LEADERSHIP Series: Vision, Mission, Values

Corporate culture has a least three driving elements: vision; mission; and values.

A vision provides an over-arching view of the future. Great companies have articulated and shared their vision and the research demonstrates that those companies increase shareholder value well beyond comparable companies with no vision.

Vision shared effectively inspires employees to consider every problem as shared by each, calling for teamwork and cooperation, putting the needs of the company and its commitment to employees, customers and other stakeholders ahead of everything else. (The order is important, too!)

The mission presents the company’s reason for existence. It succinctly identifies what is done and the customer who receives the benefits of what the organization offers.

Values effectively shape the behaviors utilized to fulfill the mission.

Effective business leaders will have followers (employees) who understand the “rules” (core values), drive toward completion of a mission and help fulfill the corporate purpose (vision). Without a shared vision, assimilated values and a clear mission, employees not only are unsure of themselves and often unhappy, but also “cast off restraint” yielding an unwieldy team.

Leaders, passionate about the culture, inspire and motivate the team to focus on meeting customer needs in a way that yields a “happy” company (great work environment) and satisfied customers.

Are you taking this eternal principle and putting it to work at work?



Proverbs 29:18a (DARBY) Where there is no vision the people cast off restraint
Copyright © 2009 by P. Griffith Lindell