Engaged! Tip#1 – The Power of a Vision
“This ‘vision thing’ is highly overrated,” announced Kevin, a participant in one of our recent leadership seminars. After further discussion, Kevin conceded that there may be some value in executives creating a vision for the organization, but insisted that there is little value in managers or supervisors creating a “personal leadership vision.”
What Is a Vision?
“Vision” is one of the great management buzzwords of our time. But if you ask five leaders to define the word, you will invariably get five different answers. WordNet defines vision as “a vivid mental image.” When we speak of vision, we are referring to a clear mental picture of a desired future outcome. Think of vision like the picture on a jigsaw puzzle box. It shows you exactly what you are trying to create without giving you any instructions. It’s up to you to figure out how to achieve the final outcome.
For many years, management consultants like Warren Bennis and Tom Peters have been persuading companies all over the world to create a vision, or an inspiring statement of purpose, that rallies everyone behind it. Some refer to this statement as a vision; others use the words “mission,” “purpose,” “philosophy” or “values.” While the labels may vary, they are usually describing the same thing: the overarching purpose of an organization. Many organizations put these highly crafted, carefully worded sentiments on laminated cards that get placed in a wallet or purse, used as bookmarks for the corporate policy manual or simply stuffed into a drawer.
Why Is a Vision Important?
Visions clearly work for organizations, as reflected in the fact that each of the winners of our Workplace Excellence Award has a clearly articulated vision. And when we isolate the highest-rated departments within organizations, they are usually led by great managers with great visions.
James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras, two Stanford professors, conducted a survey of CEOs at Fortune 500 and Inc. 100 companies to identify organizations the CEOs considered visionary, and then reported on the survey in the classic book Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies. The final list of visionary companies consisted of 20 organizations selected by the CEOs. Collins and Porras then mocked up an investment by “purchasing” one fictional dollar in the stock of each of these companies in 1926 (or whenever the firm was first listed). They found that, as a group, the vision-driven companies performed 55 times better than the general market. To delve a little more deeply, the authors compared the visionary group of companies in the survey with the non-visionary group and found that the vision-driven companies performed eight times better than their competitors.
So What’s the Problem?
The problem with this “vision thing” is twofold. First, some organizations do not have a clear vision of where they are heading. Second, they may have a stated vision but are not living the vision or making it a reality. Both of these scenarios cause declining motivation, morale and productivity in the workforce. One of the many reasons our clients conduct employee opinion surveys is to find out if the vision the leaders have created coincides with what the employees observe on a day-to-day basis. Employees are motivated by what they see daily in the halls, not what they read on the walls. Kevin, our seminar participant, was right–the “vision thing” was overrated in his company, where the executives passed out nice little cards with the new vision, but that was the last time Kevin or anyone else heard about it. Even worse, the actions of managers at Kevin’s company were the antithesis of what was stated in the vision.
Even in organizations where corporate visions aren’t clear, a personal leadership vision or departmental vision can be an incredibly powerful tool for managers and supervisors. In fact, it is precisely when the corporate vision is unclear that a leader must take responsibility for defining the vision for the areas within his or her immediate control.
Personal Leadership Vision
A personal leadership vision is a clear mental picture of how you want others to see you as a leader. It is important to note that this vision has nothing to do with your organization’s or department’s vision. An example would be:
I am a leader who truly values the contributions of my people and cares about them as individuals. I am also an enthusiastic leader who has the reputation for taking responsibility, getting things done, and being willing to take calculated risks when necessary. I enjoy the work I do and create an environment where people have fun!
Tips for creating a personal leadership vision:
- Focus on what you would like your followers to say about you as a leader.
- Write down what you want to be–not what you don’t want to be.
- Make daily decisions that support your vision.
- Don’t share your vision until you have “walked your talk” for at least a year.
Departmental Vision
It’s also helpful to have a vision for your department or area of influence. Unlike your personal vision, this vision needs to tie into the organization’s vision or mission. You will find it most helpful to involve your team members in creating this vision. The more the people on your team participate, the better the chances are that they will feel “ownership” of the vision. An example might look like this:
We are a department that gets the job done right–the first time. We have a can-do attitude and work incredibly well as a team, both interdepartmentally and cross-departmentally in the organization. We are recognized as a great department to work in by others in the company because we do a great job, have high productivity and a whole bunch of fun!
Tips for creating a Departmental Vision:
- Get others in the department involved.
- Get people to focus on what you want to create, not what you want to avoid.
- Shoot for a vision the group will be proud of attaining. Tell the group the vision is not about the realities of today but about working toward creating a better tomorrow.
Making the “Vision Thing” Work
When you create a personal leadership vision and a departmental vision, you will find your employees are more motivated. Most people get excited about making something better and will direct their energy accordingly. If you are not working to make things better, you are working in an environment where things are staying the same or getting worse. The last two scenarios are not motivating.
As we look to the year 2010, what is your vision? In the words of George Eliot, “It’s never too late to be the person you might have been.”