Are Millennials on a Mission?
For decades corporate leaders have inspired enthusiasm for the future by rallying behind a common goal; the company’s mission statement. In business and life, a strong sense of purpose fuels engagement and performance levels. However, a recent poll done by Gallup is suggesting that 60% of millennials are not strongly connected with their firm’s mission to serve.
According to Goldman Sachs, this generation of people who reached adulthood around the time we were all bracing for Y2K is the largest in U.S. history. There are 92 million millennials compared to only 77 million baby-boomers. As this generation rises into leadership, they will soon represent a significantly higher portion of our workforce.
Have you taken stock in your corporate mission statement lately? Upon first glance, a mission statement may appear outdated or stale; however, organizations who live their mission achieve higher engagement levels. This is important to demonstrate to a generation who are three times more likely to talk about your organization on social channels, and ten times more likely to blog about it.
Inspiration leading to engagement is vital to every company it begs the question, “How do we create a living mission that inspires the best in people?” You can start with these three simple steps that will connect the next generation to your mission to serve.
Show me, don’t tell me. Your company’s mission needs to be larger than words. It needs to be demonstrated at every level and engrained into the very fabric of the product or service you are delivering.
Your organizational brand and mission should be interchangeable. This can happen through consistent communications across multiple channels. Build your brand around your mission so prospective clients and associates alike know exactly what they can expect from your company.
Connect people to the mission through their unique talents and strengths. Help your associates identifying their strengths and then, as coaching leaders, help put those strengths to work in support of your organizational mission.
While there is more to explore beyond these three simple steps, the need to drive engagement and plug people into a purpose larger than themselves bridges the generation gap. Times change, but taking stock in your company's mission statement is a key element in producing the kind of results you want to achieve.