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Ideal Mission Statements Often Result In Cynicism

Words like "world-class", "achieving excellence", "exceptional", "unparalleled customer service", can be found in many mission statements. The ideal organization may sound like what you want to describe in your mission statement, but the price you pay may be steep. Cynicism, misunderstanding, lack of attention - these may be the result of describing your aspirations to be a perfect organization. Pundits argue that when a mission statement does not have the buy-in of employees, it is because the statement is unclear or poorly communicated. While this can be so, I believe it is often the case that employees understand the statement only too well. They can see the large gap between the ideal the organization is reaching for and the actual organization they live in day to day. Their lack of buy-in may be one of the symptoms of creating an unachievable and unrealistic mission statement. Your employees may be in a cycle of striving and failing that can lead to a variety of forms of organizational hate. Each person's reaction to the gap is unique. They may continually strive for the goal which can ultimately lead to burnout or illness. Apathy or inertia may be the defense of choice while some might engage in the most active forms of organizational hate - cynicism and sabotage. Whatever their choice, unachievable mission statements are not accomplishing what they are intended for - unifying employees behind a statement that defines their collective purpose of working together. Instead, the result fractures the collective energy available for accomplishing the 'mission'.

In the diagram presented below, this process is circular and encourages ever greater levels of control. The longer and deeper the cycle, the more damaging the mission statement can be. While the intention of the statement might have been to follow the 'path of glory', the result may be following a path of hopelessness or a path of blame/victim.

So what is the way out of this dilemma? We suggest taking a second look at your mission statement with a view to greater acceptance and compassion for what the organization is actually like. Becoming aware and acknowledging the actual organization and developing some humour about how things really are can result in greater acceptance by everyone. Reducing the gap between the ideal and actual organization to a size that is manageable encourages staff to view their own capabilities more realistically. By encouraging a compassionate culture, you are building an organization that can engage in the work of transformation without getting caught in the web of organizational hate.

So what should the mission statement contain. Some will say that the vision and future of the organization has to be part of the mission statement. That would be great. But get to the basics first. Have a simple, easy to remember and repeatable statement that your employees, and board members can effectively use to lobby on behalf of your organization. In just a few sentences, a mission statement needs to communicate the essence of your organization to your stakeholders and to the public.

However, organizations often want to say more about who they are, what they are doing, and why they are doing it. Neither approach is necessarily the "right" one for your organization. What is important about your mission statement is that one guiding set of ideas is articulated, understood and supported by the organization's employees, board, volunteers, donors, clients, and stakeholders.

The importance of mission statements is summarized quite eloquently by Lewis Caroll through the words of the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland, "If you don't know where you're going, it doesn't matter which way you go." I would just add that during this journey, if you are asking people to jump across too large a gap, don't be surprised if a number of folks decide to stay behind!