Living Your Organization’s Vision, Mission, and Values

“If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.” Lewis Carroll

According to Bart & Baetz (1998), more than 500 firms surveyed have some form of mission and vision statements. To echo the sage words from Lewis Carroll, knowing where you are going becomes critical for success. To help lead us in the right direction, organizations look toward their leaders to provide a vision of a path to achieve what is possible.

Many visible and effective leaders are seen as charismatic. They are recognized as the drivers of organizational success. Salman (2013) tells us that this charisma and success contribute to creativeness, innovation, and productivity in creating a reliable and competent workforce. This also means that leaders are seen as the engine of every business, driving the missions and vision to achieve what is possible or more.

Organizations whose missions and visions are clearly communicated, widely understood, and collectively shared among all stakeholders have been shown to perform far better than those without a well-understood mission/vision (Bart, et. al., 2001). Yet, it is not sufficient to just have well-articulated, well-communicated, and well-understood missions and visions. These must be clearly integrated and linked…