You feel good about the past several months. Your organization has identified its God-given mission, identified the goals it needs to achieve to carry out its mission, decided to use key performance indicators to monitor mission achievement, and is now field-testing its key performance indicators. Wow! Real progress.
 
You want to use the progress you’ve made to close the gap between the words of your mission statement and the reality of your situation. So, you talk about the mission, discuss the goals, tell success stories, and analyze survey results. Good. And you’re thinking about using key performance indicators.
 
Question: How can you use key performance indicators to close the gap?
 
I use key performance indicators to help me focus on what to do next. For example, to achieve my mission during this school year, I need to have 30 coaching clients who are making progress toward their goals. Right now, I have 26. So, I know I need to help 4 more clients make progress.
 
Here’s another example: To achieve my mission during this school year, I need to help 40 leaders build capacity and/or get better results from using resources I provided. So far, I have helped 55 leaders in this way.
 
By using my key performance indicators, I know I need to help 4 more coaching clients, and I know that I don’t need to focus on using resources to help leaders build capacity and/or get better results. Using key performance indicators helps me know what to do next.
 
Question: How could using key performance indicators help you close the gap?
 
Focus on using key performance indicators to close the gap. Today.
 

You want to monitor how well your organization is achieving its God-given mission. You’ve thought about collecting examples, doing surveys, and monitoring key performance indicators. You share your thinking with others, and then get a team to talk through what would help you monitor progress on your mission. The team decides to monitor key performance indicators and plans to take steps to identify key performance indicators.
 
Question: How can you identify your key performance indicators?
 
Here’s what I did:

1. I reflected on my mission statement and the 5 goals I need to achieve in order to carry out my mission (coaching, consulting, networking, resourcing, and training).
2. Then I asked myself, “What’s success look like?” I brainstormed things that would indicate success. For example, one key performance indicator I identified for coaching was the number of clients who took action on their goals.
3. After brainstorming indictors for each of my 5 goals, I selected 1 indicator for each goal and figured the best way to know if I had picked useful indicators was by field-testing them.
4. And that’s exactly what I did—I field-tested my key performance indicators.
5. Later, I reviewed the usefulness of each indicator, asking myself questions like the following: What did I learn from field-testing this indicator? How helpful is this indicator? How easy is this to monitor? Is there another indicator that would be more helpful?
6. I refined my key performance indicators.
7. Finally, I decided to repeat the process I had used.

Here’s the process: Reflect, Brainstorm, Select, Test, Review, Refine, Repeat.
 
Your turn:

1. What’s your mission? What goals do you need to achieve to carry out your mission?
2. What are some key performance indicators for each of your goals?
3. What 1 or more key performance indicators do you want to use for each goal?
4. How long do you want to field-test your indicators?
5. What did you learn from field-testing your key performance indicators?
6. How can you refine your indicators?
7. How often do you need to repeat the process?

Focus on identifying your key performance indicators. Today.

Use examples, surveys, and indicators to measure mission achievement.

By asking questions like:

1. What’s your mission statement?
2. What excites/concerns you about the mission?
3. How does your work help achieve the mission?
4. What helps you achieve the mission? What gets in your way?
5. On a scale of 1-5 (5 being high), how focused are you on your mission statement?
6. What can you do to increase your focus?
7. What will you do?

Lack of energy. I don’t like it. You don’t like it. And lately, you’ve noticed that you and your team have less energy for carrying out your team’s ministry. You take some time to pray and reflect, and you conclude that both you and your team have gotten involved in good activities that aren’t central to moving your ministry forward.
 
You, for example, serve on the board of a church ministry. You enjoy helping. You like talking with other board members. As a result of your participation, you have less energy for your primary ministry—this concerns you.
 
You should be concerned. Why? Because God called you to carry out your primary ministry. And because as a leader, your job is to focus your team’s energy on its primary ministry.
 
You want to lead more effectively, so you take more time to pray and reflect. You decide that you’ll focus more on your ministry’s God-given mission statement and that you’ll focus your team more on its mission. Sounds good.
 
What can you do? To achieve your first goal of being more focused, you can do what leaders I know do: They talk about their mission statement daily. They explain how their activities contribute to achieving their mission. And they use the mission to guide their decisions about what to invest energy in.
 
What can you do to achieve your second goal of helping your team focus more on its mission? You can ask your team what excites them about your team’s mission statement. You can have your team prioritize current activities in terms of achieving the team’s mission. And when a team member is considering whether or not to take on a task, you can ask, “How effectively will this ___ (meeting, project, task, proposed change) help us accomplish our team’s mission?”
 
Bottom line: Focus on the mission.
  

Learn more about getting focused:

• Watch videos
• Take a self-assessment
• Read “To learn more about achieving your mission, explore these 4 questions”

God has given your organization its mission. Maybe it’s to equip student to impact the world for Christ. Or maybe it’s to make Jesus known and to empower His disciples to build up His Church.
 
Now staff members are asking, “What’s it take to achieve our mission?” That’s a good question and one that deserves an answer. And knowing the answer can help staff focus on achieving the mission.
 
How can your organization define what it takes to carry out your mission? By identifying 3-7 areas in which your organization will be involved, for example, coaching, consulting, networking, and training (see below* for further examples).
 
Once you’ve identified 3-7 areas, transform each area into a goal for each area, for example: Coaching—Provide the support, encouragement, and accountability Christian leaders need to pursue God’s calling. These 3-7 goals are the answer to the question “What’s it take to achieve our mission?”
 
Here’s how this plays out in a Christian school with a mission to equip students to impact the world for Christ. The school has determined that to achieve its God-given mission, the school must:

1. Have students who are achieving the student objectives (schoolwide learner outcomes)
2. Have an exemplary, sustainable, replicable Christ-centered educational program
3. Have an organizational culture, sensitive and responsive to current and changing demographics, which reflects the board-approved values (faithfulness, caring, collaboration, diversity, excellence, and stewardship)
4. Have qualified Christian staff working to achieve board ends
5. Have a sound financial base
6. Have a safe physical plant facilitating student learning

Focus on what it takes to achieve your organization’s God-given mission. Today.
 
*Sample areas
Administration
Age-group ministry
Board
Camping
Church planting
Coaching
Communications
Community development
Consulting
Counseling
Curriculum
Discipling
Education
Evangelism
Facilities
Finance
Fine arts
Fundraising
Leadership development
Member care
Mentoring
Music
Networking
Pastoral care
Personnel
Program development
Public relations
Publishing
Research and development
Resource management
Sports
Strategic planning
Technology
Training
Worship

If you and your fellow staff want to further understand what God wants your organization to achieve, ask Him. Get together and ask Him. Relentlessly. Then, listen. And when God answers, reflect on what He’s saying.
 
Then as a group capture what God is saying in a short, memorable, easy-to-memorize statement. A statement that helps everyone remember what God is calling your organization to do—your organization’s God-given mission statement. Here’s an example: Christian Academy in Japan, a school for the children of evangelical missionaries in Japan, equips students to impact the world for Christ.
 
And when you’ve finalized your mission statement, keep the focus on what God is calling your organization to do by talking about the mission, asking people what excites them about the mission and how their work contributes to the mission, and maybe even encouraging everyone to memorize the mission.
 
Focus on your organization’s God-given mission. Today.

You want to serve God more effectively. So do I. God has done great things for me, and out of gratitude, I want serve even more effectively.
 
One thing that helps me increase my effectiveness is focusing. Focusing on God, on what He’s calling me to do, on what’s going on, and on action steps I need to take so I can serve effectively.
 
Questions help me focus. Questions like:

1. What’s your organization’s God-given mission?
2. What’s it take to achieve your organization’s God-given mission?
3. How can you measure mission achievement?
4. How can you identify key performance indicators?
5. How can you use key performance indicators to achieve your mission?

To get started, how about discussing the above questions at a team meeting?
 
Get focused. Reflect on some questions. Today.

You're in a meeting. You're listening to an intriguing proposal on staff training. But something is bothering you—the presenter has not connected the proposal to your organization's mission.

Question: What can you do?

Answer: You can ask questions, for example:

• How does your proposal support our mission?
• How will you help others understand how your proposal supports our mission?
• What revisions can you make to your proposal so is explicitly supports the achievement of our mission?

Encourage others to connect their proposals to the mission. Ask questions. Today.

Want to achieve your mission? If so, focus even more on your mission. Why? Because the more you focus on your mission, the more you will get it done.
 
3 questions:

1. On a scale of 1-10 (10 being high), how focused are you on your mission?
2. On a scale of 1-10 (10 being high), how focused on your mission do you want to be?
3. What will you do?

Focus on achieving your mission. Today.

Tomorrow, you’re presenting a proposal to the Leadership Team. The proposal is about how to orient new staff better. You feel good about the proposal.
 
But something is bothering you.
 
Then you realize what is bothering you. When developing your proposal, you didn’t think about your organization’s mission. You didn’t ask yourself, “In terms of the mission, what do new staff need to understand, be able to do, and value?”
 
As you consider this question, other questions come to mind:

• How can we help new staff understand the mission?
• How can we help new staff understand where we are in terms of achieving our mission?
• How can we help staff understand how they contribute to the mission?
• How can I help the Leadership Team see how this proposal supports the mission?

Good news! The presentation isn’t until tomorrow. So, you have time to revise it. You have time to make clear how the proposal supports the mission.
 
Consider 4 questions:

1. What proposal are you working on?
2. What do you hope to accomplish through your proposal?
3. How does your proposal support the mission?
4. How will you help others understand how your proposal supports the mission?

Connect your proposals to your mission. Today.

Your team is on a mission. First team to make the puzzle wins. Your team has found the edge pieces and has connected them to make a rectangle. And now your team is at a loss.
 
There’s a gaping hole inside the rectangle.
 
Unfortunately, this puzzle did not come with a picture. You wish it had. Everyone on your team wishes it had. Why? Because knowing what the picture looks like would help your team work more effectively and efficiently to finish the puzzle.
 
Point: In an organization, the mission statement is like the puzzle border. Daily activities are like the pieces that fill in the gaping hole. Knowing how the daily activities are connected to the mission and to each other can help you work more effectively and efficiently.
 
Consider 3 questions:

1. What do you do each day?
2. If you didn’t do your job, what would happen?
3. So, how does your job contribute to achieving the mission?

Find out how your daily activities contribute to the mission. Today.

Leaders who are focused on their mission do 5 things. To what extent do you do these 5 things?

Want to focus on your mission? If so, talk about it. Why? Because talking helps you focus. The more you talk about your mission, the more you’ll focus on it.
 
Want to find out how focused you are on your mission? If so, find out how often you talk about it. If you regularly talk about your mission each day, you’re focused on it. If you don’t talk about your mission each day, you’re not fully focused on it.
 
Consider 5 questions:

1. What do you talk about with others?
2. What priorities do your daily conversations reflect?
3. How does talking impact what you focus on?
4. If you talked more about your mission, what might happen?
5. What will you do?

Talk about your mission. Today.

You want to learn more about achieving your God-given mission. You want deepen your understanding of:

1. Your mission
2. What it takes to achieve your mission
3. How you’re doing on achieving your mission
4. How you can close the gap between the words of your mission and the reality of your situation

Question: How can you learn more about achieving your mission?

Answer: By exploring the following 4 questions. Read More...

You’re considering developing student objectives (schoolwide learning outcomes). Before doing so, you’d like to get clear on the big picture. You’re wondering, “How are mission, student objectives, and curriculum connected? Is there a framework that connects these?”

Yes! The MOSAIC framework helps you connect mission, student objectives, and curriculum:

1. Mission 
2. Objectives 
3. Standards 
4. Assessments 
5. Instructional strategies 
6. Children

Read More...

You’re thinking about developing student objectives (schoolwide learning outcomes). It’s going to take time and energy. You have limited amounts of these—so, you know that developing student objectives means other things won’t get done. Now you’re wondering, “What are some reasons for developing student objectives?” Good question.

Here are 5 reasons why you might want to you invest time and energy into developing student objectives. Read More...

You want to define your school’s mission in terms of student learning. So, you’re working to develop student objectives (schoolwide learning outcomes).

Question: What makes good student objectives good? Read More...

Before developing student objectives (schoolwide learning outcomes), do some reflection. I encourage you to reflect on the 8 questions below. Read More...

School Year 1: Panic—we started in a state of panic. And panic is not a good place to be. I sat in my office, looking Focus on Learning, the reaccreditation manual from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). I liked the title. I liked that the reaccreditation process had been boiled down to two questions: (1) “How are students doing with respect to the [student objectives]…?” and (2) “Is the school doing everything possible to support high achievement of these [student objectives] for all its students?” 
 
I didn’t like it that I couldn’t answer the questions. “Great!” I thought. “This reaccreditation process is predicated on student objectives. We don’t have them. What are they? I don’t get it.” At this point, I did an understandable thing—I panicked, got to work, and tried to unsettle everyone as little as possible.  Read More...

“There’s a gap.” Helen sits in her office, mulling over the gap between her school’s mission statement and the reality of her program. “This is a Christian school—Christian teachers, devotions, Bible class, chapel, a positive environment. These are good, but only take us so far in achieving our mission. We need more. I need more. I need an additional way to close the gap.”  Read More...

You’re working at a Christian school. Your school’s mission is to equip students to impact the world for Christ.

Question: How can you define what it takes to carry out your mission? How can you define what it takes to equip your students to impact the world for Christ?

Answer: By defining the “equipment” students will receive. In other words, by defining student objectives (schoolwide learning outcomes). Read More...

You want your school to achieve its mission. You know you need to define what it takes to achieve your school’s mission. You’ve hear that developing student objectives (schoolwide learning outcomes) might help. So, you want to learn more. Good.

Question: How can you learn more about developing student objectives?

Answer: By exploring the following 7 questions:

1. How can you define what it takes to carry out your school's mission?
2. Are student objectives right for you and your school?
3. What's developing student objectives look like?
4. What questions should you consider before developing student objectives?
5. What makes good student objectives good?
6. What are some reasons for developing student objectives?
7. How are mission, student objectives, and curriculum connected?

Focus on your mission. Use student objectives to define the achievement of your mission. Today.

To close the gap between the words of your mission statement and the reality of your current situation, do 4 things: focus on your mission, empower others, work smart, and pursue excellence.

Imagine asking 3 Christian leaders what their God-given organizational mission is. Imagine you got the following 3 responses:

1. To look busy.
2. To be busy.
3. To be productive.

How would you feel? I'd be stunned. And I'd feel discouraged and sad. Read More...