Franciscan Charism in Higher Education, The

Does a Mission Statement Make a Difference?

Does a Mission Statement Make a Difference? Catholic and Franciscan --- A Case in Point F. Edward Coughlin, O.F.M., Ph.D.* Mission statements are attempts to articulate the desired future and the distinctive nature, service and qualities of an organization. In theory mission statements ask hard questions about present practices and policies. Ideally, these statements enable leadership to face the challenge of managing the transition from what is to being more what an institution hopes or claims to be.1 This is an especially important question in religiously- affiliated educational institutions on any level; as religious personnel decrease, costs increase and competition for students intensifies. James Flynn posed the question well when he wrote recently: “How can (independent institutions of higher education) continue to fuel a unique identity which gives a distinctive spirit to their mission ?”2 In this essay I would propose to reflect on the role of key leadership personnel in facing the challenge of mission effectiveness, focus briefly on the Roman Catholic Church’s understanding of the distinctive nature of a Catholic institution, and offer a model for better integrating the Franciscan spiritual tradition into * This paper began as an address to the Alverno College Trustees in January 1991. A revised version of the paper appeared as an article in The Cord, Vol. 42, No. 1, January 1992, pp.15-25. 1 Richard Beckhard and Reuben T. Harris, Organizational Transitions (2nd. ed.), Ch 5: Defining the Future State, Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley, 1987. 2 James E. Flynn, S.J., “Sustaining the Founding Spirit: Institutional Identity and Mission,” Review for Religious, Jan.-Feb., 1991. Cf. also., Timothy S. Healy, S.J., America, 137: 14, Nov. 5, 1977. educational institutions which claim the Franciscan tradition as part of their identity and uniqueness. Leadership and Mission The question in our title becomes more critical than rhetorical when key leadership personnel (Trustees, Presidents/Principals, Administrators and Faculty) give serious consideration to their leadership function within an academic institution. A leadership function asks key personnel to consider whether or not they believe they have the "ability to create an organization of [their] choosing."3 This entails, on the one hand, an educational institution that reflects a commitment to the highest standards of quality education and the search for truth. On the other hand, it entails an organization which reveals an equally strong commitment to a vision of the human person, the world and meaning that (a) nurtures leadership’s desire to educate and (b) shapes leadership’s distinctive approach to education. If key leadership personnel within an educational institution are convinced they have not only the potential but the actual power to create a place that they can truly believe in, they have confronted what may well be described as the most critical issue facing leadership today. Regardless of the level of the academic institution, it may also be helpful to remember that few schools have come into existence which: (1) did not respond to some genuinely-felt need for something more or better than what was; (2) did not require that there were some individuals involved who were willing to take a substantive risk; and (3) which did not ultimately require a dynamic interdependence among individuals with widely-varying gifts, areas of expertise, and specializations who were bound together 3 Peter Block, The Empowered Manager: Positive Political Skills at Work, Jossey-Bass, 1988, p. xvii. Chapter 1: Personal Choices That Shape the Work Environment is the primary source for additional comments on the leadership challenge as it is presented in this section of the presentation. by a shared vision toward which all of their human activities were directed. What I am suggesting here is that key personnel within an institution cannot lose sight of the roots of the leadership challenge they have inherited. As leaders reflect on their leadership function, it must always be in reference to and in service of the what, the who and the how that gave birth to a particular educational institution. This kind of remembering will focus the leaders' sense of mission. It should also continually challenge them to make conscious choices about the future they desire to embrace. This kind of remembering, even as key personnel attend to the concerns of the institution’s portfolio, enrollment, facilities, faculty and students, also asks hard questions about how their choices both reflect and reveal their vision, the core—the heart —of the institution. This...