You feel good about the past several months. Your organization has identified its God-given mission, identified the goals it needs to achieve to carry out its mission, decided to use key performance indicators to monitor mission achievement, and is now field-testing its key performance indicators. Wow! Real progress.
 
You want to use the progress you’ve made to close the gap between the words of your mission statement and the reality of your situation. So, you talk about the mission, discuss the goals, tell success stories, and analyze survey results. Good. And you’re thinking about using key performance indicators.
 
Question: How can you use key performance indicators to close the gap?
 
I use key performance indicators to help me focus on what to do next. For example, to achieve my mission during this school year, I need to have 30 coaching clients who are making progress toward their goals. Right now, I have 26. So, I know I need to help 4 more clients make progress.
 
Here’s another example: To achieve my mission during this school year, I need to help 40 leaders build capacity and/or get better results from using resources I provided. So far, I have helped 55 leaders in this way.
 
By using my key performance indicators, I know I need to help 4 more coaching clients, and I know that I don’t need to focus on using resources to help leaders build capacity and/or get better results. Using key performance indicators helps me know what to do next.
 
Question: How could using key performance indicators help you close the gap?
 
Focus on using key performance indicators to close the gap. Today.
 

You want to monitor how well your organization is achieving its God-given mission. You’ve thought about collecting examples, doing surveys, and monitoring key performance indicators. You share your thinking with others, and then get a team to talk through what would help you monitor progress on your mission. The team decides to monitor key performance indicators and plans to take steps to identify key performance indicators.
 
Question: How can you identify your key performance indicators?
 
Here’s what I did:

1. I reflected on my mission statement and the 5 goals I need to achieve in order to carry out my mission (coaching, consulting, networking, resourcing, and training).
2. Then I asked myself, “What’s success look like?” I brainstormed things that would indicate success. For example, one key performance indicator I identified for coaching was the number of clients who took action on their goals.
3. After brainstorming indictors for each of my 5 goals, I selected 1 indicator for each goal and figured the best way to know if I had picked useful indicators was by field-testing them.
4. And that’s exactly what I did—I field-tested my key performance indicators.
5. Later, I reviewed the usefulness of each indicator, asking myself questions like the following: What did I learn from field-testing this indicator? How helpful is this indicator? How easy is this to monitor? Is there another indicator that would be more helpful?
6. I refined my key performance indicators.
7. Finally, I decided to repeat the process I had used.

Here’s the process: Reflect, Brainstorm, Select, Test, Review, Refine, Repeat.
 
Your turn:

1. What’s your mission? What goals do you need to achieve to carry out your mission?
2. What are some key performance indicators for each of your goals?
3. What 1 or more key performance indicators do you want to use for each goal?
4. How long do you want to field-test your indicators?
5. What did you learn from field-testing your key performance indicators?
6. How can you refine your indicators?
7. How often do you need to repeat the process?

Focus on identifying your key performance indicators. Today.

Use examples, surveys, and indicators to measure mission achievement.

You want to serve God more effectively. So do I. God has done great things for me, and out of gratitude, I want serve even more effectively.
 
One thing that helps me increase my effectiveness is focusing. Focusing on God, on what He’s calling me to do, on what’s going on, and on action steps I need to take so I can serve effectively.
 
Questions help me focus. Questions like:

1. What’s your organization’s God-given mission?
2. What’s it take to achieve your organization’s God-given mission?
3. How can you measure mission achievement?
4. How can you identify key performance indicators?
5. How can you use key performance indicators to achieve your mission?

To get started, how about discussing the above questions at a team meeting?
 
Get focused. Reflect on some questions. Today.

Tomorrow, you’re presenting a proposal to the Leadership Team. The proposal is about how to orient new staff better. You feel good about the proposal.
 
But something is bothering you.
 
Then you realize what is bothering you. When developing your proposal, you didn’t think about your organization’s mission. You didn’t ask yourself, “In terms of the mission, what do new staff need to understand, be able to do, and value?”
 
As you consider this question, other questions come to mind:

• How can we help new staff understand the mission?
• How can we help new staff understand where we are in terms of achieving our mission?
• How can we help staff understand how they contribute to the mission?
• How can I help the Leadership Team see how this proposal supports the mission?

Good news! The presentation isn’t until tomorrow. So, you have time to revise it. You have time to make clear how the proposal supports the mission.
 
Consider 4 questions:

1. What proposal are you working on?
2. What do you hope to accomplish through your proposal?
3. How does your proposal support the mission?
4. How will you help others understand how your proposal supports the mission?

Connect your proposals to your mission. Today.

You want to learn more about achieving your God-given mission. You want deepen your understanding of:

1. Your mission
2. What it takes to achieve your mission
3. How you’re doing on achieving your mission
4. How you can close the gap between the words of your mission and the reality of your situation

Question: How can you learn more about achieving your mission?

Answer: By exploring the following 4 questions:

(1) What’s your God-given mission?

1. What is a mission statement?
2. What makes a good mission statement good?
3. How important is your God-given mission?
4. How can you unleash the power of your mission statement?
5. How focused are you on your God-given mission?
6. How can you be a good steward of your God-given mission?

(2) What’s your definition of mission achievement?

1. If you don’t define the achievement of your God-given mission, how effectively can you work?
2. What does it take to achieve your mission?
3. To achieve your God-given mission, what has to be accomplished? To what degree?
4. How does defining the mission help?
5. What do you need to do to effectively define mission achievement?
6. How can you define what it takes to carry out your school's mission?

(3) To what extent are you achieving your mission?

1. What do you need to know?
2. If you don’t measure the achievement of your mission, how effectively can you lead?
3. How does measuring the mission help?
4. How can measurement help you increase your focus on your mission?
5. How can a scorecard help you increase your focus on your mission?

(4) What will you do to close the gap?

1. Are you a player or a spectator?
2. How focused are you on closing the gap?
3. What can you do to close the gap?
4. How can getting coaching help you close the gap?
5. How can you maintain and increase commitment, participation, and accountability?

Remember: The real question isn't "How can you learn more about achieving your mission?" The real question is "What will you do to achieve your mission?"

Resources:

1. Video: To achieve your God-given mission, make sure of 4 things
2. Self-assessment: How focused are you on your God-given mission?
3. Tutorial: Empower others to strategically pursue God’s calling
4. Define mission achievement in terms of measurable student learning
5. Know where you are and where you want to go
6. Measure mission achievement
7. Measure and report achievement of schoolwide objectives
8. Want to achieve your goals?

You developed a mission statement. You feel good about it. It reflects how God has been leading you.
 
Question: Now what?
 
Answer: Focus on getting your mission done by focusing on closing the gap. How? By doing 4 things:

• Defining what it takes to achieve your mission in terms of measurable goals.
• Measuring current mission achievement. How? By measuring progress on your goals.
• Closing the gap between current and targeted levels of mission achievement.
• Staying focused on closing the gap.

Consider 5 questions:

1. What’s your mission?
2. What’s it take to achieve your mission?
3. What’s already been accomplished?
4. What are your options for closing the gap?
5. What will you do to close the gap?

Focus on closing the gap. Today.

Make sure you ask God for help, define mission achievement, measure mission achievement, and take action.

You and I both know that focusing on the mission is vital and challenging. It’s vital because if we don't focus on the mission, we get off track. It’s challenging because mission statements are broad and because we face distractions.
 
Here’s some good news—a scorecard can help!
 
Question: How can a scorecard increase focus on the mission?
 
Answer: A scorecard states what the goals are, current progress for each goal, and consequently, what needs to be focused on to achieve each goal. For example, my scorecard tells me that my goal is to have 220 people in my network list, that I have 209, and that I need to focus on getting 11 more. Or, for example, my scorecard tells that my goal is to publish 12 monthly newsletters, that I’ve published 7, and that I need to focus on publishing 5 more.
 
Question: How could using a scorecard could help you focus on your mission?
 
Focus on your God-given mission. Use a scorecard. Today.

Like you, I have a mission. Here’s mine: Empowering Christian leaders and organizations to close the rhetoric/reality gap. And like you, I want to increase my focus on my mission.
 
Question: How can measurement increase focus on the mission?
 
Answer: For me, measuring my mission provides with me specific goals I can focus on. For example, to achieve my mission during this school year, I need to provide 15 workshops. Right now, I’m scheduled to do 8 workshops. So, I know I need to get contracts for 7 more workshops.
 
Here’s another example: To achieve my mission during this school year, I need to have a total of 20 new coaching clients. I have 15 clients, so I need 5 more.
 
By measuring progress on my mission, I know I need 7 more training contracts and 5 more coaching clients. Measuring progress on my mission provides me with specific goals I can focus on—and focusing on these goals helps me focus on my mission of empowering Christian leaders.
 
Question: How could measuring your mission could help you focus on it?
 
Focus on your God-given mission. Measure progress. Today.

As a leader, you want pursue excellence in order to achieve your organization’s mission. Good.

These 3 steps can help:

1. Identify 5-15 measurable key organizational indicators. How? By reflecting on what it takes to achieve your mission. For example, if your mission is to equip students to impact the world for Christ, a key indicator is student learning.
   
2. Measure your organizational indicators. In the school setting, you can use common assessments to measure student learning.
   
3. Use your measurement data to design action steps. Use data from common assessments to design action plans. For example, to increase student application of a Biblical perspective, have teachers design a Biblical perspective unit.

Reflect on 3 questions:

1. What are your 5-15 measurable indicators?
   
2. How can you measure each indicator?
   
3. How can you use your measurement data to design action steps?

Get your staff involved: In addition to identifying organizational indicators, ask each staff member to identify 2 or more key personal indicators, measure each indicator, and use the data to design action plans.

Bottom line: When leadership and staff focus on measurable indicators, they increase the likelihood they will pursue excellence and, consequently, achieve the mission.

Pursue excellence. Identify and measure your key indicators. Today.

Quick Answer: At Christian schools, measuring the mission helps…

• Staff to focus, stay on track, know how to improve the program, and enhance unity.
  
• Parents to understand and support the school.
  
• Alumni, donors, and community members to understand the school and see how the school is staying true to its mission.
  
• The school board to concentrate on the mission, focus policy, and allocate resources.

Question: How would measuring the mission help you and your school?

Real Question: What will you do today to measure your school’s mission?

Your organization’s budget system works:

• Your organization uses common categories and common line items.
  
• Individuals track expenditures.
  
• Individual data is compiled into the overall budget.
  
• Your organization uses budget data to make decisions.

What if your organization could do the same with its God-given mission?

What if your organization “budgetized” its mission?

• What if your organization used a common definition of mission achievement, complete with common goals?
  
• What if individuals tracked progress on goals?
  
• What if individual data was compiled so that it showed progress on goals and, consequently, on the mission?
  
• What if your organization used mission achievement data to make decisions?

A scorecard can help you “budgetize” your mission. Use a scorecard today.

You’re a basketball coach. Your team is playing in the tournament finals. It's halftime.

As you enter your basketball team’s locker room, what’s the single most important piece of information you need? Pick 1:

• Shooting percentage, yours and theirs
  
• Number of rebounds, yours and theirs
  
• Number of turnovers, yours and theirs
  
• Players in foul trouble, yours and theirs

Did you pick “shooting percentage”? Shooting percentage can make the difference in the game. If you increase your shooting percentage and decrease their shooting percentage (by stopping them from taking shots from where they are comfortable), you increase your chances of winning. I didn’t pick shooting percentage.

Did you pick “number of rebounds”? Controlling rebounds can result in control of the game. If you get more offensive rebounds and stop them from getting offensive rebounds (they have scored 8 points on second-shot attempts), you increase your chances of winning. I didn’t pick rebounding.

Did you pick “number of turnovers”? Mistakes can cost you the game—or them the game. If you decrease your turnovers and increase their turnovers, you increase your chances of winning. I didn’t pick number of turnovers.

Did you pick “players in foul trouble”? You need your key players on the floor—not on the bench, due to foul trouble. You need to know if their 2 key players are in foul trouble. You need to know so you can increase your chances of winning by getting their 2 key players in foul trouble. I didn’t pick players in foul trouble.

The single most important piece of information you need to coach your team is not shooting percentage, number of rebounds, number of turnovers, or players in foul trouble.

What is?

The score.

To coach effectively, you must know the sport, what constitutes winning, and the score. Then you can implement an effective second-half game plan.

The same is true for leading a Christian organization. To lead effectively, you must know your God-given mission, what constitutes achieving your mission, and your current level of mission achievement—the score. Then you can implement a strategic improvement plan.

What’s the score?

(If you’re not sure, call “time-out.” Define what constitutes the achievement of your mission. Then determine your current level of mission achievement.)

---

Calvin Johnston, Christian Academy in Japan, headmaster
Knowing the score is essential. When I know the score, I can more effectively focus our school’s energy on the right things, things that will help us achieve our mission. When I don’t know the score, it is hard for me to say no to good ideas. We can’t do all the good ideas so knowing the score helps me make tough choices

You’re coaching a game. You're not sure of the score (because there’s no scoreboard). You don’t have game stats. And you don’t have a handle on how well your players should be performing, given the team you’re playing. Meanwhile, you’re pleased that the crowd is cheering.

You call for a time out. You have 60 seconds to talk with your players.

• What will you tell them?
  
• What will you tell them to do to reach success? Remember, you don’t know the score, the stats, or how well your team should be doing.
  
• Well, what are you going to tell them? Your players are waiting.

Not a good situation. And one that may play out in life more often than we think. For example, to what extent is it similar to what happens in Christian schools?

You’re leading a Christian school. You’re not sure how well you’re doing because you have not defined the achievement of your God-given mission or measured the current level of mission achievement. You don’t have disaggregated student assessment data. Meanwhile, you’re pleased that the parents are happy with the education their children receive.

You schedule a staff meeting. You have 60 minutes to talk with your staff.

• What will you tell them?
  
• What you will you tell them to do to achieve the mission? Remember, you have not defined mission achievement or the current level of mission achievement.
  
• Well, what are you going to tell them?

Your staff is waiting.