Mission and Vision: Which Direction Are You Rowing?
by Tom Martellone • • 0 Comments
Have you ever been part of a team sport? I’ve never been a person to participate in group sports activities. Golfing and snowboarding are activities I have enjoyed and continue to enjoy doing on my own. While I have never participated in it, rowing is one sport which requires a high level of interaction and coordination among teammates.
Every member of a rowing team must be certain to move in a calculated rhythm that helps the team move in a forward motion. One or two wrong strokes of an oar can result in the team either moving in the wrong direction or not getting to where they need to go, specifically, losing a race.
Every member of a rowing team must be certain to move in a calculated rhythm that helps the team move in a forward motion. One or two wrong strokes of an oar can result in the team either moving in the wrong direction or not getting to where they need to go, specifically, losing a race.
Working within a vision or mission are much the same as being part of a rowing team. A well focused rowing team knows why they are rowing and what they need to do to stay in synchronization. Every person on that team knows their specific role and how they contribute to the team. Additionally, they all know which direction they need to row in, and they know the certainty of what will happen if one of them should be rowing out of sync or in the wrong direction.
School mission and vision statements provide the same framework and structure as a team of skilled, synchronized rowers. Your school mission statement “brands” why you are there and what your purpose is. It provides, or should provide, the lens through which all of your decisions get made.
Often times, staff have gone through mission writing exercises only to come up with either a lofty or unclear mission statement that worse yet, gets published and no one ever looks at. If the mission of your school is not clear, how do you make decisions and are your staff focused on why they are truly there?
Similarly with vision, where do you want your school to be heading? What do you want to be known for? A team that Mission and Vision: Which Direction Are You Rowing? | Connected Principals: