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What does your personal mission statement say about you?
Wait, you don't have a personal mission statement? Me neither. That's why I set out to write this article.
As I recently realized that I am in my middle career era, I've been thinking a lot about who I am. What are my career values, goals, and my personal mission statement?
What am I about? How does that inform my career going forward? What has changed in the past ten years? What do I think might change in the future?
What is a Mission Statement?
A mission or purpose statement is concise and communicates an organization's fundamental purpose, values, and goals. Mission statements serve as a guidepost for big decisions, difficult crossroads, or organizational actions.
An effective mission statement communicates three crucial elements: purpose, values, and goals.
- Purpose: Why does the organization exist in the first place? What problem was it founded to solve, and what service does it aim to do?
- Values: What core values are centered within the organization, its people, and its overall culture?
- Goals: What does the organization strive to achieve?
Organizations create mission statements to provide clarity and direction. These statements might seem to exist for public relations purposes (and sometimes, this is sadly true), but when used correctly, they show what an organization stands for. In times of strife or difficult decisions, leadership and stakeholders should be able to align their decisions with the mission statement.
How a Personal Mission Statement Could Help Clarify Your Career
Just like an organization uses its mission statement as a lighthouse, you can do so with a personal mission statement. It's not something you have to paste into your LinkedIn profile or emblazon on your resume. Writing and using a personal mission statement can be a private message to yourself.
Use it when you are faced with tough decisions, a career crossroads, or when facing a lapse in direction or purpose.
How a Personal Mission Statement Helps Your Career
- Clarifies Goals and Priorities: A personal mission statement requires reflection on your values, aspirations, and long-term objectives. By articulating what matters most to you professionally, you gain clarity on your career goals and can prioritize your efforts accordingly.
- Guides Decision-Making: With a clear mission statement, you have a framework for evaluating career opportunities, projects, and decisions. It serves as a guiding compass, helping you assess whether a particular path aligns with your values and goals.
- Enhances Focus and Motivation: A personal mission statement provides a sense of purpose and direction in your career. It helps you stay focused on meaningful objectives and fuels your motivation, especially during challenging times or when faced with distractions.
- Builds Self-Awareness and Authenticity: Crafting a mission statement involves introspection and self-discovery, leading to greater self-awareness. Understanding your strengths, values, and unique contributions allows you to present yourself authentically in professional settings, enhancing your credibility and building trust with colleagues and employers.
- Differentiates You in the Job Market: A well-defined personal mission statement sets you apart from others in the job market. It communicates your professional identity, strengths, and what you bring to the table, helping you stand out to potential employers or collaborators who resonate with your mission and values.
Mission Statements from Fortune 500 Companies
Before we dive into writing our mission statements, let's explore some of the more popular mission statements out there. Luckily, our friends at HubSpot have compiled a list of some of the most inspirational mission statements.
- Life Is Good: To spread the power of optimism.
- sweetgreen: Building healthier communities by connecting people to real food.
- Patagonia: Build the best product, Cause no unnecessary harm, Use business to protect nature, Not bound by convention.
- IKEA: To offer a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them
- JetBlue: To inspire humanity – both in the air and on the ground.
- TED: Spread ideas, foster community, and create impact.
- Disney: To entertain, inform, and inspire people around the globe through the power of unparalleled storytelling.
- Dunkin': Everything we do is about you. We strive to keep you at your best, and we remain loyal to you, your tastes and your time. That’s what America runs on.
Do any of these resonate?
As the daughter of someone who loves Life is Good t-shirts (hi, mom!), I can attest to that brand keeping to its mission statement of spreading the power of optimism. Since being founded in 1989, Life is Good has stuck to its brand and butter t-shirts that feature simple drawings that convey happiness and simplicity. Keeping that optimism through the 1990s, 2001, several recessions, and a pandemic is pretty impressive.
So, let's write our own!
How to Write Your Personal Mission Statement
Think of yourself as an organization. What would your mission statement be? I have some things figured out.
- I know my Bravo Housewives tagline, but I can't share it here.
- If I had a boat, I'd give it a fun name like "Knot My Problem" or "Resting Fish Face"
But what is my mission statement? While I suspect I know what it is, I have never put pen to paper. I am breaking it down into four relatively easy steps to find out.
Step One: What's My Purpose?
Your purpose is something you already intrinsically know, but you may not have put it into words yet.
What's your purpose in your career? What's your purpose in your personal life? Do the two complement each other, or are they in opposition? Try to align the personal and professional. If you're struggling to unlock your purpose, try finishing these statements:
- I am my best when...
- I am truly fulfilled when...
- I want to be a person who can...
- The most important things to me are...
I believe my purpose is to help others succeed. As a true middle child, I learned fairly young that I derived the most joy from providing help and support from the sidelines. I didn't want to be the start of the show. I wanted to be the agent, the mentor, or the cheerleader, helping others to reach their peak. If I can do so creatively, I am living the dream!
By now, you hopefully have your purpose translated into words. If not, we have a whole other guide to finding your purpose.
Step Two: What Are My Guiding Values?
Again, you probably know your core values. However, it's really powerful to write them down and solidify what they are and where they exist in your career and personal life.
There have definitely been considerable crossroads in my career where I realized that my values were nowhere to be found. As a result, I was unmotivated, unfulfilled, and deeply unhappy in my career.
Name two or three (or four or five) values you'd like to place at the center of your professional goals and career. When I tried this practice last year, I identified my core values as creativity, helping others, flexibility, trust, and humanity.
Core Values Examples
- Relationships
- Friendship
- Balance
- Community
- Diversity
- Empathy
- Kindness
- Recognition
- Impact
- Dependability
- Adaptability
- Work-life balance
- Self-motivation
- Collaboration
- Strong self-confidence
Got your core values ready? Let's move on to step three!
Step Three: Where Do I Want to Go Next?
One of my favorite things to write about at Career Contessa? Goals! I love small goals, big goals, and everything in between. I love breaking down how to achieve large goals. I love hearing stories about how folks set and achieve goals. It's all so inspirational to me.
In step three, finish your mission statement by equating your purpose and core values to your goals. It looks like this:
My Purpose + My Core Values = My Goals
Step Four: Put it All Together
Step four is all about wordsmithing everything into a simplistic statement. You know the legwork that went into your statement. Now, make it simple and direct. This statement can help you find clarity in challenging times—like during a lengthy job search, a career change, or a difficult life change.
Other Resources for Personal Statements
I hope this was a fun and quick exercise. If you're interested in more resources about personal statements, elevator pitches, or professional mantras, I have some good news for you! Check out the links below!
