Leader’s work stripped down to very essentials is straightforward: to direct and to motivate – a group of people towards a common goal. As you may recall, leadership as an organisational role is part of the management process. So, for leader’s work to begin, there are some key issues that need to be defined. What are they? And what role do they play for a leader’s work and responsibilities?
We are starting at the beginning. That is: with a mission of an organisation. An answer to the question of WHY the company or other organisation exists and operates.
What is a mission?
When there is a place with no schools, people in general or at least some individuals would feel the vacancy and the need to establish an institution or a systematic solution to educate people and empower them with knowledge. They would see the problems in society and that solution is the answer to them. A mission of such an institution would be to educate and empower people with knowledge. It is a reason for existence and for operating. An answer to why an organisation is there, why teachers work there, and why students come to attend each day. It is also a role in and for society. Educated people will do more, create more, live better lives, and create a better society by and large.
Now years have past, society has advanced on further, and system has gotten more complex. Rule came in place and bureaucracy rose. Teachers are swamped with tasks and processes, and students are often put on a line in what resembles an industrial process. Does this seem familiar? A mission should never be put into the background. No rule should ever overshadow a mission, because the process always goes in this precise way: mission is first, all that follows is there to make it possible to realise the mission. A world may change, needs may change, and a mission may need to be changed; but an organisation always needs a mission.
A role of a mission
Why does leader need a mission? What is the use for organisational mission statement? If you want to build a true organisation (a group of people working towards a common goal), mission statement should never be just “something to put in a desk drawer”, but needs to be used in everyday work.
A compass for making decisions
In a traditional autocratic system, it is often a leader who decides what is right or wrong, what is appropriate or inappropriate, what is punished and what encouraged. An individual’s perceptions and reactions can vary and it can be confusing to followers. It is something, that can be a big reason for reluctance to be highly engaged in processes.
In a more contemporary and democratic system, there is an element of organisation that decides wether something is right or wrong. This element is organisation’s identity and it starts with a mission. Being written in fundamental statements, that criteria is clear to everyone. It is stable which helps us overcome traditional confusion.
In a mission statement we define what is (for us) a most basic desired outcome from doing our work. A mission therefore is a compassof an organisation. It doesn’t disclose the details, but nevertheless, an answer to why we do what we do will always give us a good general sense of direction.
A source of motivation and commitment
One part of success of organisation has to deal with an alignment: i.e. everyone using the same compass and rowing in the same direction. But then there is another part that is less technical and has more to do with an emotional side. On that path we are on, there will be obstacles. The question in that encounter is: will we keep on going?
An explaining of why is the content that deals with that question. It is a matter of motivation and commitment. A matter of desire and determines. Of putting the extra efforts when they are needed to overcome an obstacle.
Pieces need to come together for this to work. A defined mission needs to be the core, that is common and that everyone can relate to and feels for. It needs to be well communicated throughout entire organisation. And members need to use that compass so everyday actions undoubtedly prove that we are on defined and promised path.
Criteria for inclusion or recruitment
Who do we hire and who do we work with?
It goes somewhat like this: if two persons are too different in where they see a purpose of work, they can keep on trying for about a hundred years and will probably just remain in with ever conflicting ideas and solutions.
When we talk about diversity in modern organisations, this talk is never about a feeling of a mission and core values. Having a common sense regarding this matter should always be the first and most important determinant in choosing people to work with.
If an organisation is a group of people working towards a common goal, then leader’s job is to join together a group of people that want the same thing. This may often be a hard task, but is one of essential responsibilities of contemporary leaders.
Conclusion
An organisation needs a leader to build several factors or institutions that will foster its functioning. Two of those are a created clarity about a common mission and a selection of a compatible group of people. A professionally-led organisation has a mission in its center. That is the only way to create a modern organisation, that will really capitalise on high levels of motivation and activation, and create a high value for everyone involved.
Paradim 