Spend time scanning an average mission and vision statement and you will most assuredly wonder why none of them sound at all like the associated Company you’re doing business with.
How does that happen and perhaps more importantly, what are the consequences?
Mission and vision are supposed to be the north star and your guiding principles. Together, they work to shape your decision making specific to every aspect of your business and frequently your employees are drawn to you as much for those reasons as they are for pay, benefits or location of the job.
When the words you read in a mission or vision do not equate to the work you do or the employee interactions you witness, any potential value in the words written in an off the mark vision or a poorly articulated mission is eliminated.
What happens in return is employees begin to insert their own values into those places where the Organization has left a vacuum. When faced with decisions to make and uncertainty over how a yes OR a no answer might be perceived by superiors, most people will defer to their own values to guide them and hope their own values serve them well in the moment.
While it’s safe to expect that most of the world is comprised of well-intended, morally upright and rule-abiding people and no malice will ensue when leaving behind that vacuum, relying on vague, unclear or inconsistent organizational values allows for two very distinct realities to occur:
1. When faced with the realization that the opportunity to align personally with an Organizations values doesn’t exist, employees often withdraw emotionally from the team dynamic. If allowed to persist, employees often leave for new opportunities to reconnect with another employer using values as a more heavily-weighted determining factor.
2. Inconsistencies in values between department leaders create friction in the Organizational growth engine and can hinder short and long-term sales growth if not addressed. When no arbitration point exists to decide wrong or right between differing opinions, an absence of collaboration grows in its place and the result is negative emotion (often resentment) between employees and departments within a company. Culture ultimately is what pays the price
Getting clear about why your business exists and what people should expect when they work with and for you should extend beyond what their hours are and a job description. If you’ve not made communicating your values the top priority, the potential negative consequences of this values gap sits-in every staff and department meeting your company ever has.
Roger has spent 20+ years making complex concepts more understandable for both buyers and sellers alike, and has devoted the majority of his recent career to injecting purpose via philanthropy to his sales and marketing efforts. He’s intent on making the world a better place and his nirvana exists at the intersection of Mission, Passion, Profession and Vocation. He loves the outdoors and seeks memorable experiences whenever possible. Contact Roger at roger@socialgoodpromotions.comor 810-986-5369