A mission is the assignment that people embrace that propels them in a certain direction (from the Latin mittere – to send). It is a set of fundamental principles driving the organization forward – not a goal or a project to be accomplished, but a philosophy to live by. A mission doesn’t tell you where the voyage is headed, but why and how the voyage should be undertaken.
A mission will be inspiring if it touches people’s hearts and minds, giving them a sense of mission – a deeply held conviction that what they are doing is meaningful, valuable, and right, and therefore should be pursued, justifying the time, effort and resources being invested.
The MOVING Mission Framework outlines the four key elements that need to be defined to have a complete mission for an organization. At the heart is the organizational purpose (“why do we exist?”), surrounded by three fundamental types of guiding conditions (“how do we exist?”). Underneath are the six criteria that need to be met for a mission to be truly MOVING and to create a strong sense of mission among all organizational members.
The four building blocks of an inspiring organizational mission are the following:
These four elements need to be determined while meeting the following six criteria: