THE FIRST STANDARD to which a leader is held is mission accomplishment. It is an expectation that this is accomplished legally and with high personal and team standards of behavior. As discussed previously, consistently meeting (and exceeding) our organization’s standards that reinforce our Core Values should ensure long-term consistent performance. The opposite is also true. A disregard for our Core Values and the standards and consequences that reinforce them ensures a decrease in our organization’s ability to accomplish its mission.

Furthermore, if behaviors are immoral or illegal, they will eventually result in any leader’s eventual downfall, and typically also that of the team they lead. There are numerous high-profile examples of exactly this occurring in collegiate and professional sports as well as in corporate America.

We must stay focused on our behaviors, but as leaders (and teammates) we must also always be aware of our performance, of what we are here to do, of our mission. Leaders who are unable to lead their teams consistently to mission accomplishment are failing as leaders. We must accomplish the mission. If we are going to do so, we must first define it.

Part 1: Define It

How do we define our mission? The mission is our end state. It is where we want to go and what we want to achieve as an organization. The time period for that mission can be as short, or as long, as you need to accomplish it. A team could have a mission to win a particular game. A company could have a mission to reach a certain revenue level within a certain time period. Any and all personal and team actions taken during that time should be done to further mission accomplishment.

Some organizations use very narrow and clearly defined mission parameters. A football team may have a mission to win the national championship. Other organizations may avoid precise objective markers such as wins, points, or rankings and instead focus on a more subjective mission, such as reaching their true potential or creating an organization of which their community can be proud. Both approaches can work. What is most important is that everyone in the organization knows and understands the mission. It would be unfair to hold our subordinate leaders accountable to accomplishing the mission if we haven’t clearly defined what it is. An effective mission always has a “why” attached to it. It is crucial that every member of the team know why they are doing what they are doing and what end they are working toward.

In the military we use “in order to” statements to explain our “why.” For example, a unit could have a mission to capture an airfield “in order to” allow reinforcements to land. In Najaf, Mac and his fellow Marines knew that every action they undertook was done “in order to” bring peace to Najaf.

Part 2: Communicate It

One of the drills that we execute with teams and organizations during our experiential training involves a relay race of sorts. Some members of the team are running with sandbags while other are executing various exercises with a heavy log. There are various standards that the team must adhere to. For instance, as the sandbags are carried, they must stay together.

It is clearly explained to the leader that the mission is “as fast as possible.” However, often when leaders brief their team, they leave out this crucial piece of information. They forget to tell their teammates what the mission is. Consequently, the first few times they try it, most of the team walks with the sandbags.

After a few slow and disastrous attempts, the Program instructor will ask some of the participants “What is the mission?” They will respond, “Keeping the sandbags together” or “Lifting the log.” When we ask the leader, they respond, “As fast as possible.” We then ask the rest of the team if they would have changed the way they attacked the drill knowing that the mission was “as fast as possible.” Rather than walking with the sandbags, would they have sprinted with them? “Of course,” they respond in the affirmative.

The mission must always be communicated down to the lowest level if we hope to accomplish it. It isn’t enough if only half or even 80% of the team knows it. It is the leader’s responsibility to ensure that every single team member knows and understands the mission.

Part 3: Words on a Rock

Our mission should not be confused with a “mission statement.” A corporate mission statement is often used to describe to potential customers the function, vision, and culture of the organization. A mission statement does not necessarily give the teammates and leaders of an organization an end state to work toward, or if it does, it is a very nebulous one. We joke with many athletic teams that somewhere on their campus, usually carved in stone, there is a long and beautifully written mission statement extolling the virtues and vision of the university. Not a single coach or athlete knows it (nor do any professors). Very few have ever even read it.

The mission of a team should be clear and concise so that it is understood by the entire team. Our mission, if our team is passionate about it, will help us make better decisions. We strive to take only those actions that further mission accomplishment and avoid actions that hamper it. We are willing to sacrifice for it. It is easy to do so when things are going well. Most importantly, we must also be able to do so in the most chaotic, confusing, and challenging environments in which we all battle. The decisions we make in those situations must advance us toward mission accomplishment, regardless of the adversity and uncertainly we face.

This is when a clear, concise, and actionable mission, that the entire team knows and supports, is most important.

Team leaders are held to two standards. First, they accomplish the mission. Following is how we do so.