The Power Of An Authentic Mission Statement

Introducing Svetlana Chigozie Onye, Researcher in Green Park’s Civil Society & Government Executive Search Practice: “An organisations mission can only be achieved if what they want to give to the world already exists within them.”

Our lives are strengthened by our missions. When we have a philosophy that defines us and who we want to be, we are then able to be more authentic in the way we navigate our surroundings. This line of thinking is no different in organisations, where a mission statement is often what attracts employees or clients to want to be a part of their story. Yet, organisations can often forget that a successful mission statement isn’t just rooted in what they can provide to the world, but to what extent their mission permeates through the organization itself; how is it lived and breathed by its own people? This is especially important for a global talent advisory firm like Green Park, which has championed equity, diversity & inclusion (EDI) since its inception.

I joined Green Park in February 2022 as a researcher in the Civil Society and Government Executive Search Practice. It was working on an assignment to find a Trustee for UNICEF UK which taught me how transformative recruitment can be when a mission statement is alive and truly lived within an organisation.

Green Park’s Mission

A key reason why I joined Green Park was because of their mission statement to, ‘Change the face of leadership by helping organisations think differently about talent.’ As a Nigerian Igbo woman, I know within myself the need for inclusion to be a focus point in employment, having personally battled with the issues of racial prejudiced in the workplace. I also know the friction that exists in making the rest of the world think this way. This was why I was surprised to find that at Green Park, diversity & inclusion really does stand at the core of the entire firm.

Our executive search team collaborate with charities and governmental bodies to build an understanding of their values and objectives and appoint a candidate that will excel in helping lead the organisation to achieve its goal. Ensuring EDI is central to that process, we challenge ourselves and our clients to think differently about who that person may be, examining the role requirements and person specification to ensure we aren’t closing ourselves off to excellent candidates with more varied career pathways.

At Green Park we are successful in delivering diversity to our clients because of the diversity which exists within our workplace. In my own team, 75% of us are women, 29% are the global majority and 7% are a part of the LGBTQ community. I believe that your service is only as good as the tools in your toolbox and the diversity in Green Park reflects this. Our collective differences and lived experiences influence the way that we approach search, whether that be our cultures, our passions, our languages, or even the barriers we have personally faced. They enhance our ability to identify exceptional talent in all of its forms, our ability to communicate, relate and engage with people from all walks of life, and ultimately our incentive to support clients along their own EDI journey. Experiencing the power of a diverse and inclusive workforce first-hand, we understand how transformative it can be.

The UNICEF UK Search

UNICEF UK is one of the largest and most recognized charities in the UK and the world. As someone who has studied human rights since I was sixteen years old, throughout my studies it was unavoidable to come across the works of UNICEF on papers and case studies I’d read which made me genuinely happy to be aiding them on their search for a new Trustee.  During the brief for the search, UNICEF UK emphasized how they wanted diversity and inclusion to be at the forefront of the search for their new trustee appointment.  Wanting to be more representative of the communities they serve, the ideal candidate would have experienced poverty or a deep understanding of its magnitude.

Diversity: The Business Case

So why is diversity so important to UNICEF UK and the other clients we work with? Well, according to a study conducted by management and consultancy firm McKinsey & Company, 46% of companies with diverse management exhibited higher profits and companies with racial and ethnic diversity are 35% are more likely to perform at a higher level and have increased ROI.  Despite this, Green Park’s Business Leaders Index revels that the top leadership positions in the FTSE 100 are still dominated by white men, particularly in functions with the most likely path to the top 3 roles of Chair, CEO and CFO: Digital, Data and Technology (76% white male), Governance and Operations (73% white male) Commercial and procurement (71% white male) and Finance (69% white male).

These statistics show that it is dangerously the norm in our society for leaders to look a certain way and have similar backgrounds. This was why it was exciting for me to be part of a search where I am actively challenging the ideas many of us are socialised to believe. The professionals I came across during this search broadened my perceptions of leadership and even changed the way I see myself. I spoke to women who were human rights lawyers, who had built their own charities and directors of environmental organisations. These women came from countries all over the world and I relished in our shared backgrounds and similar degrees. I imagined how inspired I would have been as a teenager if it was their faces and achievements glossed over the textbooks I read in school.

What unified many of the candidates was that their lines of work reflected the hardships they had faced growing up. Whether that be poverty, environmental degradation or gender discrimination, they had turned their experience into purpose; pledging their life’s work to making sure that others had access to the resources and opportunities which they were once denied. This is why diversity in the charity sector is so paramount and it saddens me to recognise that the latest figures from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sports show that ethnic minority representation in the charity sector is over two percentage points lower than in the UK economy overall.

My own experiences as a black woman helped me to navigate many of the conversations I had. I could understand why imposter syndrome, an internal experience of believing you are not as competent as others perceive you to be, would exist in talented women of colour. I too have experienced the magnitude of microaggressions, racism and biases which pervade workplaces and how it can make you underestimate your own capability. My differences also allowed me to create a space for vulnerability to be possible so that candidates could talk about their lived experiences of poverty and feel that they were talking to someone who was not merely interested but who, at a deeper level, understood it.

The Outcome

UNICEF UK were incredibly happy with the candidates that my colleague and I presented at shortlist. The trustee board were surprised at the levels of achievement that graced the applications, the stories that surrounded them and what it said about UNICEF itself, that so many compelling people wanted to apply as a trustee for the charity.

Green Park was able to serve their mission statement ‘to change the face of leadership by helping organisations think differently about talent’ and present their client with a diverse selection of leaders because their own researchers embody their belief in the power of diversity and inclusion as a source of competitive advantage. The search was transformative for me because it made me see that certain achievements are possible for ethnic minorities and that I possessed the same tools as many of the talented woman I spoke to.

Since the search, I have focused more on the educational platform I founded called Not Actually Radical which aims to help people of the diaspora have access to knowledge which can aid their development and incite conscious liberation. The UNICEF UK search has helped me realise how much in life is attainable when we recognize that our backgrounds and differences are strengths and powerful tools in building our own missions, and that joining Green Park was one of the best decisions I have made.