“Hello!  Lovely to meet you!  My name is Jonathon.”, said my new friend.

I replied cordially, a little taken aback by his enthusiastically gregarious introduction, complete with vigorous, prolonged hand shake.  He was certainly passionate…and loud.

“Do you work here?”, I inquired.

“Yes, I make all the dishes clean and shiny so the customers are happy.”, he replied with a slight English accent.

We chatted a little further, then I went back to my breakfast and he happily headed off into the kitchen.

I had just had the privilege of meeting Jonathon.

And, I would have this privilege again and again and again over many years at one of my favourite breakfast restaurants – The Bohemian Cafe.  Jonathon has been working there for many years as a dishwasher.  I typically arrive at 7:30 for a breakfast appointment.  Jonathon arrives sometime around 8:00.  He sees me, we chit chat and he restates his mission with crystal clear clarity…

“I make the dishes all clean and shiny so the customers are happy!”

Wow – if everyone had that kind of clarity about their mission.

Jonathon is special in many ways.  One of the ways I think he is special is in his clarity about his workplace mission.  He is rock solid on why he comes into work every day.  He makes the customers happy by making the dishes clean and shiny.

He doesn’t question his mission.  He sees the significance of his mission.  He sees the significance of his role in the overall organization.

I have a sneaking suspicion that Hans the owner has provided some good leadership to help Jonathon get a handle on his mission.  That’s what good leadership does.

Good leadership clarifies the “why”.  Good leadership clarifies the “who, where and how” as well.  Who are we?  Why are we here?  Where are we going?  How are we going to get there?

Jonathon knows who he is – he is the dishwasher.  He also realizes that he is an ambassador of the company/restaurant, so he works the room when he comes into the restaurant.  He knows his why – to make the customers happy.  He knows his how – by making the dishes clean and shiny.  He has clarity on his role and the significance of his role in the bigger picture.

How many people go into work every day not having the clarity that Jonathon has?  Do you go into work crystal clear on your mission and how you will accomplish it?  Do you know your why?

And, if you as a leader are not clear on your mission how can your people be clear?

Clarity creates confidence.

Lack of clarity creates doubt, fear, hesitation, uncertainty and weakness.

Are you leading in such a way that your people have clarity in regard to who they are in the organization, why they are here, where they are going and how they are going to get there?  Are you providing the feedback they need to understand if they are on track and making headway?  Are you providing measurement mechanisms to enable them to measure their effectiveness?

Your organization as a whole needs to have clarity on your mission, and every person in the organization needs to clearly understand how they contribute to that.  Do you help your people understand the significance of their work?

Clarity comes through doing the heavy lifting of chewing through your “raison-d’etre” – your reason for being.  You need to lead that process, but your people need to participate somehow, to contribute to it.  Once you have articulated your mission, it needs to be repeated often.  It does no good to work through the exercise of articulating your mission, but then simply put in on a plaque on the wall in the lobby.  It needs to be applied everywhere, and it needs to be repeated often.  Look for 100 ways you can apply your mission in the workplace.

You know you are gaining headway as a leader when you hear your people articulating the organizational mission, and their personal mission within the organization, to other people.  One of your jobs as a leader is to wave the banner of “why” vehemently and repeatedly.  You are the great ‘reminderer’.

Great leaders create confidence by creating a clear, clean and shiny mission – and then remind everyone often.