Personal Mission Statement - Adventist University of ...

Personal Mission Statement

A personal mission statement is the roadmap of any careerist. It keeps track of your location- Am I happy, frustrated, or indifferent about my personal life and my career? Is where I am where I want to be? It tells you when you are lost- What did I do to fail? It steers you to the right direction- If I'm satisfied, how can I remain this way? If I'm unhappy, how can I reverse it? Most importantly, it carries you there faster- How can I get there quickly?

A personal mission statement should articulate the values that guide you to think, to act, and to react to the world around you. It should answer the following questions.

? What is my purpose in life? ? What is my ultimate personal goal? ? What is my ultimate professional goal? ? What do I enjoy doing most? ? How and where do I make the most impact? ? How would I like my obituary to read? (Although morbid, this concept

forces you to shape the course of your life.)

Writing a draft for the first time is daunting, taxing, frustrating, and awkward. Constant rewrite eases this tension, however. Completing a statement is a great reward because (1) as you gather your thoughts, you learn more about- and better appreciate- yourself, and (2) you will always have it to monitor your behavior. Some leaders save old statements to compare and contrast with their new one. One executive has a 30-plus-year collection of personal mission statements and personal self-evaluation notes that he peruses and reviews annually to check himself. According to him, this practice helps him find the "true north" of his personal life and career.

Although a personal mission statement should not be shared with anyone else, I will display two as examples.

Take inventory of your personality preferences and leadership style. No matter the tool, you must occasionally evaluate your personal and professional self track, your direction and remain sharp. The Kuder Career Assessment or the Myers-Briggs Type indicators are among the more popular assessment tools in the market. Although the validity and applicability of these tools may be questionable, they initiate the evaluation process. Perhaps the best tools- and validated ones- available today are the Hogan Personality Inventory; the Hogan Development Survey; and the Hogan Motives, Values and Preferences Inventory. These inventories are applicable to the skills and styles potency systems that many organizations have begun to develop. Several search consultant firms are also beginning to use assessment instruments to assess candidates.

Take inventory of your values. Because your values carry you, you must make sure that they carry you to the right direction. Constant evaluation of your values and how they affect your behavior and thoughts as a person and as a leader ensures that you are on the right track. A team-building retreat is one of the places that provide an opportunity for thought-provoking discussion on values.

Sample 1

My faith and my family are the most important things in my life. I want to be remembered by my family as a loving spouse and a caring parent. I want my children to remember that I did do an effective job of balancing work and home. I want my spouse to be comfortable with my desire to make a difference in healthcare.

I will end up compromising these values if I take a bigger, better job with more prestige. I do not want to do this. Therefore, I must be cautious in being tempted by these kinds of jobs. I will enjoy serving in an organization where I can make a personal impact without neglecting my children and spouse.

Although I want to be a CEO, I understand that the trade off with my family is not worth that price. So, I will try to serve my CEO so effectively that he will include me in more of his decision making, give me greater authority, and I will gain greater fulfillment. This will give me much of the satisfaction typically enjoyed by CEOs.

I will try to work in organizations that respect and support work/family balance. I will try to show this same respect for my division managers.

At the end of my life, I would like to be remembered as a person who was effective in balancing both family and career and one who did not allow work and career to take over.

Sample 2

I entered healthcare to serve others. As a clinician, I studied the art and science of healing. I want to keep this healing mission the central focus of my working life. I want others to know me as a person who always puts patients first. I will be a good steward of the skills given me and will work to get others around me to develop and sustain the passion for patient care that I possess.

I want to work in organizations that put missions first and margin second. I do not want to be affiliated with organizations that are not committed to high quality. I do not want to work in the for-profit health sector.

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