An Absence of Mission Mastery: A Case Study

I have argued thus far that clear accountability is a pre-requisite of a high performing organization. In addition I have argued that to attain Mastery all five Pillars need to be robust, manifest in a clear , an effective structure of jobs with discrete , leadership development aligned to coupled with experiential learning often in the form of boundary moves, all of which combine to generate a positive culture. I have also established that military organizations, practising Moltke’s mission command, consistently outperform their civilian counterparts in the field of leadership development. The focus of this chapter is a case study of a civilian organization: the British Civil Service in which the Pillars of Mission Mastery are not robust. This contributes to a performance gap. The findings are based on extensive field work—about 500 interviews at all levels across this organization. Each of the five key pillars is examined in some detail and their shortcomings exposed. The result is at times a dysfunctional, de-motivating work place, which adds up to a culture of no consequences. Good work is not well rewarded and poor performance is not sanctioned. Reasons for a culture of inertia were identified 50 years ago in the Fulton report and continue to noted, but have not yet been fully redressed. The reasons for this will be analysed in this chapter.