A PERSONAL COMMITMENT TO ORGANIZATION-WIDE STRATEGY An organization s success depends on the ability of its employees to live out its vision, mission, and values. An organization s vision is its roadmap for the future it defines where the organization is headed, the market position it intends to occupy, and the capabilities it plans to develop. The mission describes the organization s purpose it s what both internal and external stakeholders, competitors, and others see as your business. It s the business your organization is really in! The foundation for the organization s vision and mission is its values. The organization s values define the manner in which your day-to-day activities are accomplished. They provide a sense of meaning and can create emotional ties to the organization. As an employee, your success and the success of your organization depends not on your ability to understand your organization s vision, mission, and values, but on your ability to live them out in your day-to-day work. Learning Objectives Upon completion of this session, you will be able to: 1. Understand the organization-wide vision and develop a personal vision that supports the organization-wide vision 2. Understand the organization-wide mission and develop a personal mission that helps you achieve the organization-wide mission through your daily activities 3. Understand the organization-wide values and discover how your personal values align to the organization-wide values and help keep you motivated on the job Agenda Aligning Your Work To The Organization-Wide Vision Achieving The Mission In Your Day-To-Day Responsibilities Modeling The Values In Your Role Within The Organization 1
Aligning Your Work To The Organization-Wide Vision (cont.) Role Of The Vision A compelling vision provides the workgroup with the framework to make and understand: Decisions Goals Plans Resource Allocations Trade-Offs Priorities The vision is made real when you understand your roles and responsibilities in working toward the realization of the vision. Workgroups that are successfully aligned to this united sense of purpose can focus their passions individually and collectively toward making the vision a reality. Synergy literally means working together. Synergy exists when the combined effort of the group(s) is greater than their individual efforts. Meaningful vision statements do more than just hang on the wall. They provide the destination for all employees to work towards. This helps create a synergy among workgroups of all kinds. This synergy allows workgroups to focus on aligning their work with the organization s strategic direction rather than spending valuable time trying to figure out where the organization is headed. 3
Exercise # 2 AM I ALIGNED? Part A Rating Scale: 4 = To a very large extent 3 = To a large extent 2 = To some extent 1 = To a small extent 0 = Not at all or don t know In order to understand the extent to which your work is aligned towards the organization-wide vision, it will be helpful to examine current workgroup behaviors. This self-assessment is designed to provide you with a better understanding of the behaviors that contribute to successful performance. Directions: 1. Read each statement and rate yourself using the scale provided. 2. It is important that you be honest when responding to these statements. 3. You will be the only person seeing your answers, and you ll score the results yourself. ALIGNMENT STATEMENT HOW YOU RATE YOURSELF 1. I understand the organization-wide vision, mission, and core values and how they relate to the work I do. 2. I regularly seek input from my manager about the organization-wide strategic direction. 3. The work I do is aligned with my workgroup vision and strategic plans. 4. I clearly communicate to my manager when my work does not seem to be aligned with my workgroup vision. 5. I help other team members understand our workgroup vision. 6. My workgroup vision is clearly aligned with our customers current and future requirements. 7. I make decisions that are clearly aligned with and support the organization-wide vision and my workgroup vision, mission, and strategies. 8. I clearly and regularly communicate the vision and mission of the organization and my workgroup to our customers and stakeholders. 9. My workgroup vision and mission clearly define where we want to be, by when, and how we align our efforts and resources to get there. 10. My workgroup regularly updates our vision, mission, and our strategies to ensure they are aligned with the organization-wide vision, mission, and strategies. Total Score 7
ACHIEVING THE MISSION IN YOUR DAY-TO-DAY RESPONSIBILITIES Mission Provides Focus The mission of your organization defines its purpose. It describes who the organization is, what the organization does, why it does it, and what market it serves. Equally important, the mission includes what your customers, competitors, and suppliers see as the organization-wide purpose. The mission statement also sets your organization apart from others. It helps employees make decisions when faced with a fork in the road and helps all employees stay the course of the strategic direction. Since the mission is a result of the organization s strategic plan, it can often change. Mission Provides Direction Think for a moment about the following organizations and the mission statements they might have: Hewlett-Packard (HP) Is HP in the computer business, the printer business, or the technology business? AOL Time Warner Is AOL Time Warner in the computer services business, the information business, the on-line content business, or the entertainment business? AT&T Is AT&T in the long-distance business, the telephone business, or the telecommunications business? Coca-Cola Is Coca-Cola in the soft drink business (narrow focus) or is it in the beverage business (broad focus)? What if these companies didn t have mission statements? What might be the outcome? 11
Exercise # 4 DEVELOPING YOUR PERSONAL MISSION STATEMENT Part A With a clear mission, you can focus your job activities, and make decisions easier resulting in less stress and anxiety. When you understand what your purpose is you can even make proactive moves to avoid situations in which conflicts exist. Obviously you can never fully eliminate stress, but at least you can reduce its effect and frequency by understanding your personal mission on the job. IN THE BUSINESS OF MY ORGANIZATION ADDED VALUE THAT KEEPS CUSTOMERS COMING BACK CUSTOMERS SERVED IN THE BUSINESS OF MY WORKGROUP ADDED VALUE THAT KEEPS CUSTOMERS COMING BACK CUSTOMERS SERVED IN THE BUSINESS OF ME: ADDED VALUE THAT KEEPS CUSTOMERS COMING BACK CUSTOMERS SERVED 13
A PERSONAL COMMITMENT TO ORGANIZATION-WIDE STRATEGY Personal Action Plan Key learnings: I need to contact and involve the following: Name How When The specific action steps I will carry out on the job include: What When 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Additional issues/concerns I need to address: 22