For those of you who are adherents to New Year's resolutions you are almost at the end of the first quarter of 2022 and maybe it is a good time to check in on how you are progressing or not progressing towards your resolution. If you are not an adherent to New Year's resolutions maybe there are one or more goals that you are striving to achieve that also require a check-in, a retooling, or reconsideration.
In both scenarios it might be beneficial to reframe the resolution or the goal to a bigger, greater challenge. How about a mission? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines mission as “a specific task with which a person or group is charged” as well as “a pre-established and often self-imposed objective or purpose.” Hopefully, when you think of “mission,” the word broadens and makes more powerful whatever you are pursuing or thinking about undertaking. So how can we get there? Well for one thing we can borrow from the fire service – yes you read it right – to help “ignite” our success.
At first blush you might immediately think the mission of the fire service responding to a fire would be to put out the fire. Overall, that is true, but it's a bit broader than that. The mission really has three parts. First and foremost is the saving of human life; second is the extinguishment of the fire; and third is the preservation of property. And how does the fire service go about doing that? Do they just arrive at the scene and decide what to do? Of course not, there is a well-planned preexisting system in place to achieve the mission.
At the fire scene there will be an Incident Commander that will strategically orchestrate teams and resources to achieve the mission. Upon arrival at the scene a fire engine (to be distinguished later from a fire truck) and its crew (the firefighters on board) already know their specific mission within the overall mission. The fire engine contains hoses, appliances, a water tank, and a water pumper system with a specific purpose of bringing water from the hydrant to the pumper to the fire to extinguish it. Does the fire engine have some ladders? Yes. And it has some tools as well. However, the ladders and tools are secondary to the primary mission of getting water on the fire to extinguish it.
The engine company has a team of between four and six crew members consisting of a Captain or Lieutenant and three to five firefighters. Obviously, the Captain is the officer in charge/leader; of the remaining firefighters one is the chauffeur/engineer, and two to four additional firefighters each have a specific responsibility. The task of the chauffeur/engineer is to drive the vehicle; position it at the fire scene; and operate the engine’s hydraulics to supply water for the fire extinguishment. The Captain and two of the firefighters will go directly into the structure (let’s assume it's a one family dwelling) to the fire location to get water on the fire. And the third firefighter is a distance away potentially at the front door of the dwelling to make sure that the firehose is not kinked or knotted and to feed additional hose into the dwelling if needed. They know their mission, they have their tools, and they know their tasks.
Their mission differs from that of a “truck” or “ladder” company. Yes, that fire vehicle is a designated a “truck” and is equipped with portable and mechanical ladders; tools and equipment; and rope to achieve the company’s main mission: searching for victims, searching for fire, providing ventilation, ensuring there are no flareups once the fire is extinguished, and salvaging what remains of the property. The mission and the tasks of the truck/ladder company will never be confused or overlap with that of the engine company, and they will both work towards the overall mission at the fire scene.
How does this relate to you? For your resolution or goal that may be stagnating, seems stalled, or is adrift; becoming your own incident commander may just be the solution. First you can step back to the resolution or goal and reclarify and re-name it as a mission. Minor wordsmithing? I don’t think so. Sometimes I believe we – inclusive of me – don’t fear failure, we fear success. Unimaginable jaw dropping success!! Our minimal lukewarm, faint-pulse goals may need to become big audacious missions. Missions that will excite us, ignite us, and cause us to go the extra distance to achieve them.
In doing so you know your “what” and will have a clear object and purpose you are pursuing. But what about a team? Your team (if one is needed at all) will largely be shaped by your mission. If your mission is to lose weight, your team may consist of a trainer, a nutritionist, a coach, and an accountability partner. Or you may choose to just have a daily workout or walking partner. Lastly your team may be a team of one – if that works for you.
Much like the engine company crew, each member of your team has a specific role to support your overall mission. Your nutritionist’s mission is being your subject matter expert on the foods you need to achieve your mission. Their tasks may require that they meet with you every other week for meal planning and review. That mission and role would be different from the mission of your trainer. And like the engine and truck company their missions and tasks won’t be confused or overlap.
Additionally, there is a concept called “critical incident debriefing.” This concept is part of the fire service, law enforcement, the military (after action review), and many industries. The debriefing is a post event opportunity for those involved to review the incident to understand what took place with the purpose of learning from their response to the incident with a goal of continually improving.
You can incorporate this into your own mission process. Of course, you're not dealing with a critical incident, and this is more along the lines of “plan v. performance.” You have a mission; you have a team; the team has tasks to achieve the mission; and there is some time frame to complete your mission. When you reach this end point, and the mission has or has not been achieved, what have you learned? Whether your banner reads “mission accomplished” or you quietly ponder mission failure, you will have certainly learned something. For me the true reward is in paying attention to the journey along the way and the jewels of the lessons to be learned.
Reflection Questions:
What little lukewarm, faint-pulse goal are you pursuing that needs to be transformed into a big audacious mission?
What self-work will you need to undertake to become the Commander of your Mission?
Who do you need on your team to achieve this mission?
What tasks will your team members need to accomplish to reach your mission?
What tools and resources will you and your team members need to achieve your mission?