Your Personal and Professional Mission Statement

I have a promise to keep.

Last Jump, with number 1. of our February Jumpstart, I said I’d share a form with you. I’ll repeat that section here so you needn’t click back:

1. Kūlia i ka nu‘u is about personal and professional achievement. For this to be meaningful for you, you must be able to think of your Ho‘ohana in terms of a professional mission statement which falls in alignment with your personal values and goals.

With your January Jumpstart I asked you to review Chapter 2 of MWA on Ho‘ohana one more time, and write a short paragraph which explains your own passion for worthwhile, on-purpose work as a manager with belief in your people. I had you write it as an affirmation, and post it where you’d read it often. I asked you to turn your Ho‘ohana into a personal mantra.

Next, I want you to write it as your own Individual Mission Statement. Before February is over, I will share a form with you that makes pretty short and easy work of it. However before then, in preparation for that exercise over the coming weekend, re-read and review Chapter 3 in MWA on ‘Imi ola.

Here is the form I was referring to in pdf form you can print: The Ho‘ohana Mission Worksheet.

And for those of you who are journaling your MWA Jumpstart in a three-ring binder (great idea :-) here’s a bonus: a pdf of the Kulia I ka nu ‘u mountain climbing progression - Live, work, manage, lead.

These pdfs are visuals you can use for yourself, and then feel free to duplicate for any coaching you do with your own staff.

A bit more coaching on the Ho‘ohana Worksheet:

This is a very easy to use form which corresponds to the chapter in MWA on ‘Imi ola, To seek life. Go to page 43 and the heading, Your personal mission statement for more clarity first.

The section which follows on page 44, explains how you as a manager can Coach with professional mission statements.

In our February Jumpstart, i.e. until monthend 2.28.06, I want you to fill out the form for yourself. During March, you will move from live (you yourself) to work (you, yourself) to manage and lead (using this form, or your personalized application of it, for those you manage).

Your own life is your best laboratory for Managing with Aloha before you start to experiment on your employees!

The beauty of this form is in this sentence on page 45, “As for the writing of the professional mission statement itself, I would encourage you to keep it as simple a process as possible.”

As you can see, the form is a fill-in-the-blank format which asks,

1. What your role is.

2. The second blank is simply for your company name. It seems to be a small thing at first, however this is important for our context. It is also very interesting to me how often the organization name itself can inspire the author of these mission statements because of their personal connection and work history.

3. Then you have a few lines for defining what you feel is your key responsibility associated with your role. This your Kuleana: your personal sense of responsibility.

4. Next, you are asked to connect your Ho‘ohana with your role and responsibility in a way that serves to redefine it at a higher personal and professional level: This is your Kūlia i ka nu‘u, reaching and striving higher in aiming for achievement with excellence.

5. Finally, some reflection on how you must be realistic about your own health and well-being, first things first. This is your Mālama, self care, connected to your ‘Imi ola, seeking your best possible life— it is the blending of the personal and professional into one synergistic, better balanced whole. You must keep your commitments to yourself before you keep them for others.

If you have taken the baby steps with defining your Ho‘ohana in the last six weeks of this Jumpstart program, this should be a much easier exercise for you. You have a mantra or single paragraph on what your Ho‘ohana is: now you just have to connect it with these other values.

I can confidently say that if you are in business — and if a business career was indeed the right choice for you — these values within this value-based mission writing exercise are values you have to some degree both personally and in alignment with the values-centered behavioral norm of your company:

Ho‘ohana: On-purpose, passionate, intentional work. Makes “work ethic” a given.

Kuleana: Responsibility, accountability, ownership. Defines the basic expectations of our worth in an organization.

Kūlia i ka nu‘u: Achievement and excellence. The execution of a company’s objectives germinate when ownership is accepted by Kuleana, i.e. in one’s personal sense of responsibility, and goals are written as individual achievement and excellence.

‘Imi ola: Vision, mission, your higher purpose for a fulfilling, meaningful life. This brings you closer to defining your capacity for building a legacy. When in alignment with the organization, this begins to define your leadership role for you.

Mālama: Self-care so you can thrive, and then better invest in your ability to give to others. You focus on the stewardship you feel strongest about. Caring is a much stronger driver in business than we give it credit for. And that cliché that “our people are our strongest asset” begins to take on some sincerity and credibility when Mālama is honored.

Sit with this exercise over the coming weekend. Put it aside to “breathe” and then read it again. Sleep on it. Share it with someone you love, someone you know cares about you and supports you in your ‘imi ola, your seeking of your best possible life.

Then, when you feel pretty good about the poetry of your mission statement, ask yourself this important question: “Is it specific enough?”

We’ll talk story more in a few days.

Related writings:
On Ho‘ohiki: Keeping your promises.
Mission or Vision? Why choose between them?

--------------------Tracking MWA Jumpstart:

NEXT JUMP: Our March Ho‘ohana: Kūlia i ka nu‘u! The Best We Can Be.

BACK TO THE LAST JUMP: February Jumpstart: Ho‘ohana and your Strategic Planning.