Leaders, what role do your international Christian school’s purpose statements play in decision-making?

/ mkessenburg
I want leaders to flourish in terms of passionate purpose. My deep hope is that leaders are experiencing…
(1) Decision-making that is guided by and aligned with the purpose statements.
(2) Contagious shared ownership for school improvement and mission achievement (see Construct: Responsibility, p. 14).
(3) An inspiring board that rigorously monitors the implementation of the purpose statements.

This blog post addresses #1 above.

Gerd AltmannによるPixabayからの画像 

Odd. You feel odd. Sort of a combination of fuzziness, frustration, and something else you can’t quite put your finger on—maybe concern. 

You’re sitting in your office at your desk, and you’re thinking, “Something’s odd. Like when I needed a stronger prescription for my glasses. Or when I needed to go to the chiropractor to get my back cracked. Or when I took a wrong turn and everything seemed OK, but I kept wondering if I was going to get there.”

What’s odd? Your experience with passionate purpose doesn’t feel so passionate or so purposeful. You keep thinking, and what comes to mind includes tuition increases, professional development, and determining leadership team priorities, Why? Because decisions were made these things without reference to or focus on purpose statements—think mission, vision, philosophy, student outcomes. You didn’t ask (and neither did anyone else), “How does thinking about our purpose statements help us with this decision?” or “How does each option we’re considering impact our purpose?”

It’s not that bad decisions were made—actually pretty good decisions were made. It’s more that they weren’t clearly guided by purpose statements, weren’t explicitly aligned with purpose statements, weren’t overtly about driving the purpose forward. Now that you think about it in relation to the purpose statements, those decisions were fuzzy and somewhat disconnected. 

And concerning—because you know that if this persists, you could be driving something else forward (instead of the purpose). And because you know that not making purpose-driven decisions thwarts passionate purpose and can lead to wrong decisions, a loss of confidence in the leadership, and declining enrollment. Not good.

But you also know that good things do happen when decision-making is guided by and aligned with purpose statements. You know that good things happen when you and others routinely ask key questions (like “How can we best move our purpose forward?”) and when you and others explain decisions in terms of purpose statements. What kind of good things? Good things like: 

  • Better morale.
  • More focus and unity.
  • Transparency.
  • Deeper understanding of the practical implications of the purpose statements for your school.
  • Increased passionate purpose.

Bottom line: Decisions that are guided by and aligned with your international Christian school’s purpose statements make good things happen, including helping you and others experience passionate purpose. 

You might be wondering, “What are possible causes of decision making that is not guided by or aligned with purpose statements?” Here are 9, formatted as things a leader might say:

  1. “We need to make the decision right now!”
  2. “I agree with our purpose statements. But to be honest, I don’t understand them deeply enough to really use them.”
  3. “Practically speaking, I’m not sure how to use purpose statements when making decisions.”
  4. “Our mission and vision seem lofty, and we just don’t have the finances. Why reference them?”
  5. “To be honest, my team likes to get on with things, so when I bring up purpose statements, it feels like I’m somehow thwarting my team—not good.”
  6. “So much is going on, about all I can focus on is the next several weeks. I can’t really focus on the long-term. I know that means not focusing on our long-term purpose, but life is nuts!”
  7. “At the board meeting, I’m going to ask for a tuition increase. I’ll explain why–like key budget lines that are increasing. They’re practical people—they don’t really want to hear about how the increases will drive our purpose forward.”
  8. “My board doesn’t ask me to do an annual report in which I indicate ways we’ve moved our mission forward.”
  9. “We have our routines for making decisions, and referring to purpose statements isn’t part of our routines.”

Which of the 9 possible causes resonate with you? For my early career, I resonate with #2, #3, #6, and #9. Based on things I’ve read and those I’ve coached in the past 10 years, I resonate with #1-#9, especially #2 and #3.

Gerd AltmannによるPixabayからの画像 

So, what can you do to ensure that your own decision-making is guided by and aligned with purpose statements? Things that come to mind include:

  • Deepening your understanding of those statements—like memorizing the purpose statements and defining the meaning of key words and phrases in the purpose statements (think NIV study notes).
  • Identifying how you (in your role) contribute to the achievement of the purpose (and what happens to the purpose if you don’t do your job).
  • Writing out a vision script for what the achievement of the purpose statements looks like.
  • Routinely talking about the purpose statements in casual conversation.
  • When making decisions, asking yourself questions like, “How do the options I’m considering impact the purpose?”

And what can you do to help others use decision making that is guided by and aligned with purpose statements? Things that come to mind include:

  • Having your team read and discuss this blog post.
  • Starting meetings with a review of the purpose statements.
  • Inviting your team to discuss the following question: How can we make it our schoolwide default to use decision-making that is explicitly guided by and explicitly aligned with our purpose statements?”
  • Inviting the board to define what is meant by key words and key phrases in the purpose statements. Then having staff discuss those definitions.

Tip: Pursuing mastery of the purpose statements (in terms of what they mean and how to use them) and being disciplined in applying that mastery helps you make effective decisions and experience passionate purpose.

What about you? What happens when your decision-making isn’t guided by and aligned with purpose statements? What happens when it is? What are possible causes of decision-making not being guided by and/or aligned with purpose statements? What can you do to ensure that decision making is guided by and aligned with purpose statements?

Here are some related blog posts:

Get flourishing!

Michael