A consultant was asked to work with a large academic medical center’s top leaders on their strategies and future plans. The leaders exhibited a great passion and desire to improve their organization and meet forthcoming challenges. However, they felt that the center’s direction was inconsistent. Some indicated that it seemed to adopt each fad and then discard it almost as quickly. Others felt that the center had good strategic goals but did not seem to implement them.

To address these concerns, the consultant presented the principles of values, mission, and vision. As a learning exercise, he asked the leaders to comment on missions and visions he had gathered from several healthcare organizations, including the center’s own mission and vision. Discussion ensued regarding the good and bad points of the different missions and visions. At the conclusion of this discussion, the consultant asked the group to identify the organizations to which the missions and visions belonged. Many guesses followed. When they came to the center’s mission and vision, no one recognized the statements as the center’s own.

Questions

1. Why do you think the leaders did not recognize their own mission and vision?

2. How does this lack of recognition tie in with their perception of inconsistency in the center’s efforts?