steps to create and execute a plan for strategic alignment.

The notion of mission centrality and alignment is communicated, understood, and embraced by all the three levels, Mission Leaders, Mission Managers, and Mission Practitioners such that any issues or challenges the organization faces that impact its mission is discussed with full and total transparency. This will help create an organizational culture that reinforces the total commitment that is needed and required by everyone in the organization to maintain the importance and centrality of mission.


Challenges to a Mission-led Leadership

Without sounding too simplistic, I offer two ways of looking at challenges. First, to identify those things that are contributing factors to successful, mission-led leadership, and second, to identify those factors that can disrupt and derail your efforts in building a mission-led leadership.

1. Contributing Factors: are those factors that will help you build a mission-led organization or business;

2. Disruptive (Derailing) Factors: are those factors that will interfere in your efforts and cause to derail your plans in building a mission-led organization or business;

As an organization, you need to invest in those factors that contribute to success and mitigate or eliminate those factors that will contribute to failure.


Contributing Factors

Leadership – On boarding, development and formation- An organization or business has to do a careful, upfront assessment, of who will be a good fit in terms of

mission; this has to be done with new or potential employees, volunteers, and board as well. A careful examination of a person’s past experience and track record would be necessary.

- An organization or business must also commit to investing resources in the development of mission awareness so that a job or function is nothing more than a true reflection of mission in action.

- Maintaining a committed and robust force committed to organization mission requires investing in ongoing formation; A formation development program can and should be a core requirement and important to make sure that every employee, volunteer or board member meets this requirement and is evaluated for meeting or not meeting this expectation.

Transparent Communication

- An organization must have in place communication systems and mechanisms to help drill down and filter up any issues related to how the strategic mission alignment effort is working or not. Disconnects between the various leadership levels in how mission leadership is transacted must be addressed so that the proper alignment is preserved at all times.


Disruptive FactorsGaps in Mission Awareness

- Organizations must be vigilant in their efforts to incubate and inculcate mission awareness; in times of organizational change and shift in focus, it is easy to not pay attention to the gaps that might be building in mission awareness. Gaps in mission awareness can be the cause of dysfunctional relationships and misunderstanding.

Disconnect between the different leadership groups

- The different groups should constantly look for ways to improve communication both within their own distinct groups but with the other groups as well; open channels of communication are important to help build a strong organizational team

Mission Drift

- Avoiding mission drift is a key responsibility of Mission Leaders but also Mission Managers and Mission Practitioners; Mission Leaders must listen to what Mission Managers and Mission Practitioners have to say about Mission drift and not be dismissive of their concerns and vice versa. A transparent organization will create a healthy atmosphere to assess and discuss mission-related concerns at every opportunity and work on resolving problems and issues promptly.

Failure to Evaluate Mission Alignment Efforts

- Mission Leaders have the primary responsibility of developing a strategy for mission alignment. The organization must develop tools to gauge alignment or lack thereof at all three levels; failure to evaluate can lead to a slippage or further erosion from a commitment to mission alignment which can be harmful to the success and well-being of an organization.


Mission Leaders -- Conclusion

The mission of an organization or business is a key and central part of its very existence. Therefore, it is important for leaders to be pro-active in crafting, championing and cultivating the mission so that it continues to drive the organization to success.

Three levels of leadership are identified that can play a crucial role in achieving strategic alignment, operationalizing mission on a day to day basis, and in integrating mission in how services are delivered or products marketed.

Organizations must commit resources to help develop processes and capacity that will advance mission development. Organizations must also be aware of those factors that contribute to mission alignment and those that will disrupt and derail their efforts

Mission Leaders, Mission Managers, and Mission Practitioners should channel their efforts, without competition to one another, to create organizational synergy that will help advance a mission-centric, mission-led organization.


Government & Nonprofit

Mission and leadership revised