Strategic Guidance Documents Are Products Intended to Create Shared Direction.

Looking back, I don’t remember the exact mission statement we produced, but I do remember the process. We debated almost every word and, when appropriate, developed a shared definition of what those words meant.

But for me, that exercise had an interesting outcome. Afterward, I started asking people in the organization, “Have you read our new mission statement?” Most had not. I then asked, “What do you think our mission statement says?” Their answers forever shaped how I think about mission, vision, and purpose statements.

It goes back to the old saying, “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” In an organization, we might ask a similar question: If an organization has a beautifully written vision or mission statement, but no one knows, understands, or uses it, does it actually provide organizational vision or purpose?

Over the years, I noticed something else worth mentioning. Someone may be unable to recite the mission statement word for word but understand the mission extremely well. Conversely, someone may be able to recite every word and have little understanding of what those words mean when making a decision.

What are Strategic Guidance Documents: Vision, Mission, and Purpose Statements?

I should point out that while the definitions below are useful, organizations don’t always use them in exactly the same way. How the vision, mission, and purpose statements are expressed will largely depend on the thoughts, ideas, background, and experiences of the leaders and the culture of the organization.

A vision statement describes an organization’s desired future state or long-term aspiration. It provides a picture of where the organization is trying to go and can serve as a guiding beacon for strategic planning, decision-making, and collective effort.

A mission statement describes what an organization exists to do, whom it serves, and/or what it seeks to accomplish. It is generally oriented toward the organization’s present role and provides direction for decisions and activities.

A purpose statement explains why the organization exists and why its work matters. It expresses the underlying reason for the organization’s existence beyond its particular activities, products, or services.

An easy way to think about the relationship among the three is: Purpose explains why we exist. Mission describes what we do. Vision describes where we are trying to go.

One thing worth highlighting is that organizations don’t need all three statements. They need enough clarity to establish shared organizational direction.

Why Vision, Mission, and Purpose Statements Matter.

Vision, mission, and purpose statements matter because, like using the North Star or a compass to navigate, vision, mission, and purpose statements provide a direction of travel. Used well, they can be powerful tools for shaping an organization and guiding initiatives and goals. At the organizational level, guiding statements provide formal direction. At the professional level, they can align goals and create momentum around initiatives. This is especially important when change is involved. Organizations, like people, can develop inertia around the way things are currently done. A compelling vision of a better future, when understood and shared, can help create the momentum necessary to overcome that inertia.

But putting the words on paper is only the beginning.

I like to think of these statements as a little like advertising slogans. First, to be effective, they need to be heard. Second, they are short and to the point. Like a slogan, with just a few words, they make us think about something much more significant and complex.

The science helps us understand what vision, mission, and purpose are intended to accomplish. The art is developing and communicating them in a way that creates shared understanding within a particular organization.

Circling back to the tree falling in the woods, how these statements are communicated will drive how effectively they are heard throughout the organization.

Personal and Professional Reflection

Returning to my experiment of asking colleagues whether they had read the new mission statement, I learned something else. In the absence of clear guiding organizational statements, or when those statements aren’t understood, people tend to develop their own understanding of what matters. Sometimes that understanding aligns with the organization, but sometimes it doesn’t.

I’m sure you can relate. A common example many of us have seen is an employee prioritizing speed over quality, or quality over speed. Neither choice is inherently right or wrong. The problem occurs when the employee’s decision isn’t aligned with the organization’s priorities. In that case, the employee may unintentionally communicate something through their actions that organizational leadership never intended to communicate.

When leaders leave a vacuum in organizational direction, people don’t stop making decisions. They fill the vacuum with their own assumptions about what matters.

I feel fortunate to have learned this lesson early in my career because I learned to use shared vision and purpose statements to my advantage. I found them to be a great tool for creating shared cross-departmental momentum on the initiatives I was working on. In the absence of a shared vision, competing priorities would have a higher chance of derailing the initiatives I was working on. My initiatives were successful in part because they were aligned with the organizational mission, and the direction we were communicating provided a clear guiding light for me and my colleagues to follow.

How Guiding Statements Influence the Organization

I refer to the key words, terms, ideas, or phrases from vision, mission, and purpose as Golden Threads. Golden Threads are most effective when woven into organizational guidance, systems, and processes. For example, an employee handbook might have key phrases or ideas taken from the vision statement, or an employee evaluation could be based in part on key elements of the mission statement. This ensures the messages within these key documents are communicated throughout the organization and help influence the culture of the organization. Using these documents to influence the strategic direction and culture of an organization ensures they are more than just words on a wall.

When should a Vision, Mission, and/or Purpose Statement Change?

Guiding statements should be reviewed periodically and whenever significant changes occur in the organization or its environment. Changes in leadership, strategy, competition, or regulation may cause leaders to reconsider whether existing statements still accurately describe why the organization exists, what it does, and where it is trying to go.

Reviewing a statement does not mean it needs to change. In fact, purpose may remain relatively stable even while mission or vision evolves. The objective is not to rewrite these statements on a schedule. It is to make sure they continue to provide meaningful organizational direction.

RuReady Framework Connection

This article supports LK12 Organizational Mission, Vision, and Purpose, a Mastery-level Knowledge element within the Leadership Domain of the RuReady Adult Readiness Framework. Organizational Mission, Vision, and Purpose means understanding how guiding statements establish a shared purpose and organizational direction by clarifying why the organization exists, what it does, and where it is trying to go.

It’s linked to LS16 Vision Communication, where the focus shifts from understanding organizational direction to communicating it in ways that foster alignment, motivation, and shared understanding, and to Chapter 1 of this Field Manual, Why We Do What We Do. An exploration into our personal mission statement.

It also aligns with LK14 Organizational Policy and Governance and LS18 Policy Design and Management, as organizational direction begins to shape the formal guidance that steers the organization.

Explore the complete series:
Skill (US03.01): Time and Task Management Workflow
Skill (US03.02): Time and Task Management Workflow: The What
Skill (US03.03): Time and Task Management Workflow: The Self
Skill (US03.04): Time and Task Management Workflow: The When
Skill (US03.05): Time and Task Management Workflow: Only Do What Only You Can Do

If you enjoyed this article, explore the broader RuReady Adult Readiness Framework:

Preface: A Field Manual for Adult Life
Chapter 1: Why Do We Do What We Do?
Chapter 2: An Exploration of the RuReady Framework
Chapter 3: Life Skills for the Personal Domain
Chapter 4: Career Skills for the Professional Domain
Chapter 5: Leadership Skills for Every Level

Before moving on, feel free to use the checklist below to assess your readiness level.