How to Write a Team Mission Statement (Examples Included)

Mission statements help to shape team culture and better unify your team members under a singular purpose. This critical component increases innovation by 30 percent and retention by 40 percent. By creating and instituting a team mission statement with your team members, your team will be more inventive, more productive, and more dedicated to its overall purpose.

Here is your essential guide on how to build a team mission statement. Use these tips to help inject your team with the right intention and motivation it needs to succeed.

What Is a Team Mission Statement?

A team mission statement is a statement or document that describes a team’s collective purpose, vision, and strategy. This statement usually helps describe what the team does, and how their actions affect the success of the organization.

Why Is a Team Mission Statement Important?

A team mission statement is a valuable tool for:

• Improving retention: Mission-driven team members are 54 percent more likely to stay for five years or more at a company.
• Enhancing performance: Mission-driven team members are also 30 percent more likely to grow into high performers. Learn more about how to build a high-performance team.
• Better aligning your team: By establishing a collective purpose and vision, leaders can better align their team and foster morale as all the members know and understand what they’re working towards.
• Boosting motivation: McKinsey discovered purpose is the most impactful factor in driving motivation.

Elements of a Team Mission Statement

The four main elements of a strong mission statement include:

1. Purpose: Why your team exists.
2. Vision: A clear picture of where your team wants to go.
3. Strategy: Your team’s approach/tactics in fulfilling their purpose and vision.
4. Value: The value (e.g., features or benefits) your team provides to your business’ key audience, clients, and customers.

Team Mission Statement Examples

Below are examples of a mission statement for teams.

Build Trust with Colleagues and Customer

“[Company name]’s operations team builds trust with colleagues and customers by producing high-quality workflow processes for current and upcoming products. These workflows and products help bring in leads to our site and storefronts as well as push the boundaries in our industry.

We use our expertise to produce innovative products that eliminate our customer’s pain points and elevate the business’ competitive advantage. By leveraging supply chain best practices and establishing relationships with key vendors, our operations team provides long-term and high-quality products for our customers.”

Let’s break this example down into the statement’s respective parts:

1. Purpose: “…builds trust with colleagues and customers by producing high-quality workflow processes for current and upcoming products.”
2. Vision: “…pushes the boundaries in our industry…elevate the business’ competitive advantage.”
3. Strategy: “…leveraging supply chain best practices and establishing relationships with key vendors…”
4. Value: “…to produce innovative products and eliminate our customer’s pain points.”

Maximize Product and Service Value

“Our team’s mission statement at [company name] focuses on delivering extraordinary value. Our commitment is to provide our customers with exceptional products and services so they can make the most of what we offer. We welcome all suggestions, concerns, and criticism to improve our service and better serve you and your needs.

We listen, identify your pain points, and develop reasonable solutions that minimize any remaining concerns. Our improvement process centers on maximizing the effectiveness of our products and solutions from top to bottom. We engage regularly with our customers, managers, vendors, and distribution partners to deliver high-quality services.”

Embrace the Technological Revolution

“[Company name] is committed to embracing technological advancements and overcoming the challenges of the digital era. We don’t fear uncertainty. Instead, we welcome the unknown by constantly upgrading our solutions to align with the latest trends and customer demands.

In every aspect of our work, we look at improving efficiency and developing solutions that can compete in a global marketplace. We also strive to serve our clients better, allowing them to keep up with ever-changing demands.

By embracing innovation and industry best practices, we can help facilitate the transition to an automated era while delivering the support our clients need.”

6 Steps to Writing a Team Mission Statement

Here is a six-step guide on how to build a team mission statement. Use this to elevate purpose and drive engagement within your team.

1. Consider All of the Roles on Your Team

Everyone on your team should collectively help develop the team mission statement. This provides the space and foundation for your team to engage in active discussion, and create clarity on what the team is and is not.

Consider all roles on your team. What does each team member manage and fulfill? Write these out.

2. Determine Your Purpose

Evaluate all the roles and responsibilities to find a common thread. Note frequent themes and motives that arise from this discussion. Use these factors to establish your team’s purpose. This may involve identifying:

• Why your group exists
• The goals (short- and long-term) your team is pursuing
• What is your team’s unique value proposition?

3. Keep Those You Serve in Mind

Who does your team serve? Is it the company, clients, customers, or specific stakeholders? Make sure this is clearly identified in your statement.

4. Highlight Team Strategy

Every team is different. Highlight the unique methods your team members utilize to achieve their goals. These action steps help frame the expectations among the team.

5. Make It a Living Document

A team mission statement should be set and reviewed periodically by its team leader and members. As teams grow, evolve, and adapt, so should their motivation, purpose, and mission statement. Prior to a periodic review and evaluation, seek feedback and input from your team regarding adjustments that may need to be made. Share the most common feedback about possible modifications and empower the team to decide what to do.

6. Post and Share

Ensure that the mission statement is shared with all team members. Post it in a visible area where it can be referenced often. When the statement is public, the team is more likely to hold themselves to these posted goals and expectations.. Share the statement with other cross-functional teams or departments to create greater transparency and understanding of how your team will work to add value to the business.

Align Your Team with CMOE

Build a powerful team mission statement with the help of CMOE’s Leadership Team Alignment workshop. Our skilled professionals will help leaders elevate team performance, and enhance value and unity. Contact CMOE for more information.