[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ background_image=”https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/DavidI.jpg” custom_padding=”0|0px|0|0px|false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” alt=”A woman with curly hair, wearing a sleeveless vest and holding a tablet, smiles while showcasing her leadership skills to an attentive audience. She stands in front of a bright window. One audience member has their hand raised, while others are seated, focusing on her.” title_text=”A woman with curly hair, wearing a sleeveless vest and holding a tablet, smiles while showcasing her leadership skills to an attentive audience. She stands in front of a bright window. One audience member has their hand raised, while others are seated, focusing on her.” sticky_enabled=”0″][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_3,2_3″ admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” min_height=”595.2px” custom_margin=”|auto|19px|auto||” custom_padding=”467px|0px|0|0px|false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.25.1″ text_font=”PT Sans||||” text_text_color=”#ffffff” text_font_size=”72″ text_line_height=”1.1em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” max_width=”785px” custom_margin=”-98px||0px|||” custom_padding=”||168px|||” hover_enabled=”0″ text_font_size_tablet=”52″ text_font_size_phone=”” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|tablet” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
Leadership: ‘On Mission’<\/strong><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_margin=”-50px||||false|false” custom_padding=”149px|0px|1px|0px|false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_3,2_3″ column_padding_mobile=”on” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|tablet” admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” max_width=”1200px” custom_margin=”0px|auto|0px|auto|false|false” custom_padding=”20px||20px||false|false” custom_padding_tablet=”0px|||” custom_padding_phone=”” use_custom_width=”on” custom_width_px=”1200px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/david-ivers.png” show_bottom_space=”off” align=”center” align_tablet=”center” align_phone=”” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” disabled_on=”on|on|” _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_margin=”-45px|||||” animation=”off” sticky=”on” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text disabled_on=”on|on|” _builder_version=”4.17.3″ text_font=”PT Sans|on|||” text_text_color=”#02b875″ text_font_size=”20″ text_line_height=”1.2em” header_text_color=”#000000″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” text_orientation=”center” max_width=”140px” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”20px||0px|” global_colors_info=”{}”]DAVID IVERS<\/span><\/a>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text disabled_on=”on|on|” _builder_version=”4.16″ text_font=”PT Serif||on||” text_text_color=”#363636″ text_font_size=”16″ text_line_height=”1.4em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” text_orientation=”center” max_width=”140px” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”20px||20px||true|” global_colors_info=”{}”]David Ivers is from Sydney, Australia. He is a qualified Primary and Secondary School Teacher. In total, he has served on school leadership teams for 16 years in senior leadership roles.[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.25.1″ text_font=”PT Serif||||” text_text_color=”#363636″ text_font_size=”24″ text_line_height=”1.5em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” max_width=”720px” min_height=”4030px” custom_margin=”-22px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”28px||16px||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ text_font_size_tablet=”” text_font_size_phone=”” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|tablet” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n \u201cWhatever you are, be a good one<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Abraham Lincoln<\/p>\n When it comes to leadership, Abraham Lincoln\u2019s advice is instructive: \u201cWhatever you are, be a good one.\u201d<\/p>\n Think about it. The opposite would read as: \u201cWhatever you are, be the worst one.\u201d It doesn\u2019t make a lot of sense, yet around the world daily, some leaders often strive to be \u2018alright\u2019. Leadership is very much a mindset activity. What you think about you will bring about in your leadership and your team. Leadership is meant to be transformative in a positive way. At its core, leadership is intended to serve humanity by making a difference for the better locally. One critical aspect of leadership is its intimate connection with mission.<\/p>\n This article will focus primarily on the importance of an organization’s mission. This isn\u2019t to say that the vision for the organization is not essential and doesn\u2019t play an important function in guiding the leadership of an organization. It helps if everyone works from a commonly understood definition of \u2018Mission\u2019 and \u2018Vision.\u2019 In their excellent book \u201cOn Mission,\u201d John Buford and Sean Georges offer this crystal-clear meaning of \u2018Mission\u2019 and \u2018Vision,\u2019 especially if you substitute the word \u2018team\u2019 with \u2018organization.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cYour team\u2019s mission is, in essence, what your team was created to accomplish. The mission should capture the purpose for which the team was created. Without a clear and compelling mission, your team has no good reason to exist.\u201d<\/i> (Ch 14. p198-199 of 352).<\/p>\n \u201cVision is not a complex concept. As with the team\u2019s mission, you should keep it simple. Leaders essentially take their teammates on a journey to a future state. To get to that place, every leader and every member of the team must be able to vividly see what that journey will require and clearly envision how that future state will look and feel.<\/i> (Ch 14. p206 of 352).<\/p>\n Buford, John., Georges, Sean. (2022). On Mission (eBook).<\/a> Austin: Texas. Greenleaf Book Group Press.<\/p>\n As mentioned, this article’s primary focus is mission and leadership. If there is a disconnect between the organization’s leadership and the mission, the staff and the customers will find themselves in a vortex of continual \u2018angst,\u2019 a shaking of the foundations of the organization. An example of this can often be seen when a Government changes after an election, especially if the previous Government had several terms in office. With the new Government comes new leadership, policies, and expectations. The reason why a department exists won\u2019t necessarily change, but the way it goes about its business will. Where there is tension between the Minister or Secretary of a department and the permanent head, a problematic situation suddenly becomes more difficult. If the policy stance is too different from the department’s mission, then the new Government may change its name and merge it with other government agencies. Ideally, you want everyone, from the top of the organizational chart to the latest recruit, to be on point regarding the mission. Everyone must be singing from the same s on the same page. Everyone should be aiming for mission success.<\/p>\n Writing as a guest for Tom Peters on the blog page of his website, tompeters.com, James C. Collins was very explicit about the mission.<\/p>\n \u201cTo be blunt: If you feel the need to \u201cwordsmith\u201d your mission, then you don\u2019t have a mission.<\/p>\n A true mission is a clear and compelling goal that focuses people\u2019s efforts. It is tangible, specific, crisp, clear and engaging. It reaches out and grabs people in the gut.\u201d<\/p>\n Collins, James, C.(1993). In Pursuit of the Big Hairy Audacious Goal at Blog on tompeters.com<\/a> <\/i><\/p>\n Simply, the mission is the organization\u2019s \u2018raison d’\u00eatre,\u2019 the reason and purpose for the organization\u2019s existence. Misunderstanding the mission of the organization can create discord between staff and customers. Getting across the organization’s mission should be a vital part of any induction process. If, for example, you have started working for a public works department whose mission is to be the \u2018State\u2019s Building and Infrastructure Authority,\u2019 then this mission should be included in every training. If our new recruit is in the branch that writes the purchase orders to ensure resources for a building project arrive on time, then the training officer should highlight that. The conversation could be: \u201cSo Jo, we have a requisition for 100, 40mm White Button Head Wood Screws. We are ordering this for an important building project we are undertaking as the State\u2019s Building and Infrastructure Authority.\u201d At that moment, Jo has, as a recruit, an understanding that everything, no matter how small, connects back to the mission, in this case, to the Public Works Department they work for.<\/p>\n The biggest challenge of leadership is getting people to be absorbed and engaged in the mission. This is where Servant Leadership holds promise.<\/p>\n \u201cServant Leadership seeks to involve others in decision making, is strongly based in ethical and caring behavior, and enhances the growth of workers while improving the caring and quality of organizational life\u2026ten characteristics of the servant leader are of critical importance. They are: listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of people, and building community.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n Spears, Larry, C. (2010) Character and Servant Leadership: Ten Characteristics of Effective, Caring Leaders in Journal of Virtues & Leadership\u00a0(Issue: 1\u00a0\u00a0Volume: 1\u00a0\u00a0Year: 2010)<\/a><\/p>\n For more information on the ten characteristics of Servant Leadership, it is recommended that you click on the link and read this excellent research paper.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ background_color=”#f7f7f4″ custom_padding=”0px||0px|” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”2_3,1_3″ use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”1″ make_equal=”on” column_padding_mobile=”on” module_class=” et_pb_row_fullwidth” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” width=”100%” width_tablet=”100%” width_phone=”” width_last_edited=”on|desktop” max_width=”100%” max_width_tablet=”100%” max_width_phone=”” max_width_last_edited=”on|desktop” min_height=”594px” custom_padding=”0px||0px|” make_fullwidth=”on” custom_width_px=”680px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/2-7.jpg” alt=”A group of three people, two men and one woman, are engaged in a lively discussion in a modern office. The woman, exemplifying leadership with her enthusiastic gestures and bright smile behind her glasses, is clearly driving the conversation. The men appear engaged and happy. Large windows reveal a blurred view outside.” title_text=”A group of three people, two men and one woman, are engaged in a lively discussion in a modern office. The woman, exemplifying leadership with her enthusiastic gestures and bright smile behind her glasses, is clearly driving the conversation. The men appear engaged and happy. Large windows reveal a blurred view outside.” show_bottom_space=”off” force_fullwidth=”on” align_tablet=”center” align_phone=”” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ custom_padding=”||0px|||” hover_enabled=”0″ animation=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ background_color=”#efefe9″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/2-6.jpg” alt=”A confident woman with long brown hair and a white blouse stands with her arms crossed, smiling at the camera. Her intelligence shines through as she poses in a modern office setting with glass walls, a desk, and green plants in the background.” title_text=”A confident woman with long brown hair and a white blouse stands with her arms crossed, smiling at the camera. Her intelligence shines through as she poses in a modern office setting with glass walls, a desk, and green plants in the background.” show_bottom_space=”off” force_fullwidth=”on” align_tablet=”center” align_phone=”” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ hover_enabled=”0″ animation=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text disabled_on=”off|off|” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ text_font=”PT Serif||||” text_text_color=”#818178″ text_font_size=”24″ text_line_height=”1.4em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” text_orientation=”center” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”1.2%|10%||10%||” custom_margin_tablet=”|10%||10%” custom_margin_phone=”” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|desktop” custom_padding=”0px|||||” hover_enabled=”0″ text_font_size_tablet=”” text_font_size_phone=”” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Leadership is meant to be transformative in a positive way.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ text_font=”PT Sans|on|||” text_text_color=”#888888″ text_font_size=”12″ text_letter_spacing=”2px” text_line_height=”1.2em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” text_orientation=”center” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”20px||11.4%|||” custom_margin_tablet=”20px|||” custom_margin_phone=”” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|tablet” global_colors_info=”{}”]DAVID IVERS[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”0px||0px|” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”4″ column_padding_mobile=”on” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|tablet” admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” max_width=”1200px” custom_padding=”0||0px||false|false” custom_padding_tablet=”0px|||” custom_padding_phone=”” use_custom_width=”on” custom_width_px=”1200px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.25.1″ text_font=”PT Serif||||” text_text_color=”#363636″ text_font_size=”20″ text_line_height=”1.4em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” min_height=”2200px” custom_margin=”-73px||11px|||” custom_margin_tablet=”40px||0px|” custom_margin_phone=”” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|tablet” custom_padding=”84px||1px|||” hover_enabled=”0″ text_font_size_tablet=”” text_font_size_phone=”” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|tablet” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Your leadership influences how people engage with the mission of the organization. Logically, this extends to how people engage with other parts of the organization and other teams as they engage with the mission. Servant leadership fundamentally requires leaders to empower their teams to be true collaborators in the organization’s work. The genius of Servant Leadership is that it lends itself to aligning everyone with the organization’s mission. This helps to mitigate against the often-lived reality that there will be a misalignment between staff and their engagement with the mission. Over time, this misalignment, through iteration processes, amplifies this misalignment to staff and customers alike. This means that people will start to look elsewhere for better alignment toward what they (the customers) are looking for. According to Craig Goodliffe, CEO & Founder of\u00a0Cyberbacker, there are some things that you can do to reinforce this alignment to the mission.<\/p>\n Build a mission-driven culture.<\/u><\/i><\/p>\n If a company\u2019s culture is built around its mission\u2014with goals, accountability, recognition, and milestones all anchored to that mission\u2014it can be a powerful tool for increasing motivation.<\/i><\/p>\n Provide ongoing feedback and recognition.<\/u><\/i><\/p>\n Leaders can also improve motivation by ensuring employees know their efforts are making a difference.<\/i><\/p>\n Nurture personal as well as professional goals.<\/u><\/i><\/p>\n Every investment in your employees\u2019 growth\u2014both personal and professional\u2014is an investment in your company\u2019s success.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n Goodliffe, Craig. (2024). How To Keep Employees Motivated & Connected To Your Business\u2019s Mission<\/a> (in Forbes, 30 January, 2024).<\/p>\n The mission is the purpose of the organization and the reason for its existence. From the outset, the mission should, therefore, feature in all aspects of the organization. The job advertisement should be the first-place people become aware of the organization’s mission (along with its vision and values). The interview should seek alignment with the mission, and there should be questions that assess this. The onboarding process should see material around the mission, vision, and values being sent to the latest recruit so they can be aware of it. The induction phase is an opportunity to meet the senior leaders and hear the importance of the organization’s mission, vision, and values. Mentors could check how they integrate these things into their work and work life. Team meetings could regularly revisit how they support the organization’s mission, vision, and values. At retirement, the celebration could include how well the person retiring endorsed the organization’s mission, vision, and values throughout their time at the organization. This start-to-finish approach connects every aspect of the employment process to serving the organization’s mission. This alignment requires both parties to build a relationship of trust. One is when leaders accept that the people they have hired can be trusted with the purpose and mission of the organization. In turn, they trust that the leaders will empower and support them. Servant Leadership can foster the trust needed for a highly successful organization to emerge. Professor Paul J. Zak, writing in the Harvard Business Review Magazine, shows that research supports this connection between trust and being aligned with the mission.<\/p>\n \u201cMy team also found that those working in high-trust companies enjoyed their jobs 60% more, were 70% more aligned with their companies\u2019 purpose.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n Zak, Paul, J. (2017). The Neuroscience of Trust, (Harvard Business Review Magazine).<\/a> Boston, MA: Harvard Business Publishing.<\/p>\n It should be unsurprising to see that there is a link to having high levels of trust throughout the organization and alignment with the mission and purpose of the organization. It means being life-giving with your staff, growing and developing them. The mission is achieved by the individuals within the organization working collectively to serve others, notably the customers. When staff is working with a common purpose, and that common purpose is the mission of the organization, then they are \u2018on a mission,\u2019 shedding beams of light across the pathway they have followed. Others will find those pathways and join them \u2018on a mission.\u2019 This is the purpose of leadership. To gather everyone into one collective effort to achieve the organization’s mission. To do so, the leaders must see their leadership as transformative. They must empower their staff, grow and develop their talents, and build their capacity to achieve amazing things in pursuit of the mission. This is what Servant Leadership seeks to do. Tom Peters explains this well in his outstanding book, \u2018The Excellence Dividend\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cPassionate servant leaders, determined to create a legacy of earthshaking transformation in their domain (a 600-square foot retail space, a 4-person training department, an urban school, a rural school, whatever), must necessarily create organizations which are no less than cathedrals in which the full and awesome power of the Imagination and Spirit and native Entrepreneurial Flair of diverse individuals is unleashed in passionate pursuit of a jointly perceived soaring purpose (e.g., worthy of bragging about 25 years from now to your grandkids) and personal and community and client service Excellence).\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n Peters, Tom. (2018) The Excellence Dividend: Principles for Prospering in Turbulent Times from a Lifetime in Pursuit of Excellence (eBook<\/a>). London, England: Nicholas Brealey Publishing. (Ch 7. p219 of 508).<\/p>\n Imagine what your organization would look like if you conceived it as a \u201cCathedral of Organizational Development,\u201d as Tom Peters has outlined above. It means your teams would have more than just a prayer; they would sing from the same hymn book. They would see themselves as part of a significant community, gathered to focus on a singular purpose. They would be \u2018on mission\u2019. The power of this metaphor should not be underestimated. It helps if they see their leaders singing from the same hymn book as themselves. In the mind of Mark C. Crowley, being connected to the organization’s mission is also an essential element in people doing more than surviving at work; it allows them to thrive.<\/p>\n \u201cHonoring, valuing, caring for, and developing people individually, making people feel connected to work, and its mission all create the sense of well-being that people need to thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n