In a recent mentoring session, a mentee asked me to as her some questions so she could practice for an upcoming job interview. This was a promotion within her current organization, so one of the sets of questions I asked was:
In your own words, what is the mission of your organization? How will you contribute to the mission in this new role?
My mentee could articulate the organizational mission, but she struggled with the second half of the question. As we discussed it further, I realized she didn't understand the bigger picture of how her new position (or even her current position) directly contributed to the organization's mission. Even more tragically, she did not understand how critically important her individual and unit contributions were to the organization's mission.
Sadly, a lot of employees don't understand how their "piece of the puzzle" fits into the organization mission. That's partly why I asked her those questions. Going into that interview she needs to understand how her desired position contributes to the mission and be able to confidently state how her skills and abilities will enable her to sucessfully fulfill that role.
My husband and his twin brother lost their father to a sudden heart attack when they were 16. Their mother had never worked outside the home, and their father left very little in the bank. Suddenly they were all thrust into the mission of providing income to support their family. Their mother used her primary talent, playing the piano, to find a job playing at the local hotel bar. The boys got part-time jobs delivering newspapers before school and bagging groceries in the afternoons and on weekends. Their grandmother did her part by helping out with cooking meals, helping the boys with their homework, and keeping up their home. It wasn't easy, but their family survived. This is a simple, real-life example of how powerful it can be when everyone in an organization understands their mission, and works together to fulfill it.
What about you? Do you know how you currently contribute to your organization's mission? What about the role(s) you aspire to hold in the future? How will the answers to these questions impact your current and future career success? How will the answers to these questions impact your organization's current and future success?
Think about how you contribute to your organization's mission. If you don't know, ask one of your colleagues who has been with the organization for a while. Keep asking as many people as needed to get a good understanding where your "puzzle piece" fits. Share what you learn with those around you. Talk about how you collectively contribute to the mission. You'll be pleasantly surprised at how this simple act of understanding motivates you and drives positive improvement throughout your organization.