Mission Possible

Why is it that so many mission statements turn out like the reality show with the Kardashian sisters: Full of hype, but then such a let down when we quickly observe their lack of substance. These sisters promise sparkle but I was astounded by how I could barely distinguish them from each other – dull, dull, dull as ditch water. What is the reason so many firms’ mission statements also veer towards being dull and insincere?

One of the privileges of running a business is to really be at the helm, impacting the direction and encouraging the team to achieve whatever it is to contribute to Canada. Hopefully, the team will trim the sails or scrub the decks, but leaders determine how their people get things done.

So how does a business leader get her team truly excited and raring to go, but in a unified direction – not the proverbial boat being rowed in 20 different directions? The mission statement is a grand place to begin.

We can all agree that a business needs to sum up what they are trying to achieve; to have a North star to guide its course. The Mission provides that motherhood-and-apple-pie statement, for example: We aim to be the best mothers who bring up perfect children who will become contributing, happy members of our society.

But as we all know as survivors of the Mummy Wars, the definition of a "good mother" depends on who is defining it. My best friend from high school was outraged that I did not plan to breast feed for a year, grind up veggies before each meal to ensure maximum vitamin freshness, or to use washable diapers. (I can report that our teenagers are all doing just fine, despite our different actions.) The mother war is never won, it just keeps reinventing itself.

This is the same in a business and how management act out the words of a mission. There will be differences in interpretation. Just like the word “mother” gets different actions, in business the word “solutions” will have different meaning to individuals. Honestly, jargon wording does not concern me because the real spark in the business comes from the attitude of the leader.

I look to see if the leader wants control. The Mission can give the rough map of the path forward, but it also relinquishes control to the managers, something that often grates with baby boomer leaders who are used to commanding all. It is confusing, infuriating, and to some leaders weak, to reduce control, and just like the interpretation of motherhood, leaders may not want to accept alternative interpretations of what the Mission means.

I have observed, though, that most women leaders are able to accept that they cannot control their people. Women leaders are exciting when they roll out strategy with their teams because they tend to nurture an openness, leading to that first spark: Permission to have intellectual and emotional curiosity about how to enhance the business. Canada’s school system can struggle to develop this curiosity – my grandfather said members of one union teaching all of our children could perhaps be a little one-sided in their views – and I fear for our future work force if universities think that preventing raging debate in public means that the ideas also stop. That is one of the ways leaders have the illusion they are in control, as we witnessed recently with University of Ottawa’s debacle over Ann Coulter, an American Conservative pundit. The result is I am now curious about her books.

As leaders of businesses or universities, I think once we own up that we cannot control every action, and that luck and timing play a large role, we can improve our odds of success.

Here’s the catch: We desperately need to believe that we are in control of events. Only high self-esteem and a sense of responsibility for results boosts us from bed on cold mornings. With a detailed, language-rich Mission Statement, a leader can improve this sense of control for her team so that they feel personal accountability. They can get that spidey-tingle that there is work to be done, let’s do it.

If a leader’s attitude is that the Mission is to help guide those people brimming with enthusiasm to get out into the real world and take a few punches, fantastic. Without those experiences, management stagnates. Your hotshot people want to take on more in their interpretation of essential work, to try their ideas and leadership style to make it happen or not. Managers can get moving on their own initiative, fit into the company’s deep marketing “groove,” while developing the gumption to be able to change drastically when that groove proves to be a rut.

We are all very aware that today’s star product is quickly tomorrow’s Tiger Woods.

Having colleagues who are running counter to your views and not under your exact control is the only thing that ensures organizational adaptation and survival. Most long-term companies look quite different over decades and there is usually a leader who encouraged their people to take risks while following that North star and dumping the boat every now and then.