What is a "Mission-Driven" Culture?
Dear Liz,
I've been job-hunting for four months. I've run into several organizations that called themselves "mission-driven." I thought a "mission-driven" company would be perfect for me because I like to support a cause if I can.
I like the idea of a corporate mission, but when I asked my interviewers what the mission is, they didn't really know. I think that if you have a mission, your recruiting people should know what it is.
The for-profit "mission-driven" organizations talk about how employees must be "mission-driven" even when the interviewer's own understanding of the mission is very limited. So as an applicant I'm being asked about my loyalty to an idea that I don't even understand.
In the not-for-profit world, I see "mission-driven" used as a descriptor also, but when I go on an interview the point of the "mission-driven" label seems to be that there is no money to pay decent salaries.
On two interviews with not-for-profit agencies last month I was grilled on my commitment to the respective missions of the organizations, up to the point where one interviewer asked about my living expenses!
(She was looking at my address in a gentrified area of the city, and she asked "How could you afford that rent on this salary?" I told her the truth, that I have a roommate and it's a small apartment.)
What is the story with the "mission-driven" craze? Is "mission-driven" just another buzzword, or is it a real thing, and in either case what does it mean for me?
Thanks,
Preeti
Dear Preeti,
I first heard of a for-profit "mission-driven organization" about ten years ago. Now they are everywhere. In the best case, "mission-driven organizations" are companies whose missions are clear to everyone from the CEO and founder to the employees, customers and vendors. The mission is embedded in the work, and the mission isn't just about making money.
It's good that for-profit companies who have bigger goals than just turning a profit are using the term "mission-driven" to describe themselves. I agree with you that everyone, not just recruiters but all employees, should know what that mission is.
Too many of us have worked for businesses whose only mission is to make two guys in New Jersey and three guys in Hong Kong filthy rich. Why would an employee get excited about that goal?
If an organization has a mission more lofty and planet-aware than making money, that's a good thing.
The trouble with language is that often the same terms can be used for good or evil purposes. You could be a truly mission-driven organization and live the mission every day. Every employee could be part of that mission.
The term "mission-driven" could be used thoughtlessly by an organization who wouldn't know a mission if it got hit in the face with one.
The tag "mission-driven" could even be used cynically by people who want to hire hard-working and committed people and then abuse their trust and conviction. I've seen all three scenarios in action.
It’s easy to tell when the organization you're interviewing with is truly driven by a purpose higher than the next quarter's earnings. Just pay attention to the way people in the organization act toward one another and toward you.
They can talk about their mission until the cows come home, but if the people you're meeting don't respect you as a person with a life outside of work and something valuable to bring to the discussion, they don't deserve you. It's easy to talk about a mission-driven culture but harder to live it, day in and day out.
Not-for-profits are famous for yakking about their missions while insisting that anyone who joins the team must be ready to sacrifice their personal lives and earning power for the sake of the mission. That’s no better than the corporate version where your own dreams, personal time, obligations outside of work and health are viewed as insignificant things.
Run away from a not-for-profit that uses The Mission as an excuse to pay galley-slave wages and suck up every waking hour of your time.
Too many not-for-profit professionals have put up with the tired wheeze "But there's no munnn-eeeeeee" for way too long. That's not a mission-driven culture; it's weak leadership. Anybody leading the charge in a mission-driven organization has to stand up not only for the glorious cause but also for the people working hard on behalf of that cause.
If the cost of working for a mission-driven organization is that you get to kill yourself working for peanuts, don’t take the job. Keep the job-hunt going until you find a not-for-profit that will pay what you're worth (they exist). Don't listen to the mewling excuse "Donations are down."
Why would you want to work for an ineffective leader in the not-for-profit world, any more than you'd want to work for one in the for-profit world? Why are some not-for-profits wildly successful while others struggle? Look at the leadership! In the not-for-profit and for-profit arenas, in government and anywhere else you job-hunt, look at the leadership first.
If the guy (a unisex term) at the top strikes you as smart, honest and human, take the job. If the top dog doesn't hit you as any of these things, walk away and send out another Human-Voiced Resume and Pain Letter. Nothing good can happen for you or anyone else in an organization where the CEO or Executive Director isn't someone people trust and look up to.
I worked for a mission-driven organization in the nineteen-nineties. Our mission was simple. We wanted to put out the best modems on the market and make them affordable. The more we sold, the lower our prices could be, because we'd get better prices on raw materials and our manufacturing costs would be spread out across more units sold. We hired people who were curious and nimble. The company went from $15M in annual sales to nearly $3B nine years later.
You can tell when people are fired up at work. It's impossible to hide that energy, just as it's impossible to hide the dark energy in broken-culture companies. You can feel it as soon as you walk in. You can see it in the language people use when they correspond with you. We are sensitive human beings, after all.
We evolved on this planet. We know what it feels like to share communitrons (sub-atomic particles of good feeling) in a group. We know what it feels like when the communitrons are missing and zombietrons take their place.
The first question to ask your interviewers at a self-described mission-driven organization is this:
If I join you on the team and we hit our mission, how does it help the world?
If you like the answer, ask "How would I be part of this mission if I come to work here?"
If the reply you get is all about giving up nights and weekends, without a word about how your flame will grow, then bolt. My last question for you to pose, if you're happy after Questions One and Two, is, "Would you like to hear about my mission?"
Any mission-driven organization should be happy to join forces with you to improve not only the planet and their own bottom line, but your own personal and professional fortunes as well. If they're not interested in hearing about your view of the world and your plans for yourself, flee the scene and go get a nice gelato.
If they don't get you, they don't deserve you, and as you nibble on your gelato you can take comfort in the knowledge that the right organization -- and the right mission -- are out there waiting for you.
Go find them!
Best,
Liz
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Relationship Builder, Advocate, Instigator of fun, Creative thinker, Resource connector, Mentor
10 年I work for a non-profit and we look to meet our mission above all, for example we have a social enterprise that competes with for-profit companies (we are in the top of the industry and are the only non-profit providing the service in the area). We began the business because it meets the mission of providing jobs for people with disabilities. We continue a step in the process of this specific business, that our competitors have removed because there is not enough return to continue, but for us it provides jobs for individuals with significant disabilities. There are many other things that we do that puts our clients/mission first. I would say we are mission driven.
Leading strategic and digital change in international Real Estate & Facility Management | PropTech Investor
10 年In 9 out of 10 cases it is a buzzword mindlessly tacked onto whatever.
Expert Facilitator, Vision & Strategy Catalyst, Building Board, Staff, & Volunteer Leaders
10 年Have taken the question of what is 'mission-driven' back to the office and have had good discussion about not just organization, but also the people that drive that organization. Both in the work they do and how they speak of their affiliation, volunteer often can set the path of alignment between strategy, product and mission. Elizabeth Weaver Engel & Peggy Hoffmans' "The Mission Drive Volunteer" speaks well to this: https://bit.ly/13Wwe1F
Presidente #ConfassociazioniCoaching - Ambassador & Consigliere #AccademiaDellaGentilezza - Master Specialty #CoachingAziendaleEvolutivo ictf - #LeadershipGentile
10 年Having a fake empty mission buzzword is much much worse than having no mission. It is far better an honest take it or leave it than a manipulative "we have a mission so there is not enough money to pay you some thousand usd more per year" (only the money to pay the big boss some millions more in his Offshore account). Better a candid assh..... than a fake "missionaire". If you "air" a mission other than piling money for the owner it has to be real!