Mission Statements: Why You Might Want One
by Erin Malone on 2004/05/06 | [27 Comments]
I recently started a new job. The group I manage is new and all the people on my team have recently been transferred into this group. Additionally, each person has spent a lot of time in the recent past working on individual, solitary projects, and has not regularly been part of a collaborative team.
Coming into a new company is difficult. Joining a newly-formed team can be even harder. Not only are you new, but the group dynamics are new as well. This is exciting and scary at the same time. There is no shared history or knowledge base to draw from in terms of how people will work together or be successful. On the other hand, the slate is clean and there are fewer possibilities of being compared to what was done on the past.
In an attempt to bring this group together quickly and create a sense of shared purpose, I decided that we needed to develop a mission statement for the team. This is important for a couple of reasons. One, it taps into the “shared vision” (see Christina’s article) mentality and it creates a statement for the rest of the department and company to understand what you are all about. Because the group is new, what we do is still somewhat undefined, and through several conversations with peers and other design staff, I came to realize that the perception of our purpose and place in the overall organization was varied.
Writing a mission statement for a team or department is a challenge. (Shoot, it�s hard to write one for yourself!) But it is a great exercise to go through. Most companies have mission statements, as do many large organizations—they can be equally useful for small teams. The mission statement is deceptively simple-looking. It’s important to try to distill the essence of your message of what you are about down to two or three sentences. The mission statement should tell the story of your ideals. The challenge lies in not to getting caught up in the “we are so great” type of language.
To create my team’s mission, I decided that one of the best methods to bring this team together was a group brainstorm. Together we would try to distill the core attributes that speak to the values and goals of this team. To use the mission both as an internal team building tool and external message that the team believes in, it is important to do this exercise as a team. The conversations and brainstorming and contradicting and negotiations over what is important and what isn�t is key to ensuring a shared sense of purpose.
I approached the session with three questions to the team:- “What are we doing now?”
(What has each individual person been responsible for and how does that fit into this new group?) - “What should we be doing?”
(Trying to think big and capture the sense or purpose and longer term vision.) - “What are we not?”
(What misconceptions are out there that we need to dispel as far as the role of the group in the organization?)
More formally, these questions translate into:
- Who we are.
- What we do.
- What we stand for.
- Why we do it.
A working session was spent discussing these questions and a whiteboard of lists created. From this raw material, I sat down and tried to draft a coherent mission statement. The statement is about three sentences long and touches upon these key points. I sent the draft out for review and feedback from the team, and went through several rounds of revisions based on their comments.
About halfway through the process, I realized that part of the mission was too specific. So I pulled out a few key phrases and used them to create a set of goals, and specific objectives toward reaching those goals. By pulling the more specific, tangible information out, the mission statement became a high-level, inspiring statement of what this team is, wants to be, and should be responsible for. It is something we can believe in, that expresses our ideals. The mission also sets the stage for the long-term development and growth of the team. Through the mission statement, we are able to reach ahead and put a stake in the ground about higher-level strategic opportunities the team will aspire to.
The mission, together with the goals and objectives that evolved out of the brainstorming session, satisfies the tangible aspect of what we do now as well as the loftier, more strategic aspirations of the team that establish what we stand for and why we do the work we do. It’s a good start, and the team and I will be sharing and evangelizing the message to the rest of the organization over the coming weeks.
Readers' Comments (27)
Reputation points
Posted 2004/08/25 @ 06:49AM with
You make a great point. Generally I would post, but I need to review and sanitize before I post this one since I am still here and some of it is company specific.
Check back…
Reputation points
Posted 2004/09/29 @ 09:34AM with
In the case of our group we are utilizing many techniques and methods for evangelizing. There is the outward elevator pitch – the 2 second hallway response to what does your group do as well as fully fleshed out mission with goals and objectives.
The process of doing the mission and then from that crafting goals with tangible, measureable objectives, was more important to bring the team together under a single cohesive mission or vision – than as a long term tool for evangelizing the group outwardly.
I think a mission – much like a shared vision – is important. When the group is responsible for creating it, it is a share mantle that everyone works under. Our aspirations are the same, the goals are the same and the group comes together as a team.
From that, then I think it appropriate to craft shorter more concise extrernal messages.
Douglas E. Evans
0 Reputation points
Posted 2006/03/20 @ 00:31AM with
Hello,
I am a new college student (at 47!). Our team project is developing a team mission statement based on the course criteria. Internet research on this subject is a requirement for developing our statement and I volunteered to get us started. I hope this site can be useful to our team.
Thank You,
Doug Evans
DeVry University / Business Major
Kacee Boysun
0 Reputation points
Posted 2006/07/24 @ 12:32PM with
I think am taking the same course as the previous commentor, and found this site in the same way that he did. I found your article (and in fact the whole site) very interesting. Thank you for posting this article!
Kacee Boysun
DeVry University / Game and Simulation Programming Major
Logan King
1 Reputation points
Posted 2006/07/30 @ 05:44AM with
I’m in the same course at DeVry as Doug and Kacee. Interesting we should meet like this!
I have found this particular article very informative. Thank you for posting your process.
I have Doug beat on the age – I’m 59. However, this isn’t my first college experience.
Tammy Carnegie
1 Reputation points
Posted 2006/09/19 @ 10:00AM with
Hello, I too am a student at Devry University, Computer Information Systems Major.
Douglas I think I saw you in one of my classes.
This was very inlightening to me and I found some things I can use, thank you for posting Erin Malone.
Angela Klein
0 Reputation points
Posted 2006/09/27 @ 13:13PM with
Hi no not from Devry but from SWTC. I am writing a business plan and found the information on this site very interesting and helpful.Thank you
Angela Klein SWTC Marketing
Josh ford
0 Reputation points
Posted 2006/11/15 @ 20:06PM with
I just recently started a Critical thinking and problem solving class and forming a mission statement is one of our projects. So I am finding this pretty helpful
Sharie Dawn Payne
0 Reputation points
Posted 2006/11/16 @ 20:26PM with
Well This is a popular site used by Devry Students as myself so I hope it can be of good use to me…..I am Also in Critical Thinking and Problem Solving and forming a team mission statement and this was an interesting article.
Paul Staggs
0 Reputation points
Posted 2006/11/18 @ 10:30AM with
I too am a devry student doing research for mission statements. I also found this to be interseting & helpful
Tracie Phillips
0 Reputation points
Posted 2007/01/23 @ 06:19AM with
Hello. I am a student at Devry University and I am majoring in Business Management. I am also in Critical Thinking and Problem Solving forming a Mission Statement. I am a writer and truly enjoy writing. Your article gives excellent views on how to properly formulate Mission Statements.
jacki lewis
0 Reputation points
Posted 2007/03/19 @ 19:39PM with
I am also a student at Devry taking the same critical thinking course. I found this site and article very helpful. Thank you for breaking it down. It almost makes me feel like I was reading Mission Statements for Dummies. lol Which I needed!
Thanks
Jacki Lewis
Marlo Gordon
0 Reputation points
Posted 2007/05/13 @ 20:19PM with
Hello, I also am a student at Devry University majoring in Business Management and I am taking a Critical Thinking course. I find your article and information very helpful and informative. I am in the process of writing a mission statement and this is very enlightening. I really needed to read this. I mean I went to other sites, but ddn’t really get the just of it. But, this site is easy to read and to understand.
Thank You
Marlo Gordon
Ken Davis
0 Reputation points
Posted 2007/05/20 @ 11:57AM with
Hello, I too am one of the many (DeVry) looking for some answers, I think we all derived at the same conclusion on how to search with a few choosen words, thanks for the info, simple but to the point, thanks,
John Emens
0 Reputation points
Posted 2007/07/31 @ 22:15PM with
Hello, I also am a student at Devry University majoring in Networking Technical Engineering. I hope it can be of good use to me…..I am also in Critical Thinking and Problem Solving and forming a team mission statement and this was an interesting article. It’s a quick and easy to read and to the point.
Yvonne Keeling
0 Reputation points
Posted 2007/09/25 @ 11:17AM with
I am also a student at Devry taking the same Critical Thinking class as most of the recent posts. I came across this site doing research for my mission statement and found the site to very helpful.
Thanks,
Yvonne
ANGELA BELL-SANCTIOUS
0 Reputation points
Posted 2007/09/25 @ 23:33PM with
I am also a student at DeVry taking the Critical Thinking course doing research for a Team Mission Statement, the information is very informative and helpful. Same questions the instructor suggested and the brainstorming is an excellant idea.
Stephanie Smith
0 Reputation points
Posted 2007/09/27 @ 10:24AM with
I am also a student at Devry taking the Critical Thinking class. I think this site was very helpful.
Kathy Kass
0 Reputation points
Posted 2007/11/23 @ 15:42PM with
Like so many here I am too a DeVry student taking Critical Thinking as an online student. This gave me a much clearer vision as to what a Mission Statement is about. The idea”s and reccomedation’s you give are excellant starting tools. We have just started our Team Mission Statement project. It is challenging, scary, and a bit frustrating. On the other side of the coin I now feel more confident in my role as Team Leader. The examples of questions to ask of my team members and the proper way to organize them are ideas that I will try to impliment. I will be saving this article and refer back to it often. Thank you!
Kathy Kass
Eva Harris
0 Reputation points
Posted 2007/11/24 @ 13:08PM with
When I got to the end of this article I thought it was real funny how I am also a DeVry Online student currently in Critical Thinking class with Dr. Donald.
This article will be very helpful and I will be presenting it to my team. Thank you
jason prunkard
0 Reputation points
Posted 2008/01/28 @ 19:55PM with
Hello all fellow Devry students. As you may guess, I’m too a DeVry student!!!
At least it looks as though this is a good site to use!!
bobbie bradshw
0 Reputation points
Posted 2008/01/28 @ 22:19PM with
I am a Devry student, this is my first college class. I am working on a team mission statement this week for class. I am glad to see that it has helped fellow students.
carmen sedano
0 Reputation points
Posted 2008/01/30 @ 17:38PM with
This is a popular site for Devry. I too am a student @ Devry. I found this article very helpful. Thanks
Heather Scott
0 Reputation points
Posted 2008/03/24 @ 13:00PM with
This may sound like a broken record, but, I too am a student at Devry, taking the same Critical Thinking class. I also have to do internet research for our team mission statement. This is a very informative, and easy to understand article. Thanks
gordon merwin
0 Reputation points
Posted 2008/03/25 @ 21:35PM with
Yea here i am as well. i too am going to Devry and this is a real good article. This really is a popular sight for devry. lol
Santa Barbosa
0 Reputation points
Posted 2008/03/26 @ 06:16AM with
I had to giggle when I scrolled down this page and found that there were a lot of Devry Students accessing this site. I am also enrolled with Devry enjoying my learning experiences.
I want to thank you for allowing us to access this information on Mission Statements as it does help us gain a perspective on how someone else went about creating their mission statement.
Thanks
Chris Baum
390 Reputation points
Posted 2008/03/26 @ 10:31AM with
Hello to all of the DeVry folks! Hope you’re mission statements have been positively effected by the story. We’re glad that you’re finding it helpful. (And thanks to Dr. Donald for the pointer!)