Welcome back!
As a leader you have three mission statements to concern yourself with: yours, the team’s, and the organization’s. First, if you don’t have your own mission statement for your leadership in your current role, you are doing a disservice to yourself (and everyone else). One of the most important things you can do for the team is to decide for yourself what your leadership career is all about, why you are doing it, what you value along the way, and how you plan to accomplish good outcomes. Second, conduct exercises with your team to choose as a group what your mission, vision, values, and strategic plan will be. Don’t just adopt what the organization’s stated positions are, craft your own in alignment with the greater goals. Discuss and decide how you want your group to function, what you’re trying to accomplish, and how you’ll treat each other, along with anything else your team values enough to declare and then be held accountable for. Then meet periodically to talk about the progress the team is making towards accomplishing both group and organizational goals. Specifically discuss the mission, vision, values, and strategic plans, including whether or not you are living up to them individually and collectively. Adjust as necessary, and keep moving forward together.
View your leadership as an adventure, the mission with your team as an expedition, and it will help you keep the fun in the job while you produce serious results.
Until next time, have fun taking a step back with your team and creating a common starting point that brings out the best in all of you!
