Mission Leak & Mission Creep
A church I know exists to reach the community of which it is a part. The organization spends a significant portion of its budget to do so because the organization is clear on why it exists. As part of the targeted community, I went to sign up my children for an event and received a 37c IT system error. When I buzzed the team to find out how to get the kids involved, the game of organizational finger-pointing began and I simply gave up, unwilling to have my kids sucked into the vortex of organizational name calling. See, no single person owned error 37c, so no one would take ownership of helping my kids get plugged in. The organization doesn't know the difference between 'blame' and 'ownership.'
A nonprofit I know started an auxiliary program as part of its umbrella of services. There was a clear need, available funds and immediate opportunity. Seemed like a no brainer. As challenges arose with the new program, the organization shifted to address the gaps with the same energy used on its core programs. They managed to address the challenges and course-correct the program at great effort and cost.
Both the nonprofit and the church exist to deliver against some mission. The walls of their halls are decorated with reminders of what the mission is and why they exist. The mission is why people attend and give and volunteer their time. Mission-centered work is tremendous work and has become a model for many corporations.
But what happens when missions leak? Organizationally, the vision is clear yet their systems, processes and structures fail to support their reason for being and people ‘leak’ out of the organization. What happened with my kids is a prime example: the organization exists to serve kids, yet is unable to do so because of technology and unwilling to do so because of their culture. The barrier to entry for me as a parent is high. As a member of the organization, I know who to call and what the experience is supposed to be, so I can work around the gaps, but what of families in the community that aren’t as familiar with the org chart? What are they supposed to do? What they actually do is leave. More precisely, they never come. The gap between the mission on the walls where the employees sit and the mission in the halls where the community engages creates mission leakage; the very folks the organization exists to serve are walking out because of systems, structures and cultures.
By contrast, the nonprofit’s mission creeps. The COVID season has created a lot of need, especially for the nonprofit community, yet a single nonprofit can't (and shouldn't) meet all of those needs. A nonprofit, as part of its articles of incorporation, must have a mission. Incorporation papers do not require that mission to be well written or clear, simply that one exist. The wisdom to nonprofit leadership is to stay focused on their mission, especially in times of great confusion. The organization noted above ran into the ‘opportunity’ headlong, taking resources away from its core purpose and core competence). There’s a time and place for opening the aperture to serve, yet ‘opportunities’ often create Mission Creep, taking away value from those in focus due to confusion.
Both mission leak and mission creep can be addressed if leaders know they exist and are willing to do the work to address them.