I am undertaking some team development work and would like to start by helping the team leaders to define and articulate their Mission. I would like to do something more creative than just asking the participants what their mission is, so wondered if there are any interventions whihc have been used with effect by others.
One Response
Defining mission
Hi Maria
You have a great opportunity to tap into the passion of your people with this exploration! I agree just asking the question is not very exciting and it’s also unlikely to get the result you want as most people are unable to think about this from ‘cold’.
Are you wanting the team leaders to come up with their inidividual mission or one that they are collectively engaged in? If it’s their purpose in their role, then I’d start with getting them to think about what they’re passionate about in their role – the things they love to do and always pay attention to. Then to ask the question, ‘in order to what?’
A more creative way to use this in the classroom is to give them a load of old magazines and get them to create a visual storyboard that represents their answers that they then present back to the group.
There should also be something about a ‘promise’ here – ‘living this mission, what do I promise my people – what can they expect from me?’
We need to be mindful of the fact that people often confuse purpose with a large objective; you can never achieve your purpose, you just live it everyday, so if they come up with a timebound statement, it’s likely to be an objective they’re talking about.
I think if you’re spending time doing this, there’s value in going further with your questions and the outputs and focus they achieve. I ‘m happy to talk you through a framework that I use frequently, just let me know.
Regards,
Karen
– Karen Stone UK Head of Learning & Development