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A Sense of Mission During
a recent speech at the Building a Culture of Peace for the Children
of the World exhibit in the Rayburn House Office Building, Rep.
Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) encouraged staffers to be more than
just members of a group but instead to live and work with a sense
of mission. When I heard this, I couldn't help but reflect on
how relevant this was to the role of a manager in government or
industry. Real
leaders, I have been taught, should play to win and not just to
finish. Yet how many workers put in the minimum required effort
with the expectation that life doesn't begin until they leave
work? How much richer would our lives be if we worked together
with a sense of mission, a realization that what we do each day
makes a difference in the world and to the future? If
we don't transcend technology with a strong sense of purpose,
who will? We each have a choice. We can reluctantly work on tax
modernization or fingerprint identification or e-government portals
with the feeling that we are just another cog in a technology
wheel. But
what would happen if even one manager became determined to create
harmony on a project team? If he or she saw the positive potential
in each team member? Helped someone uncover her unique contribution
to system success? Replaced blame and judgment with hope and initiative?
Chose a mission that went beyond just financial or career advancement? We're
all born members of one giant club: the human race. Eventually,
we find ourselves constituents of many other smaller groups. The
most important choice we make every morning is whether we transcend
being passive members and rise up and take leadership roles. We've
learned that technology by itself can't make the world a better
place. But committed managers can. This
means not giving up when faced with seemingly insurmountable obstacles.
Budget reductions, abusive bosses, organizational bureaucracy
-- all these things can easily reduce us to blithering masses
of emotional jelly. So what can we latch onto in these dark moments?
Lee
had it right -- it's the realization that we have a mission in
this world. Our children are counting on us to get it right. Let's
give we-government a chance. It may be our only hope. © 2004 Michael Lisagor |
