^{Missionary Over Mercenary — Building an Intentional Culture}

Are you on a team of purpose and mission?

This article was originally published by Graham Peelle on Medium, August 22, 2023

Mission Driven

Jeff Bezos and other business titans have been known for referencing hiring missionaries, instead of mercenaries. Missionaries are here to build something and partner with you to drive your business forward with the right intention, care, and purpose. Mercenaries are not — mercenaries are here to get their share, drive their own initiatives, and favor unhealthy selfish drive with an an unhealthy desire to get ahead at all costs. They want their money, they don’t want to give their allegiance or full commitment to the cause.

Will everyone be a missionary or a mercenary, probably not. You likely have some that are really in neither bucket, or have a foot in each. You’re wondering how that works, well let’s consider this for a moment. How many associates do you find that are coasting along, just earning a paycheck, disengaged in most of the non-essential aspects of the business, and ultimately are here to get a paycheck, and nothing more. They aren’t overly selfish, but not overly committed. You’ll always have these middle to bottom players, that just work, and don’t really sway or have strong motivators besides that paycheck.

The larger your business, the more you tend to have these types, and while it’s not the best, it’s bound to happen and the more you can foster a safe environment for team members to just work, be productive, and as long as they are producing positively above cost, and not a cultural drain, there is value in having them on your bus. Not everyone can be all in, get promoted, or be the teammate everyone wants. But many can still be solid performers or doers. You need those as well — not everyone can or wants to be the CEO or CFO. You need some solid performers with aspirations at being a good worker and teammate.

Value in a People-Aligned Mission

So what’s the value in have a core missionaries that believe, deliver, and jump on board to support the organizational vision, mission, and core purpose. They are here for more. They are here to do great work and support the cause, whatever that may be. They don’t want just a check, they want to have purpose, which positively drives all the work metrics upward, with just two key two concerns from this —

1. Retention — it’s harder to keep the best people, because they expect more of you and the company in all areas

2. Opportunity — it can be hard to meet the continued needs of individuals that are most driven and expect opportunity, promotion, or compensation for their contributions

Promoting a Mission-based Culture

• People — Hiring and maintaining a center for mission-based purpose

• Process — Keeping your mission front and center of every conversation

• Technology — Aligning tech to support your mission, not distract from it

• Vision — Promote a view into the future, drive the purpose of how to get there

• Mission — concise with clarity, on what our mission is

If you want mission-based team members, consider what is behind everything you do in your work, or business. Think back about what you drive as motivators, incentives, business speak, and culture. This overall culture drives your willingness to accept mercenary types or promote the benefits of mission-driven associates. Make your mission clear and loud, and help drown out the mercenaries that must not be tolerated in your organization.

There is so much more that can go into promoting your mission — for more on building a Performance Operations Culture, check out my newsletter, OpCo.

Hopefully, this added a little value to your business or your career. Thank you for reading.

Climb Higher, Raise Your^ROI