What I’m Thinking About
Mission, vision, and values. Maybe it’s just easier to say mission, vision, and values in this particular order and maybe it doesn’t really matter. However, I often get a sense that if a nonprofit even talks about values it does so as an afterthought or once the vision and mission have been cast. Perhaps boards (or more likely the executive director) want it done out of some arbitrary sense of obligation. They’ve seen values statements from other nonprofits, encountered them in the corporate world, or sat in a best practices workshop where the facilitator said you have to write down your values. I think most nonprofits – and by nonprofits I’m specifically referring to the board of directors – understand the importance of having clear vision and mission statements. But what about values? For me, values must come first. They’re the foundation on which nonprofits cast their vision and mission.
Personally, I like values stated as individual words as opposed to phrases or sentences. I see real benefit in boards working with their thoughts and then coming to consensus around a few words to explicitly express their values. I have nothing against values statements but after creating vision and mission statements, I’m a bit concerned about a third fully polished sentence or short paragraph. If done well, these few words become the foundation of well-crafted and highly intentional mission and vision statements. I also think that keeping values intentionally brief (a word or two) makes them much easier and more impactful as guideposts for the organization.
I’ve noticed something critical about the nonprofit organizations that I’ve been working with over the past couple of years. Those that have intentionally designed and clearly stated values tend to have vision and mission statements with more clarity and more connectedness. Not only does the organization know what they are doing now and what they want to accomplish over time, they clearly know why. Organizations without stated values tend to have vaguer vision and mission statements – and will often describe what they’re working toward without any reference to that mission or vision at all. I think this is dangerous. It’s fraught with pitfalls including mission creep, chasing dollars, and missing outcomes.
I’ve also noticed that nonprofit organizations without clearly defined and articulated values tend to struggle when times are tight – when revenue lags expenses, when tension exists between the board and management, when the board struggles to understand its purpose. Conversely, organizations with clearly articulated values – especially their boards – appear more capable of navigating hard times and engaging in tough conversations that promote resiliency during turmoil. They also tend to work more closely together and enjoy their volunteer responsibilities more when there is clarity around shared organizational values.
These thoughts are borne from a cohort of exactly one person – me. That leaves a whole lot of room for discussion – which is exactly what I’m hoping for. How do you think about values for nonprofit organizations?