by Adam
This post is the third installment in our series of posts chronicling Trevor’s mentorship journey.
To read previous posts in this series, follow the links below:
Trevor Takes a Swing at Self-Assessment
Trevor’s Second At Bat on Self-Assessment
by Trevor
To start I want to say I am not sure I have fully developed my mission statement but I figured this is why I am here, to gain feedback and continue to develop myself through these “assignments.” When I sat down to work on this, I really struggled to get going, but I believe I have at least a good starting point for a decent mission statement. A big focus in my statement comes from something I have heard multiple times as a young professional, and that is to never stop learning. However I also wanted to focus on things that mean a lot to me such as supporting others. In my mission statement I could elaborate a lot more, but for the sake of not making this blog look like a novel, here it is.
“I will continue to learn and grow in all aspects of my life. I will strive to progress in my current positions, but never turn my nose to a new opportunity. I will do this all while adding value and support to the people I am surrounded by.”
Now I don’t believe that answers the question Kevin asked of “have you found your purpose in life?” But if I continue to learn, grow and support others on the way, I think my path will be narrowed down in the near future.
by Kevin
Trevor, I think this is a great start to identifying your purpose--or mission--in life! Well done!
Here are some questions to both help me understand your mission and, perhaps, to help you dig a little deeper: how will you learn and grow?, what does progressing look like, (new title, more pay)?, how do you expect to add value?, and which of the words you chose has special meaning to you, maybe “value” or “support”? Make sure you embed words within your mission statement that motivate you. I don’t think your mission statement needs to expand on any of these questions, but I would like to understand your meaning a little better gain, this is a great start!
As I mentioned before, your mission statement needs to be exciting to you, so even though you may not know exactly what the results will be, learning and growing is most definitely exciting! If you continue to focus on learning, growing, adding value and supporting the people around you, I do believe you have an exciting journey ahead of you that will result in plenty of opportunities. The key is to never stop reflecting and following your mission!
by Adam
Hi Trevor! Mostly, I’d echo what Kevin said. I really like your focus on growth and development. It can be tough, especially earlier in your career, to translate general aspirations into a more specific mission. To echo Kevin, I think they key will be to understand what “growth” means to you. Is it developing a good professional reputation? Reaping the tangible and monetary benefits of a prosperous career? Is it self-discovery through overcoming adversity? Is it having successes to look back on, to know you “left your mark?” Understanding the dimensions along which growth is most important to you can go a long way toward focusing your efforts in a productive way. Regardless of your views on that, I salute you for having such a strong growth mindset! That will serve you well, and provide a foundation for success, however you choose to define it.
By Trevor
I believe that some of the questions you posed me with can really be wrapped into a single response. In my current positions I am confident that I can continue learning and growing possibly by taking on more responsibilities, but also by pursuing new opportunities. And I don’t necessarily mean new opportunities outside of where I hold my current positions. I think that I have mentioned it previously, but I have never really stayed with one employer for longer than a year, and not that I think that that is a bad thing, but I think longevity adds value and support like I mentioned in my statement. So, I would say that by taking on more responsibilities or taking advantage of a new opportunity that presents itself at my current job can cover how I will continue to learn, grow, progress and provide value to my employer. I also want to reference what Adam was saying about what growth actually means to me, and I think his first two points hit the nail right on the head…at least for me. More of the first being about professional reputation because I have always wanted to be someone that anyone can rely on in whatever situation arises and out of that I think is where the tangible and monetary benefits come from. If I can be the first person that my boss turns to or a co-worker comes to with a question then that just lays the bricks for the tangible and monetary benefits to come. Now I definitely will have to work on my patience in that, because I know it’s not always the right time for a promotion or raise, but by working towards my main points in my mission statement those should come with time.