Personal Mission Statement
By Leanne Crain
When we talk of balancing your life more to improve your leadership abilities, we must also spend a moment or two to ponder what other tools we can utilize as well. To become a better leader, one of the points we often overlook is that we ourselves must take the time to improve ourselves. If you are seeking to make your team more effective or more productive, first begin by looking at yourself and seeing what you personally can improve.
As a leader you have likely encountered business mission statements countless times in the past. Some of these are less than inspiring, yet some consistently motivate the management and staff within a company to work towards a common focus. Mission statements, if used correctly, can provide a yardstick of sorts to compare all questions against.
The same is true with a personal mission statement. A personal mission statement will allow you to write out who you are, what you value, and where you want to go. This can be a powerful tool when you are forced to make a choice in your life. You will be able to ask yourself “does this follow my mission statement?” “Will this get me closer, or further away from my values?” Think of it like a candle in the window that will guide you home in dark times, a code of ethics that you will live your life by.
One of the key elements you will need to remember about your mission statement is that it needs to fuel your passion. If there isn’t parts of it that keep you up at night, dreaming of the endless possibilities, then something is wrong. Imagine if you could feel that passion every day as you walk through the door to work. Furthermore, imagine if your team could feel that passion from you, and they themselves began finding theirs?
Let’s get started! Grab a pen and a paper right now. You don’t have to finish it this minute, but get started on it now while you’re thinking of it!
First, think of someone influential in your life. What values do they follow that you would like to follow? What qualities do they have that you admire? Write all these down. Now go back and read it over – which of these things would YOU like to have? What would you like to be admired for?
The next step is imagining the “ideal you” in the future. What will you be like? What will your friends say about you? What would your obituary read? You need to envision all that you can become, and who you want to be.
When you think about your ideal self, write down who you are. What values or qualities does your ideal self have that you might need to work on? How are you going to get there? How will you measure success?
Once you get the ideas flowing, start writing them down. Write out every thought that comes into your head as you reflect on the questions above. When you are satisfied with your thoughts, go back and weave them together into a mission statement that is just for you.
For more leadership information, or ideas for ways to better your team, please contact Gary Gzik at ggzik@bizxcel.com.
Leanne Crain is a Marketing Assistant for BizXcel. Her background is marketing and tourism, and she has over 12 years experience in the sales and marketing field.
