How do Vision and Mission Improve Communications and Group Interaction?
Tug O' War by Kevin Luu
I was struck today by how powerful the outcomes of setting a good, clear vision and mission are: particularly in how they impact communications and group interaction.
They impact various types of communications, including personal, interpersonal and corporate (internal and external):
1. Communicating clearly to yourself to focus and prioritise the activity that will maximise your ability to achieve your mission and vision
2. Amongst a group sharing the same vision/ mission (i.e. a corporate, not-for-profit, social group etc.), there are a number of benefits:
– The creation of a common set of values: they naturally align to support delivery of a commonly held set of outcomes
– The creation of common underlying goals and activities: clear actions enabling all members to pull in the same direction
– The creation of common understanding: even if people are communicating at apparent cross-purposes (in non-mission/vision groups), in those with mission and vision, common understanding shines through whatever fuzzy interaction takes place
– The acceptance of difference is enhanced when all parties are known to share the same vision/ mission
– The allowance for divergent personality traits: less drive for normalising behaviour if it doesn’t matter in the short-term relative to long-term goal achievement
– The allowance for ‘journey’ differences: the route to a goal matters less if the achievement of that goal is shared
3. A group seems more aligned to external observers when the purpose is common
4. Shared vision and mission (more obviously) makes the outwards communication of shared purpose easier
Just Seven Things 
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