What mission are you on?

Hello! I'm working on something BIGGER that I'm excited about sharing with you in the coming months. It's about our agency to shape our experience of work, even within the constraints of the oft-frustrating command and control management model our organizations use.

While I'm always interested in your reader mail, I'm especially interested in hearing your thoughts on the below. What do you like? What can be improved?

3 … 2 … 1 … liftoff:

I've had a lot of "how's work?" conversations over the years and one pattern I've found is that many people aren't actually clear about what they're up to at work. That creates suffering right up front. A whole lot of workplace frustration comes from wanting something that isn't on offer where you work, drifting without direction, or pursuing conflicting goals simultaneously.

No good. But when you are clear about what you’re up to at work, you can answer the question: What mission are you on?

Your job has requirements, your organization has priorities, your boss has expectations—but what are you personally working toward?

The concept of a mission—as in, what you're up to right now rather than how an organization might use the concept—is what's motivating your work day-to-day. A mission can drive an entire career, but more often it's of the moment: evolving with circumstances, life stages, and new opportunities.

This might be about the work itself: gaining experience, building a program, establishing credibility, transforming care, taking great care of patients ... Or it might be about what work enables: maintaining skills while caring for family, earning income for weekend activities, or simply getting through while finding what's next.

A mission is not a mission statement. It's a frank and honest acknowledgment of what you're up to at work right now. It's focused on the present, described in work terms, and it's yours.

So: What mission are you on? Know it? What is it? If not, here's a set of questions meant to help you figure it out.

Start Here

These days: 

• What are you personally working to accomplish?

• What has your attention?

• What's motivating you?

Explore Further

Right now: 

• What gets your attention when you have extra time or energy?

• What energizes you—at work or because of work?

• What accomplishment would feel meaningful?

• What feels important to advance?

• What are you curious about?

• What reason are you at your job? (Be honest -- what's the real reason?)

No clear answer?

That's useful information too:

• Are you torn between two things? Write them both down.

• Is your mission just "survive this job"? That's legitimate.

• Not sure what you want, but know what you DON'T want? Start there.

• Is your mission about maintaining something rather than achieving something? That counts too.

Bring it together

Look at your answers. What pattern do you see?

Try completing one of these:

• "Right now, I'm working to..."

• "My focus these days is on..."

• "I'm trying to accomplish..."

What mission are you on?

It doesn't need to be polished or permanent. It's a direction. Refine as needed.

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What a Mission Is (and Isn't)

• Present-focused - What you're up to now

• Personal intention - What you're personally trying to accomplish

• Flexible boundaries - Some missions are ongoing, others have clear endpoints

• Entirely yours - Not what your employer expects or your organization's mission

• Practical and honest - Can be about getting through, finances, or life outside work

• Changeable - Missions evolve with circumstances, life stages, and opportunities

• Permission to be unglamorous - "Maintain income while I figure things out" is legitimate

• Can enable life outside work - "Minimize stress so I have energy for my family" counts as a work mission

Real Mission Examples

• "Establish myself as the go-to subject-matter expert"

• "Get as much experience as possible because I need to figure out what I actually want"

• "Maintain competence while minimizing stress because my parent needs care"

• "Develop coaching skills because that's what energizes me”

• "Survive this toxic situation until something better comes along"

• "Prove I can handle complex strategic work so I can get promoted"

• "Be present with patients—that's what drew me to healthcare in the first place"

• "Learn this business inside and out while I decide if leadership is right for me"

• "Get exposure to different aspects of the business so I can figure out where I want to focus"

Thanks for reading. Hit reply and let me know your thoughts.

How To Work is healthcare-focused work design inspiration (from the experts!) to nudge your perspectives and practices into better alignment with the world of work as it is, and away from what it was. Here’s my take on what we’re working through.