21st Century Leadership
21st Century Vision and Mission Statements: The Benefits and Characteristics
Traditionally, leadership focus has been consistent with the B-School definition of the goal of the firm, which is to maximize shareholder wealth. To that end, the leadership role has historically been one of “planner (developing strategy and translating it into a plan); director (assigning responsibility); and controller (making sure everyone does what they should to minimize variance against the plan)”. (Lurie & Tegelberg, 2019)
Today’s dynamic business environment requires a new leadership approach that maximizes the collective value of all stakeholders, to include shareholders, customers, employees, partners and society, at-large. (Lurie & Tegelberg, 2019) While the traditional leadership roles remain relevant, the 21st Century leadership paradigm requires the addition of more versatile roles to achieve and sustain a competitive advantage:
Visionary - Articulates a cogent and compelling direction for what the organization must become to serve the needs of its constituency.
Architect - Designs and empowers the organization to allocate resources in successful pursuit of its vision
Coach - Encourages development of the mindsets, knowledge, and skills to facilitate collaboration and strategic thinking
Catalyst - Encourages both diversity of person, as well as diversity of ideas, in pursuit of personal and organizational aspirations
The remainder of this post focuses on the visionary aspect of the 21st Century leader, from the perspective of an excerpt from a paper I wrote during my time at William and Mary’s Raymond A. Mason School of business. It discusses the benefits of a clear vision and mission, and the role of each in the 21st Century organization.
I invite you to read and comment. What are your thoughts on the elements of well-crafted vision and mission statements and the role that each plays in the success of today’s organizations? Any conflicting opinions from the thoughts articulated in my excerpt? Diversity, of insights, is welcomed and appreciated.
A discussion of the benefits of a clear vision and mission starts with an understanding of the differences between the two and the role each plays in strategy formulation. Vision statements are customer oriented, and they define what an organization wants to become. They establish the long-term guiding principle that creates the culture for higher achievement within the organization. ("Benefits of Vision and Mission Statements," n.d.) Mission statements “compel strategists to think about the nature and scope of present operations and to assess the potential attractiveness of future markets and activities.” (David & David, 2017) They describe the organization’s current state and they guide how the organization will achieve its vision. Mission statements define three aspects of an organization’s existence: what it does, who it does it for, and how it does what it does. (Evans, 2010) They are broad enough to consider creative options for achieving the enterprise vision, but not so general that they lack direction.
With those distinctions in mind, vision statements benefit organizations by establishing an inspirational unifying goal that focuses and aligns the efforts of the enterprise, and they serve as the organization’s “North Star” for decision making. Clarity of vision ensures that staff and leadership understand the firm’s purpose, and it allows them to ask “Is the action I’m about to take consistent with our organization’s vision statement?” (Girdler, 2010) Mission statements, then, provide the high-level direction to achieving the enterprise vision. They organize and prioritize strategic decisions and allocation of resources and provide clarity of intent. They form a connection between the business and the consumer, which project’s an organization worthy of support, and they differentiate a business from its competition. (Town, 2016)
In the case of the Stokes Eye Clinic vision statement, “Our vision is to take care of your vision” is not an effective mission statement because it doesn’t distinguish the clinic from other vision care providers and it doesn’t articulate enough clarity of purpose among staff and management. It appears to be an attempt at a vision statement, but at best, it generically speaks to what the company is (...assumption is they’re already taking care of their clients’ vision, since they’re in business as an eye clinic). The statement does not reveal what they want to become. It’s somewhat customer-focused in its use of the word “your”, but the connection isn’t strong enough to elicit loyalty to their brand. If they revised the statement to articulate what they want to become, for example, “Our goal is to be your vision care provider of choice”, then they would have a clarifying basis for defining their mission. In other words, the revised statement clarifies their purpose and allows them to organize their efforts to achieve a competitive advantage on the way to becoming their market’s preferred eye care service provider.
The overarching benefit of a well stated enterprise vision and mission comes from their clear articulation of the ultimate goal of the organization. Internally, they reveal the organization’s expectations of employees and leadership, and externally, they communicate the organization’s long-term ethical commitment to providing useful products and services. (David & David, 2017) To that end, I chose to propose revisions to my organization’s vision and mission statements, as follows:
My Organization’s Current Vision
“The Project Management Office (PMO) will be an active, engaged and aligned organization driving ISD projects and services through consistent and effective delivery.”
Proposed Vision Statement
“The ISD Project Management Office (PMO) endeavors to be the trusted technology delivery partner for its enterprise stakeholders.”
My Organization’s Current Mission
“The Project Management Office (PMO) drives the successful planning, management and execution of the ISD (Information Services Division) technology portfolio of projects and services.”
Proposed Mission Statement
“The Project Management Office (PMO) serves its business partners by delivering the right solutions, at the right time to enable the preeminent banking experience in the financial services industry.”
The proposed vision and mission statement revisions are closer to articulating the clarity of purpose and intent needed to galvanize members of my organization, around the common goal of becoming the enterprise’s trusted partner and advisor, in the delivery of mission-critical technology solutions.
In terms of revision, well crafted vision and mission statements should evolve as the organization or business that they support evolves. (Higuera, n.d.) Changes in the marketplace, shifts in the economy, and technological evolution are all good reasons to revisit mission and vision statements, but those impacts alone, don’t mean that a change initiative is imminent. They do mean that strategists should test the vision and mission against the shifts in those external forces to determine if re-calibration is necessary. (Whatmore, n.d.) Leadership should establish a mandatory periodic review of its vision and mission, and they should only sponsor revision efforts if a review reveals that their guiding principles experience reduced alignment with the needs of the market.
References
David, F. R., & David, F. R. (2017). Strategic Formulation. In Strategic Management: A Competitive Advantage Approach, Concepts, Global Edition. New York, NY: Pearson Higher Ed.
Benefits of Vision and Mission Statements. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://clearlogic.ca/benefits-of-vision-and-mission-statements/
Evans, J. (2010, April 24). Vision and Mission: Unleashing the Power of Vision and Mission. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/smartwork/201004/vision-and-mission
Girdler, M. (2014, March 25). 3 BIG Benefits Of A Clear Vision Statement. Retrieved from https://www.cornerstonedynamics.com/3-big-benefits-of-a-clear-vision-statement/
Town, B. (2016, July 6). Benefits of a good mission statement- Michigan Creative. Retrieved from https://www.michigancreative.com/blog/the-many-benefits-of-a-good-mission-statement/
Whatmore, M. (n.d.). When Should You Revisit A Vision Statement for a Business? Retrieved from https://executivecoachingsanfrancisco.com/when-should-you-revisit-a-vision-statement-for-a-business/
Higuera, V. (n.d.). How Often Should a Vision or Mission Statement Be Changed? Retrieved from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/should-vision-mission-statement-changed-36999.html
