The success of any business relies heavily on its relationships with its partners. When the goals of a business are in alignment with the objectives of its partners, it can create a powerful synergy that can propel the business forward. But when the goals of the business and its partners are out of alignment, it can cause tension, confusion, and even failure. In this blog post, we’ll discuss the importance of aligning your business goals with your partners and explore strategies for achieving this.
Why Do Purpose, Mission, and Values Alignment Matter?
With economic, environmental, political, and technological shifts occurring rapidly, businesses must adapt quickly and consistently to stay afloat. According to Gartner’s research, more than 70% of organizations expect even more change by 2025.
Purpose, mission, and values alignment is important because it creates a common understanding of the goals and objectives of a business. When all partners are on the same page, it leads to better communication, trust, and collaboration. It also helps to ensure that everyone is working together towards the same goals and that each partner is fully invested in the business’s success.
Aligning purpose, mission, and values also builds a strong culture, which can help attract and retain top talent. Finally, purpose, mission, and values alignment helps ensure everyone is on the same page, which can lead to greater efficiency and productivity.
When top executives are aware of the differences between purpose, mission, and values, they can speed up their organization’s success by using these elements strategically.
What Are Your Purpose, Mission, and Values?
Getting purpose, mission, and values to work together begins with knowing the difference between them. Leaders who understand the distinction between purpose and mission and how values can help each can best use these components to lead their organization toward success.
- A company’s purpose is often a long-term, aspirational statement that reflects its ambition and the impact it aims to have on the world. For example, a company’s purpose might be to “empower people to lead healthier lives.” This statement is a general statement that defines the company’s overall goal, but it’s not necessarily specific to company’s current business activities.
- A mission statement, on the other hand, is more focused on the company’s current business objectives. It describes the company’s core business and what it does, its target customers, products or services, and the value it creates. For example, a company’s mission statement might be “to provide high-quality, affordable healthcare to underserved communities.” This statement describes the company’s specific business activities and the value it creates for its customers.
- Values are the guiding principles that shape the company’s culture and inform its decisions and actions. They are the standards by which the company operates. For example, a company’s values might include honesty, integrity, and commitment to excellence. These values are a compass for the company’s employees, guiding their behavior and decision-making.
In summary, a company’s purpose is its “why”, the mission is its “what”, and the values are its “how”.
Mission or Purpose First?
Organizations use purpose and mission to define their reason for existence and to make informed decisions. Both of these have distinct impacts that are determined through different methods.
The difference between a mission-driven and purpose-driven organization is clear, even though both a mission and purpose fulfill similar strategic function. Compared to mission-oriented enterprises, purpose-focused businesses structure their activities, procedures, and workers around achieving the betterment of humanity. A purpose is timeless and, at times, global in its reach.
Companies driven by mission often have a good effect, though they focus on a small number of people it affects. Furthermore, a company’s mission may be modified due to changes in the industry or business goals. Unlike that, however, purpose almost never transforms.
How Do You Align Your Goals?
1. Have Clear Goals
When it comes to goal alignment, the process begins at the executive level. To establish the company vision and strategy, schedule a meeting with your leadership team to form specific objectives you want to meet as an organization. Ensure the goals are sharply focused and crafted around a unified company vision that everyone can unite behind. It should be strategic yet attainable.
Remember that well-defined objectives make it easier for people to comprehend your vision and unite around a common goal. If your ambitions are unspecific, the successes gained will also be unclear and ambiguous.
2. Obtain Leadership’s Support and Commitment.
Share your organizational goals with the leadership team by organizing a meeting and discussing your vision and the set goals and benchmarks you have identified for the company.
Hear what they have to say and ask to gauge if the objectives are clear. Their buy-in is needed so that they understand the aims and feel motivated to spread them company-wide.
3. Embrace Co-Creation
After employees become aware of the company values, discuss these values with the employees and the stakeholders.
The Institute of Leadership & Management states that when employees are involved in setting the goals, “it leads to greater engagement and a shift in power dynamics” within the organization. According to Patrick Lencioni, founder of Table Group, collaboration leads to the formation of values that are easier to put into practice and accept. This is correlated with increased productivity and performance (Institute of Leadership & Management).
4. Be More Transparent
According to Slack’s 2018 Future of Work study, 87% of surveyed employees desire transparency from their next employer. Additionally, Label Insight discovered that 94% of consumers would be loyal to a completely transparent brand. Such transparency has the potential to build trust and enhance loyalty from stakeholders.
A company must have transparent core values to succeed, and its leaders must behave in ways that model and reinforce them. When employees understand the values and witness others following them, they will be driven to make strides that support these beliefs (Institute of Leadership & Management).
Be open and honest when providing updates to stakeholders, and make the decision-making process more transparent whenever possible.
5. Ensure that goals are effectively communicated at every level within the organization
Even though clear goals lead up to a 2.8x increase in employee engagement, a big part of employees don’t know what their company’s goals are.
Your organization should communicate strategies and goals with clarity and consistency at all levels to succeed.
Leaders should prioritize goals by including and discussing them in meetings, employee one-on-ones, and performance reviews. Linking company initiatives to fundamental goals will support alignment among staff members. Incorporating goal conversations into ongoing messages strengthens understanding and keeps everyone on track.
6. Support Employees in Reaching their Objectives
Several steps can be taken to support and empower your employees to achieve their goals:
- Prioritize effective onboarding for new hires, which includes clearly defining their roles and responsibilities, as well as providing them with an understanding of the company’s objectives and who they can turn to for help.
- Continually invest in training and development opportunities to build the skills and knowledge of your employees.
- Make sure that your employees have access to the resources and tools they need to perform their tasks effectively.
- Encourage managers to give regular and constructive feedback to employees, and provide support and guidance to ensure their tasks are on track and aligned with expectations.
By providing your employees with the necessary support, guidance, and resources, you are helping them set and achieve goals that are in line with the company’s objectives and in turn, support the overall success of the organization.
7. Track Your Achievements
To gain a clear understanding of how your budget is contributing to the accomplishment of your company’s goals, it is crucial to identify the metrics that are most important for measuring progress. These metrics can include both financial and non-financial indicators, and by monitoring them closely, you can obtain valuable insights into the effectiveness of your budget. This information can be used to adjust future forecasts or plans and implement ongoing changes based on what is and isn’t working. Additionally, by having visibility into these metrics and successes, you can promote buy-in for the budgeting process and align it more closely with your overall strategy.
The Takeaway
In conclusion, aligning an organization’s purpose, mission and values are crucial in today’s rapidly changing business landscape. Not only does it provide a clear sense of direction for the company and its employees, but it also enables leaders to make informed decisions and lead their organization toward success.
The easiest way to ensure your and your business partner’s goals will align is to make sure you pick your partner carefully. One way to do that is to hire a business partnership agency; book your free consultation today.