How to Stay Mission-Driven in Times of Rapid Growth

Growth is gold, but it isn’t everything. There’s nothing like gaining some air under your wings – room to create a new service, add to your team, take new opportunities, and expand your impact. 

All these new opportunities can pull your gaze toward the work, glory, and efficiency so much that it pulls your focus away from the reason it all matters – your mission. At this stage, many feel that the mission that guided them since the beginning begins to fade into the background. Your mission can and should remain the anchor, guiding every decision, regardless of the scale of your success. You can evolve your strategies to accommodate growth, but the heart of your mission must stay the same.

Five Cautions to Consider

1. Dilution of Core Values

As your team grows, the original passion for the mission can dwindle, with new team members not fully understanding or connecting with the core values. This disconnect may lead to decision-making that prioritizes efficiency over purpose.

2. Shift Toward Short-Term Goals

Rapid growth often guides conversations to focus on short-term goals to help support the decisions made while in a growth state. Growth may entail hiring new staff, which can shorten the team’s overall visionary viewpoint. While short-term goals are an essential element for sustainability, too much emphasis on the short term can push your long-term mission aside.

3. Increased Pressure for Revenue

With growth comes higher financial expectations, often leading to prioritizing revenue while decision-making. This pressure can subtly steer an organization toward moves that don’t fully align with its heart.

4. Mission Drift in Service Offerings

New opportunities and partnerships open exciting new doors, but they may also encourage new services or products that don’t align with the core mission. You may start announcing new events and groups that sound interesting or catchy, but don’t actually serve your specific community. This “mission drift” can create confusion, both internally and for those you serve.

5. Overwhelming Operational Demands

Growth allows for additional infrastructure, processes, and roles, which can become all-consuming. As your team focuses on maintaining new complexity, the daily conversations around purpose and impact might fade, leading to a quiet shift away from your mission.

Five Strategies to Keep Your Mission at the Forefront

You’ll need to take deliberate action to keep your mission central. With these five strategies, you can ensure that your mission remains a guiding force, keeping your team aligned and every decision grounded in purpose.

1. Regularly Revisit Your Mission Statement

Make a habit of revisiting your mission statement as a team, not just in strategic meetings, but in day-to-day operations. This grounding exercise can remind everyone why the organization exists and how each person contributes to this larger purpose.

2. Integrate the Mission in Decision-Making

Whenever making decisions, large or small, ask, “Does this align with our mission?” In a season of growth, the answer should be that a decision will expand the reach of your mission, increase the quality of your service, or help fulfill your mission in a way you are currently not.

3. Establish Mission-Oriented KPIs

Growth often comes with new performance indicators, but following mission-oriented KPIs alongside financial metrics is key. Consistently track metrics that measure your specific mission’s impact, such as beneficiary reach, engagement levels, client satisfaction, and staff alignment with key values. These metrics spotlight the impact of each decision, helping ensure alignment with your mission and signaling when adjustments are needed to stay on track.

4. Train New Hires on Mission and Values

Every new team member should receive in-depth onboarding focused on the mission, values, and story behind your organization. You’ll instill a sense of purpose that aligns with your existing team’s values and ensures everyone rows in the same direction. This vital process informs the direction of each team meeting and establishes an early standard for every decision the new member will be a part of.

5. Create Regular Space for Reflection

Whether through monthly meetings, retreats, or dedicated mission reviews, regularly create opportunities for reflection. These moments give team members the opportunity to voice concerns, share insights, and reflect on how recent initiatives align with the organization’s purpose. Reflection is a vital element to a mission-oriented team culture, since it welcomes constructive feedback and honest collaboration.

Invest in a Culture of Mission-Mindedness

In times of growth, staying rooted in your mission is essential for a thriving culture capable of meaningful impact. With expansion and staffing changes, mindsets around mission can subtly shift over time. To protect the culture and mission that define your organization, take proactive steps today. 

Consider using Vanderbloemen’s Culture Tool to assess your team's current alignment and mission-mindedness. The Culture Tool provides a comprehensive, in-depth assessment of your team to reveal the weaknesses that could be jeopardizing your mission’s impact. Begin your journey toward sustained impact and health for your organization’s culture. Get started today to ensure your team utilizes organizational growth to advance your mission.