Your goal? To meet or exceed the following organizational standard: The leader focuses organizational energy on achieving the mission.

To reach your goal, start by imagining. Imagine you and your organization focused. Imagine you and your organization consistently and systemically focused on achieving your God-given mission. If this happened, how would this impact the achievement of your mission?

To start making this vision a reality, answer 4 questions:

1. What does it take to meet or exceed this standard?
   
2. What’s the current performance level?
   
3. What can you do to increase your focus of organizational energy on achieving the mission?
   
4. What does your organization need to do to increase its focus on achieving the mission?

What does it take to meet or exceed the standard?
To meet the standard:

• Input: You need to focus organizational energy on achieving the mission.
  
• Output: Your organization needs to focus its energy on achieving the mission.

To exceed the standard:

• Input: You need to consistently focus organizational energy on achieving the mission.
  
• Output: Your organization needs to consistently focus its energy on achieving the mission.

(2) What’s the current performance level? Find out by answering a question on inputs and a question on outputs:

Inputs: I ___ organizational energy on achieving the mission.

1. consistently and systemically focus
   
2. consistently focus
   
3. focus (meets the standard)
   
4. somewhat focus
   
5. rarely focus

Outputs: My organization ___ its energy on achieving the mission.

1. consistently and systemically focuses
   
2. consistently focuses
   
3. focuses (meets the standard)
   
4. somewhat focuses
   
5. rarely focuses

(3) Input: What can you do to increase your focus of organizational energy on achieving the mission? Here are 10 options:

1. Pray daily.
   
2. Memorize your mission statement.
   
3. Tell stories about achieving the mission.
   
4. Ask questions: What is our mission? What does our mission mean and not mean? What’s our definition of mission achievement? What’s our current level of mission achievement? What can we do to close the gap? How effectively will this ___ (meeting, project, task, proposed change) help us accomplish our mission?
   
5. Listen to the responses to your questions.
   
6. Use SMART goals and scoreboards.
   
7. Coach leaders.
   
8. Provide support, encouragement, and accountability.
   
9. Design job descriptions so that they are a function of mission achievement.
   
10. Empower 100% of staff to recite the mission, explain the definition of mission achievement, explain the current level of mission achievement, and identify how their job and schoolwide improvement plans contribute to mission achievement.

Pick 1 option. Do it. Today. And ask someone to hold you accountable. Until you get it done. Then, if necessary, pick another option.

(4) Output: What does your organization need to do to increase its focus on achieving the mission? Here are 10 things staff can do:

1. Pray daily.
   
2. Memorize the mission.
   
3. Learn to explain the definition of mission achievement.
   
4. Learn to explain the current level of mission achievement.
   
5. Learn to explain how their job contributes to mission achievement.
   
6. In each meeting, ask “How will this meeting help us achieve our mission?”
   
7. When developing proposals, ask “How will this proposed change help us achieve our mission?”
   
8. When considering whether or not to take on a task, ask “How effectively will this ___ (meeting, project, task, proposed change) help us accomplish our mission?”
   
9. When pursuing professional development, ask “What type of professional development will most effectively help me contribute to mission achievement?”
   
10. Track progress towards job completion and/or assigned improvement tasks. Share progress with a supervisor on a routine basis.

Ask each staff member to pick 1 option. Today. And hold staff members accountable. Until they get it done. Then, if necessary, ask them to pick another option.

Imagine you and your organization consistently and systemically focused on achieving your mission. Make this a reality by increasing your organization’s focus on achieving the mission. Target inputs (what you do) and outputs (what your organization does).

Steward what God has given you. Focus your organization's energy on achieving your mission.

---

Martie Tarter, Christian Academy in Japan (Music/School Advancement), SEND International:
Focusing organizational energy on achieving the mission is central to achieving the mission. Ways I do this include praying daily and talking about how what we are doing is connected to the mission. To take it to the next level, I’m going to provide encouragement and ask organizational members to set personal goals related to achieving the mission.