Educational leadership with a mission

The formation of a clear mission statement can be an arduous task.While most institutional leaders have difficulty defining it a mission identifies not what an institution (or system) is but more importantly why it exists, ie., the results of its formation, the outcomes for its learners. No institution or system was created to"try," especially in the changing world of education. Therefore, a well-crafted mission statement can faster a unity of spirit and action for everyone within an institution as well as promote institutional development, community relationships, and positive ties with business and industry.

Introduction

An educational institution's primary purpose or mission is to make a positive difference. Indeed, institutions do change the lives of many people who enter their doors and SUbsequently change the surrounding communities, as well. The difference between a mission and a vision statement can be confusing. The "vision" is generally a big picture statement, powerful and general in scope, not restricting in any way and perhaps not even measurable. For example, the vision of an institution (or system) may be "to become a community of learners" or "to make learning an exciting and memorable experience"; however, the mission should answer one fundamental question-"What is the institution (or system) going to do about its vision?"

An educational mission statement tells why institutions do what they do, but not the means by which they do it. Frequently the development of a mission does not become a high priority for educational leaders, until it is time to locate it, read it over, and go through the prolonged consultative process of redefining it, ideally every three to five years. A clear, precise and understandable mission statement can be the most powerful defining action of a leader, for an institution or an educational system.

The true performance of an educational institution is measured by changed lives and a changed community-the effect on people's behavior, circumstances, hopes, dreams, aspirations, competence and capacity. For educational leaders and legislators, evaluating practices against a mission implemented in governing policies is the only real assessment whether an institution is achieving what it should. The ability to describe a clear and concise mission is not in itself the ultimate test of institutional achievement; an institution's performance is the ultimate test. The mission defines institutional results and provides a baseline performance stand dard.

Defining a purpose

A mission states outcomes for learners and/or the community; however, some leaders insist on defining an institution's purpose through a simple listing of its activities, programs, services, and good intentions. The following institutional mission statements illustrate mission definition:

1. "Our institution serves learners' growing needs by providing relevant programs in areas such as transportation, information technology, and communications."

2. "Our institution takes pride in our special partnership with the region's people, cultures and communities and recognizes the importance of our cultural and educational linkages with the global community."

3. "Our mission is to provide learners with a quality education, which integrates and develops the liberal arts, sciences, technologies and trades traditions."

The reader can see that the definition of specific purpose does not appear in the above mission statements. If asked, many faculty and staff members would be unable to recite their institution's primary mission. Similarly, many educational leaders could not pass such a litmus test of strategic direction and purpose for their institution. Yet, it is a leader's on-going task to identify what his or her institution stands for and not just what it does.

Defining the mission should begin with abandoning words which describe good intentions or vague efforts rather than specific results. For example, "to Support," "to try," "to assist," "to advocate," "to help, " "to provide," and "to offer" are words that fail to address the attainment of anything concrete, but rather speak only of "fuzzy" commitment and intention on the part of the institution. Though some institutions use proud and stimulating words in their statements of purpose, the words do not identify specific purpose, despite their ability to inspire people. Typical mission statements may include "study in a nurturing learning environment," "we offer flexible course delivery," "we constantly strive for educational excellence," "come to our institution and see our supportive faculty/staff," "this institution is a center of excellence (in something)" and frequently nowadays saying that an institution is committed to being "learner-centered."

Identifying the mission

Key results embodied in a mission refer to the effect that an institution seeks to have on the world (i.e., community) outside itself A mission statement must address specific outCOmes-must embrace the impact the institution hopes to effect in the lives of learners and the community. "Fiscal soundness and a balanced budget," which have been found in some institutional mission statements, are phrases that do not address a result (or outcome) for the learner. Among educational leaders (as well as board members or government education departments) there is a tendency to define results, as anything important required by legislation, law or the conclusion of a consultative process. If an institution prescribes only "means" to its staff through a mission, then that is what the institution will surely get-few tangible results but a great deal of dialogue and processing.

A true mission sets the tone for all constituent members to practice leadership within the institution itself. However, "the first task of the leader is to make sure that everybody sees the mission, hears it, lives it" (Drucker, 1990, p. 45). For this reason, defining the purpose is critical as institutions go about their endless quest for new strategic directions, partnerships and new sources of funding.

Arriving at a mission and therefore a strategic direction is not easily achieved. Quick acclamation of a mission by those responsible for its creation may mean they have not done their homework. Designers of mission must know exactly the "reason to be" for an institution, why it does what it does. Once identified, the mission exhibits confidence and knowledge to prospective learners, the greater community, and especially government and non-government agencies that help fund the educational operation.

For many, their primary missions serve as useful examples of adaptation to an ever-changing environment-that is, an environment influenced by political, economic, social and technological conditions and issues. Levin (1999) states "The extent to which the mission [is altered], or ... not ... reflects the degree to which the external environment is influential... " (p.164).

In the book "Management Fads in Higher Education," Birnbaum (2000) analyzes various strategies used over the years by institutional leaders for "survival" in a changing environment. He quotes an earlier work which tries to capture the lessons learned from studies on the use, place and purpose of strategic planning in higher education: "At this early stage, the only conclusion one can draw ... is that radical departure from the organization's mission is probably an unwise strategy - a conclusion many observers have drawn without the benefit of research" (Chaffee, 1985, p. 162).

Developing a strategic mission

Leaders can conceive educational mission statements in many different ways. A truly effective mission is usually brief, sharply focused and does change as needs and conditions change. By comparison, most private or for-profit businesses have a corporate mission that is also a short, focused statement; however, it generally states how the organization aspires to be or in most cases wishes to be seen by its business competitors, stakeholders (usually shareholders) and the general public (e.g., an automobile company's statement that "Quality is job 1"). In most corporate mission statements, readers find no mention making a qualitative difference to customers (clients) or broader communities/regions.

While some post-secondary institutions have developed what they might call a succinct mission, far fewer have a clear vision. Senge (1990) believes that developing a true vision statement is definitely more time consuming than formulating a true mission statement. Pfeffer has likened the "vision defining process" to treaty negotiations among rival groups (1992).

A mission is not only strategic in its focus but can carry with it intensely personal and/or philosophical overtones. For example, it can raise existential questions such as, "What are we all about as an institution or system?" Or possibly, "Are we seen as agents of social mobility? Are we seen as agents of change? Do we make significant contributions to a community and expand its economic development options?" Despite somewhat personal and philosophical overtones, a well-crafted mission provides clear purpose and direction for an institution or system, and identifies results and outcomes for learners.

Successful leaders know that their institutions do not merely provide places where an educational process happens. Educators want their students/learners not just to be "users" of their programs, services and activities but, more importantly, "doers." An institution or system, as a whole, uses its services and teaching practices to bring about change in learners, such as new habits, expanded vision, personal commitment, attitude shifts, career skills development, and new knowledge. Most important in building a mission is the notion that until something has truly happened to students and communities, an institution has had no results; it has only good intentions, definitely not the basis of a true mission.

Leaders of educational institutions use a clear mission to define the areas of concentration and excellence arOUnd which they strive to establish their reputations. Therefore, programs and services not central to the mission face deletion in times of retrenchment or during an initiative to justify all educational programs. Mingle & Norris (1981) state, "One way in which institutions have discovered their missions is through a systematic evaluation of the quality, costs, and importance of their programs" (p. 55). Institutional leaders who do not understand the primary mission will eventually wander in too many directions, a course which often leads to financial problems. "Fuzzy" mission statements offer little assistance to institutions addressing diminished fiscal realities.

Seeking the common good

An institution and its leader, in pursuit of a clear mission, prove to be effective when the common good of the learner, the institution, and the community become paramount. When an institution addresses its mis, sion, three options generally guide the defining process:

Traditional mission statements suggest the maintenance and preservation of the status quo. Very little thought goes into identifying environmental realities that influence the op. eration of institution.

Transitional mission statements suggest minor development work in the otherwise traditional institutional mission, usually involving structural changes to the organization.

Transformational mission statements address a more radical change to the traditional institutional mission statement. Generally, they involve replacing fundamental performance outcomes with new institutional results. The change to the mission may be recognition of certain environmental factors that continue to influence strategic directions (Levin 1999).

Organizations need to develop a mission that is the broadest expression of their purpose-a statement of how learners and communities will be different due to the institution's existence. In defining a mission, a leader needs to address fundamental questions, such as, "Why does the institution or system exist and what is the ultimate result of its work?" Leaders also need to recognize that the mission is not about the institution itself; it is about the outcome for others. The change produced is the real mission, not the activities of the institution. The ultimate test of any mission occurs in performance, a concept that many institutions continue to explore.

In defining a sense of purpose, a leader must focus on outcomes rather than means and methods. How is the world (i.e., community) going to be different? What is going to change? The ideal mission statement embody ies "brevity," "as few words as possible" or "no more than a sentence." Long statements actually obscure a mission with unnecessary explanations and excess verbiage. An example of brevity might be "to graduate empowered, effective citizens with relevant job skills."

Including two key phrases

Finally, then, a mission statement includes two key phrases:

1. An infinitive indicating a change in status, such as "to increase, "to decrease," "to prevent," 11 to eliminate," "to produce," "to gain." "Mission statements should not be couched in terms of activities necessary to achieve some change. The change itself is the mission." (Carver 1997, p.5)

2. An identification of an individual and/or a community with a condition or issue to be changed. For example, an institution may simply claim its mission as "to graduate career-ready students for the region's new economy.

For an educational leader and governing board, crafting a mission statement is a strategically important process that becomes the foundation for all other strategic decisions. An organization's mission should appear on all documents (another reason it should be succinct), on an institution's walls, on all correspondence, and especially prominent in board and conference rooms. Intended as pervasive guide, it should appear everywhere.

Conclusion

Developing a true mission can be a healthy experience for an institution or an educational system as a whole. The entire development process allows individuals and groups to discover and build their strengths while discarding or correcting their weaknesses. A mission, periodically redefined, reflects the way an institution and its leadership have adapted to change. A mission statement also provides a foundation for further definition of purpose by institutional leaders.

Institutions do indeed exist for the sake of their stated mission. They exist to make a difference in the lives of individuals, groups and the greater community. With a well-crafted mission statement educational leaders can make better decisions because the institution knows its strategic directions. By uniting around a statement of purpose, institutions have a clear focus to attract and retain students, to form lifelong partnerships and alliances. Through clear identity and direction, an institution can effectively focus its resources. A mission is an institution or system's most important performance message to prospective students, communities, and funding providers. Educators and policy makers have tremendous responsibility in defining educational direction and purpose. It is not an easy task, but it is a necessary one.

References

Birnbaum, R. (2000). Management fads in higher education: Where they come from, what they do, why they fail. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Carver, J. (1997). Creating a mission that makes a difference. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Chaffee, E.E. (1985). The concept of strategy: From business to higher education. In J. C. Smart (ed) Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research. New York, NY: Agathon Press, pp. 133-172.

Drucker, P.F. (1990). Managing the non-profit organization: practices and principles. New York, NY: HarperCollins.

Levin, J.S. (1999). Mission and structure: The community institution in a global context. Vancouver, Canada: University of British Columbia.

Mingle, J.R. and Norris, D.M. (1981). Institutional strategies for responding to decline. In Challenges of Retrenchment. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Pfeffer, J. (1992). Managing with power: Politics and influence in organizations. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Senge, P.M. (1990). The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization. New York, NY: Doubleday.

Wm. Berry Calder

Dr. Calder is Director of the Higher Colleges of Technology, Ras At Khaimah, United Arab Emirates

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