In 2008, after being promoted into the Training Division, I was a little lost on what I was supposed to do. I didn’t receive any expectations or guidelines from my boss, had no experience in the role and didn’t get a poke from my predecessor. I had to figure out what I was supposed to do. It was then that I committed to paper, for the very first time, my Mission statement. I always had one in my head but it became very useful once I wrote it out. It went something like:
“My Mission as a Training Officer is to share my training, education and experience in an inspirational manner that will help others achieve their maximum potential.”
Over the last couple months, I have been working with various people trying to help them achieve their goal(s). A method that has worked well for me is to map it out so that I have a clear path to follow. This is what I shared with them.
Mission-Vision-Values.
I use Mission, Vision and Values (MVV) to help me make decisions and clarify the path. You might have your MVV in your head, but to be effective, you need to get yours on paper. It helps having it on paper so you can see the words. If you write it down, others can hold you accountable to it which will help you hold yourself accountable to it.
Mission: Why you exist. It applies in all roles you fill; as an employee, a Son/Daughter, Parent, leader/supervisor, volunteer, etc. in both your personal and professional life. For this exercise, to reach this goal, let’s just think of it as a young person wanting to start a caareer in your particular field. “My Mission is to (your field work)......”. Think about it, write it down, read it out loud, re-write it. Once you have it nailed down, you use it to make decisions. Mission is more tangible, measurable.
An example, if you were getting into education, your mission may look like this; “As a teacher, my Mission to share knowledge and skills as well as my passion for learning with all students that enter my classroom.”
Once you have this, you can ask questions against it such as in this example;
A class on how to teach to children with learning disabilities is offered in a neighboring community that requires you to spend the night away from home. You ask yourself, “Does this help me meet my mission?” If the answer is yes, then you commit to the class. If the answer is no, then you pass on the opportunity.
Hopefully, that makes sense.
Vision: What “it” looks like or the picture on the wall. Think of this from the perspective of you, with a job in your field, or education as we have used for our examples. What do I want my life or family life to look like?
Here is an example:
“I want to live a life as an educator in my community while having a traditional family that is full of joy/happiness.”
Service to community is kind of tangible. Hard to truly measure joy and happiness... You know what it is when you see it, but you can’t pin a score on it. You can probably see how it is more a picture of a white picket fence, kids on swings laughing, baking bread, etc.
I would think of your vision based on your position right now; a young person working on establishing a career, exploring life and yourself, etc.
Values: Those things you won’t compromise or you put ahead of all else. Honesty, integrity, fun, humor, hard work, openness, etc. Your values help clarify or establish who you are for others. If you value humor but you never laugh at yourself or get angry when others poke fun at you, maybe humor isn’t one of your values.
Do some thinking and put something down on paper; putting it on paper will help you get clarity.
After you establish M-V-V, you can move onto action items that will be the path to follow to your objective.
If you want to follow this path, and need assistance, please hit me up. I can guarantee it works, that it will help you achieve your goal.
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