Mission drift

One of the sessions for College Presidents and Trustees at the 2010 Council of Christian Colleges and Universities Leadership Forum in Atlanta was entitled:  Making sure that the main thing stays the main thing.

Well, what is the main thing? For colleges and universities, and it has relevance for nonprofit organizations, the main thing is generally described in the mission statement. The mission statement describes the organization’s purpose and its reason for existence. The mission statement is a message that brings all of the organization’s stakeholders together. Stakeholders include governance, leadership, management, staff, students, clients, or other customers, donors and so on.

When an organization makes key decisions  about people, program, policy and resources, one of the check-points along the way is the  alignment with the mission. A likely question is this: Does this decision support and advance the mission? If leaders are asking these types of mission directed questions,  it is likely the main thing will remain the main thing, according to the presenters at this session.

However, when an organization makes decisions that are not aligned with the mission, a phenomenon begins to occur. You can call this phenomenon  mission-drift. Mission drift occurs when the mission is not clearly understood or fully embraced by governance and/or organizational leaders or other organizational stakeholders. More often, mission drift occurs when  decisions are poorly made, not thought through, or when oversight is not provided.  Mission drift can lead an organization down the path of ineffectiveness which can lead to decline. This road eventually leads to  organizational starvation and, unless there is an intervention, organizational death.

Organizations are similar to living organisms. They must be cared for and tended by governance and organizational leaders if it to grow and be healthy. A well-written mission statement describes the organization’s purpose. As the organization changes so should the mission. But the mission change should be intentional and thoughtful and not the result of mission drift. As organizations are dynamic so are mission statements.

Mission statements provide written guidance for governance and organizational leaders as they make  tough decisions. It reminds all organizational stakeholders what the main thing is.  If this reflects decision making in your nonprofit organization, college or university, you can be sure that the main thing is the main thing!