This document discusses identifying and enacting personal and institutional missions. It provides guidance on crafting a personal mission statement by reflecting on one's values, passions, talents, vision, and goals. The document also discusses how to understand an institution's espoused mission versus its enacted mission in practice. Participants are guided through an analysis of their department's mission and values, and how the department enacts its mission through actions and programs.

1. Identifying & Enacting Your Missions
NEW PROFESSIONALS’ TRAINING INSTITUTE 2014
Jen Gonzales, Ryerson University

2. Learning Outcomes
By the end of the session, participants will be able to
 understand the mission of their
department/institution
 construct a personal mission statement which
uncovers/highlights core values and important
goals.
 identify how department/institutional missions align
with their personal and professional goals

3. Institutional Missions
… the mission serves as a standard… student affairs
professionals, faculty and students use the mission as
a yardstick against which to measure the
appropriateness of their programs, curriculum and out
of class experiences.
“clear, coherent and often distinctive and make what
goes on there understandable, definable and
educationally purposeful.
(1991 Kuh, Schuh and Whi, “Involving Colleges”)

4. Espoused vs Enacted
Each institution has two mission statements:
1. Espoused – this is typically what an
institution writes about itself; and
2. Enacted – this is what the institution
actually does and who it serves –(Purpose/Objectives)
For your work, the enacted mission may be of
greater value, as it guides the daily actions
of those in regular contact with students

5. Missions of PSIs in Ontario
Discuss your institutional mission statements in your
group with a focus on the following:
 Similarities
 Differences
 Strengths – distinctive?
 Weaknesses
 Truth?
Present back to the group!

6. How does your department enact your
mission?
SWOT ANALYSIS
Strength – internal
Weakness - internal
Opportunities - external
Threats - external

7. How does your department enact
your mission?
What are the values of the department?
What are the goals of the department?
What are the actions that come out of those goals?

8. What else can you do to enact your mission?
• Ensure you understand your institutional mission
• Maintain a focus on how your actions enable student learning
under your mission
• Look first to your espoused mission, but truly to your enacted
mission… this is arguably more important (but check with your
supervisor)
• Look for opportunities to make your mission a ‘living’ one

9. Personal Missions
 Who you are in your personal life is who you are
professionally.

10. Values
 What do you value?
 Do you prize your values?
 Did you choose your own values? How?
 Do you enact your values consistently?

11. Reflection

12. Step 1: Performance
 I am at my best when…..
 I am at my worst when….

13. Step 2: Passion
 What do I really love to do at work:
 What do I really love to do in my personal life:

14. Step 3: Talents
 My natural talents and gifts/strengths are:

15. Step 4: Imagination
 If I had unlimited time and resources, and knew I
could not fail, what would I choose to do?

16. Step 5: Vision
 Imagine your life as an epic journey with you as
the hero/heroine of the story. What do you
imagine your journey to be about?

17. Step 6: Character
 Imagine your 80th birthday. Who will be there with
you?
 What tribute statement would you like them to
make about you?

18. Step 7: Contribution
 What do I consider to be my most important future
contribution to the most important people in my life?

19. Step 8: Conscience
 Are there things I feel I really should do or change,
even thought I may have dismissed such thoughts
many times? What are they?

20. Step 9: Influence
 Imagine you could invite to dinner three people who
have influenced you the most—past or present.
Write their names in the boxes below. Then record
the one quality or attribute you admire most in
these people.

21. Step 10: Balance
 State of fulfillment and renewal in each of the four
dimensions:
 Physical
 Spiritual
 Mental
 social/emotional

22. Balance cont’d
 What are the single most important things you can
do in each of these areas that will have the
greatest positive impact on your life and help you
achieve a sense of balance?

23. Fill in Blanks
 Begin to write your mission statement