Musings at Altitude

As I think back over my career, I’ve been blessed with bosses who put an intimate understanding of the mission as a top priority for me when I joined a new organization.  They felt (some even specifically said) that it was critical for me to know who I was serving and how important my individual contribution and our team’s collective performance would be to effectively serving in that particular mission environment.  The unspoken desire was for me to feel so tied to the mission that all the long hours, all the separations, and all the sacrifices that would ultimately need to be made would be purposefully delivered because I was anchored and committed to that mission too.

During my time in the military, a sense of purpose driven by the mission was easy to achieve.  We had enemies.  We had clear threats to our country and to our way of life.  We had great examples of heroism and patriotism to model our service against.  We had training…lots of training.  We had inspections…lots of inspections.  And we had reinforcement…constant reminders of the incredibly important service we were providing even though part of a very large team performing that mission.

As I transitioned out of the military and into civilian life, I still looked for the mission.  I still wanted that sense of purpose.  I still wanted a connection that transcended the day to day job and made it something meaningful based on what we were providing, who we were serving, and who benefited from the products and services we were delivering.  And equally important, I wanted to be tied not just to the team, my bosses and the company I worked for, but also directly and intimately to our owners, our customers, and our partners.  For some reason, that takes the commitment to a much deeper level.

Creating that incredibly strong sense of purpose isn’t hard.  It’s happened for me time and time again because of very humble leaders that wanted me focused on those we served rather than those overseeing me in the service.  Each one of them allowed me to see beyond the bureaucracy (which was frustrating) and directly experience the joy of knowing those who benefited from our hard work (which was fulfilling).

In these continuing tough times, we need more of that humble leadership today.  We need champions within the culture that drive folks away from the water cooler chats and directly into the mission serving discussions.  We need reminders of the sacrifices that must occur to achieve the desperately needed results.  We need bonds created between those who serve and those being served.  And we need smiles in appreciation for jobs well done, both from those serving and those being served.

Once again, it’s not hard.

We just have to do it.