Characteristics of Missionaries and Mercenaries

Missionaries:

• Purpose-Driven: Focused on the company’s vision and values, often motivated by making a meaningful impact.
• Long-Term Commitment: Likely to stay with the company through ups and downs, seeing their work as a calling or part of a larger mission.
• Team-Oriented: They prioritize collaboration and the overall success of the team over personal gain.

Mercenaries:

• Outcome-Focused: Driven primarily by personal benefits such as compensation, bonuses, and other perks.
• Short-Term Commitment: Their loyalty is as long as the benefits last; they may quickly move on if a better offer appears.
• Individualistic: Tends to prioritize personal achievements and recognition over team success.

2. Identifying Missionaries and Mercenaries in the Workplace

Missionaries:

• Look for employees who advocate for the company’s values and are enthusiastic about company-wide goals and missions.
• They often go beyond their job descriptions to help colleagues and advance the organization’s objectives.

Mercenaries:

• Identify those who frequently negotiate for higher pay or better titles without corresponding increases in their contribution to team goals.
• They may exhibit high performance but are less interested in collaborative projects unless these directly impact their personal targets.

3. The Strategic Use of Mercenaries in Business

When You’d Want a Mercenary:

• Special Projects: For short-term, high-impact projects where specific skills are crucial, and the commitment is finite.
• Scaling Operations: When rapid scaling is needed, mercenaries can accelerate growth given their focus on outcomes and deliverables.

4. Encouraging Missionaries to Thrive

Stoking Up Missionaries:

• Align Roles with Passions: Ensure that their roles are closely aligned with what they are passionate about within the context of the company’s mission.
• Recognition and Empowerment: Recognize their contributions in meaningful ways and empower them with the autonomy to lead initiatives.
• Foster a Purpose-Driven Culture: Strengthen the company’s mission-oriented culture, making the collective mission a central part of daily business operations.

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