Mission Alignment
5 ways to align organisation and mission - for the better
This is the third article in our ‘What’s the problem?’ series that explores problems and challenges faced by purpose-driven organisations. Purpose-driven organisations include any start-ups, small businesses, not-for-profits, NGOs, social enterprises, charities and foundations that are working towards making positive social and environmental impact.
The phrase “mission alignment” appears to be a hot commodity in purpose-driven organisations. From team motivation, to public image, to employee retention, alignment is said to be the key to solving some of the most wicked of our organisational woes. Conversely, a lack of alignment is said to bring about disillusionment and turnover.
Theoretically, this makes sense - it is not necessarily what for-purpose organisations do, but also how they work that keeps staff onboard, motivated, and seeking success. The alignment of what and how is a natural synergy that increases belief in the organisation and employee motivation, and creates a coherent public image.
Practically, of course, this is another story. It’s not always clear exactly what it even means to be aligned with your mission. Is it about having a team retreat every year to pause and reflect? Or, does it involve including more adverbs in our mission statements? In this article, we’ll start by looking at what misalignment looks like, and then move on to five creative approaches to better alignment - and its natural partner, better work.
Mission Impossible?
There’s a curious cycle of love and loss in the way that people fall in and out of belief with their organisations. We start working, inspired and attracted by the mission and the good the organisation is doing. Full of hope and motivation, we are capable of working hard and with passion. Then slowly, we realise that the mission was a little too good to be true, or we confront rude colleagues, bureaucracy and the lived realities of all organisations. The warm haze of infatuation begins to wear off, and we fall a little and a little more “out of love” with the organisation. We may accept the realities and keep engaged, without returning to the enthusiasm we had when we joined - or we may leave, seeking love somewhere new.
The journey from idealised work (what) to lived reality (how) is one that all employees must take, but it is not written in stone. Just as it can be a path of disillusionment, disempowerment and burnout, so too can it be a journey filled with care, respect, transformation and empowerment. And organisations have a key role in refusing to accept, and actively countering, this commonly accepted cycle of love and loss. We can keep our employees engaged, we can transform disillusionment, and we do so through aligning as closely as possible our what and our how. Drawing on our own experiences and from conversations with people from across the for-purpose sector, we have brainstormed five ways organisations can create and maintain “alignment to their mission”.
Be Clear
Your mission should be so clear that your employees’ children can tell their friends about it at school. Perhaps that’s pushing it a bit, but the truth is that a lot of purpose-driven organisations don’t have this one down. People should know exactly what your what is, without having to pick up a thesaurus, or a graduate degree in semantics. Aim for everyone to understand your mission, and the change you wish to bring about through your work.
An easy way to test where you are on this: just ask a child. We shared our Understorey website with two of our young cousins, who are both 12 years old. They had a look, and responded, “I like how it is a business that supports other organisations and also helps with the environment!”
2. Be Relatable
Figure out the story of your organisation. Not a company history, not a list of dates and achievements, but rather the type of story that someone can capture, hold, and relate to. Start with the problem you were trying to address, go through to the future you want to create, and locate your organisation squarely within this narrative.
Stories are extremely important to all people, not only for inspiration and ideation but also to foster resilience and identity in times of hardship(1). Organisations can use stories to draw and hold attention and commitment to a cause, to connect employees with their work, and to move forward through uncertainty - particularly if they have a good story. And for-purpose organisations have a darn good story to tell.
3. Be Unique
A quick google search on ‘uniqueness’ brings up dozens of characteristics that make something stand out - experiences, perception, beliefs, creativity, history, relationships, interests, intelligence, taste, personality, communication habits, humour, goals, intuition...(2) The point is, there are many ways in which you can identify your organisation as unique. Look at your context, local history, team makeup, methodology, communication style, and special perspective. Write your unique points up as a list.
As a purpose-driven organisation, you should already have an interesting story. Make sure your team knows why this story is unique to them, celebrate these points of difference, and make it a point of pride and motivation in your work.
4. Be Genuine
This is a crucial step that is sadly often overlooked. Many organisations seem content to checkbox a couple of cool values, and then forget about them until they have to give a speech, or introduce someone to the organisation. However, genuine values drive an organisation through being “lived”, through having an established role in guiding everyday actions and behaviours.
To implement these, think about your values and what they mean to your team in a practical sense (3). For example, if “caring” is one of your values, show staff that you care about them too. Recognise people who show that they care. Care about your clients. Care about your cleaners. Conversely, if “profit” is a core value, openly share your priorities of competition and performance, and structure your hiring and promotion practises around those values.
If your advertised values don’t align with your work, you’ll end up hiring and punishing people who are drawn to a version of your organisation that does not exist. By openly and consistently leveraging your values you will create a common identity, improve hiring processes, and have a strong platform for making difficult calls and big decisions.
5. Be Respectful
Most importantly, we need to bring people closer to our organisations through respect. Remember, your organisation's mission is not everyone’s personal mission. Everyone has their own background and their own “story” independent from the organisation’s. Employees are not static cogs in a machine - in fact, some research shows that employees will change jobs roughly 12 times in their lifetime, and that’s not including redundancy or termination of employment (4). In this context, finding how people’s personal goals, values, and priorities fit in with the organisational mission is crucial.
This involves giving people opportunities to learn and to grow, to contribute and to be recognised. It involves providing safe and respectful spaces through which people can establish their own relationship with your organisation’s values. Find ways to get employees to create their own personal connections with your organisation’s mission, rather than rote-learning a sentence or two. You’ll end up not only leveraging the diversity within your team, but also cultivating a workforce that is resilient and supportive in return.
A Natural Alignment
If purpose-driven organisations are to achieve our social and environmental goals, we need to think seriously about our quick turnover cycles, the disillusionment and burnout of workers, and our self-image. How can we nurture a workforce that feels a natural alignment with our organisations, who carry forth our values into measurable achievements?
These five methods of “mission alignment” help to bring together the what and the how of for-purpose work in a powerful partnership. This combination of values and action creates a clear pathway for the flow of talent and resources in your organisation. And this alignment begins with small actions that you can take every day to make your organisation into a centre for positive change. Tom Cruise, move over - it’s time to make this mission possible.
Understorey envisions a world where purpose-driven organisations achieve and exceed their goals for social and environmental impact.
If you would like to learn more about how we can help, or just chat about some of the challenges you and/or your organisation may be facing, feel free to contact us at hello@understorey.co or through our contact form.
