Scott Hoots is the CEO of QC Kinetix, a leader in the regenerative medicine industry.
Business leaders are facing unprecedented challenges. Workers are uneasy. Workplace culture trends show concerns about employee stress levels, the call for hybrid flexibility, discontent demonstrated through quiet and loud quitting, uncertainty about the role of AI and upskilling opportunities.
This is an arduous, pandemic-era workplace. In a TEDWomen Presents, a fellow CEO aptly said, “The only constant has been change.” It’s up to leaders to find ways to navigate our precarious positioning. It’s up to us to connect with our teams and make them feel valued, not just for the sake of productivity but for their own personal development.
The Threat Of A Disengaged Workforce
Employee engagement is trending downward. A recent Gallup Poll shows only 32% of full- and part-time employees working for organizations are now engaged, while 18% are actively disengaged.
Think about this. Only about a third of working Americans feel like they’re part of something. We spend the majority of our day working—shouldn’t we feel like that’s time well spent? When Gallup polled workers, they asked specific questions to determine what is meant by “engagement.” Among the topics that bubbled to the surface is the one I think is most important—connection to the mission or purpose of the company.
If you’re looking to “re-engage” your team, the good news is you already have this tool in your arsenal. If you’re not using it, it’s time to dust it off; because as a leader, your mission is everything. It’s your North Star—your barometer to gauge all decisions.
Visualize that your company mission provides you with guardrails. For consistency and focus, everything you do remains inside those guardrails. Don’t let your mission be just rhetoric, make it your culture.
Why You Should Let Your Mission Be Your Guide
From an employee engagement standpoint, sharing the mission promotes involvement and ownership in three ways.
1. It creates better buy-in from employees.
When everyone is working toward the same goal, there’s no ambiguity about what’s important and what needs to be done. It gives your team a sense of being part of something, not just a job to clock in and out of—it provides a real sense of partnership.
Working in franchising, for example, I see it every day. Sticking to the mission means our franchise owners know the direction the brand is going. When they invest in their franchise business, they must buy into our concept with a clear understanding of our objectives and long-term goals. They must know the mission because the mission provides clarity.
2. Understanding the big picture of the company inspires engagement.
Remember, you hired your team for a reason. They are qualified and creative and have something to contribute, so let them do just that. Let them know their opinions matter. The mission helps define roles and sets clear expectations. It gives their work meaning.
A recent NPR article talked about how satisfaction goes beyond the work being done; folks want to do something meaningful and see tangible results. I see this when we collaborate as a team. The shared exchange of ideas provides a sense of belonging and evokes a sense of pride in the work accomplished. We can’t forget that letting someone’s voice be heard is empowering.
3. When your team understands they are essential, they feel valued.
Keeping your mission top-of-mind signifies that your team feels connected—which is integral to meeting goals. An article from Harvard Business Review talks about the psychological takeaway of meaningful work. Research indicates that when work has meaning, it will increase performance and engagement.
I encounter this often in franchising when our franchise owners understand their importance to the brand. Being in a cutting-edge medical field, our franchise owners see the significant differences they are making by improving the lives of their patients. There is intrinsic motivation in this.
How To Lead By The Mission
My company is mission-driven. Our mission is the foundation of everything we do. Every meeting or event starts off with a review of our mission statement. It reminds the team of our purpose and their role in it. It is our core and why we exist as a company. Not only does it serve as our compass, but it’s also strategic. Every decision we make is measured by the mission. As a leader, this is both good and bad.
Recently, our team was challenged by a vendor we work with. Having many stakeholders and franchise owners potentially affected by the information, we had to determine if it was in our best interest to share this information with them or simply handle it on our own.
When the mission drives your company, it is easier to make decisions. In our case, when we measured the risks posed by this challenge against our beliefs and our core pillars, the decision was fundamentally made for us. The result? We were transparent and communicated the situation with the team. On the flip side, however, transparency can invite scrutiny, which, in turn, results in those difficult phone calls—an inherent challenge of leading by your mission.
Having a clear, defined mission is critical to keeping your team engaged. The mission becomes the playbook, and yes, it can make the job harder as a leader, but it should be your “why.” It defines why you are in business and why it’s vital to do the right thing. It allows you to grow. This makes it one of the most important tools you have as a leader to provide value to your team. Therefore, if you want a team that is motivated and working hard, share the mission.
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