Over the last few years, private companies have bent over backwards to claim they have “values.”
But, ultimately, any value that conflicts with profit maximization gets the ol’ heave-ho.
(Google couldn’t even stick with “don’t be evil.” What does that tell you?)
Nonprofits organizations are different.
They have the freedom to be ethical and value-oriented.
You probably know your organization’s mission statement by heart.
But what’s YOUR mission statement?
To put it another way: Why do you do what you do?
Knowing your personal values and your own mission statement will help you:
- Choose the right employer and the right roles for you at the right times.
- Avoid situations where your professional and personal identities conflict.
- Remain centered in your power and get the compensation you deserve.
Navigating my earliest roles after college, I left one employer after doing documents for a pharma exec whose claim to fame was finding legal loopholes to make it impossible for competitors to bring affordable generic medications to market. I couldn’t articulate it yet, but I knew that wasn’t “ME.”
These days, I strive to stick to my core value: approaching others with empathy.
That led to my current mission statement: “To uplift people in the nonprofit sector by connecting them with roles where they can be their best selves, do their best work, and reach their full potential—through documents, training, communications, and consulting.”
I’d love to know:
- What are your values?
- What’s your mission?
- Why do you do what you do?