I recently heard a great definition of vision from Mark Conklin, Sr. Manager of Leadership Development at Chick-Fil-A: “Vision is a preferred picture of the future that creates passion for you.” We would all likely agree that organizations (teams, business, community, church and yes, even families!) perform more effectively with a clear, common vision. In fact, the lack of vision creates division in you organization. If you aren’t providing a clear vision, people will tend to pursue their own personal agenda, often in conflict organizational goals.
However, communicating a common vision effectively takes a measure of commitment and skill and we often undermine our own efforts. Here are some ways we hold our organizations back.
You have no vision
This is common. Believe it or not. But I bet you do. We’ve all been there where we’re going through the motions, stuck in a rut, busy as can be, but we don’t really have a vision. Oh, we may have some foggy notion of a vision, but a clearly defined statement? Often not. In fact, many organizations and businesses that start out with a clear vision see that vision fade as the business grows (or not!). How many organizations fall victim to pursuing immediate opportunities to make more sales but that are inconsistent with the vision and then find that they’ve become fragmented and inconsistent and attracted people to the company who weren’t a long term fit, both customers and employees? Great organizations are purpose driven and have a vision.
Your vision is just wallpaper
We’ve all seen it. A company vision that was put together by a committee, in a vacuum and then handed out to the employees in a cheesy corporate meeting. There’s nothing more hypocritical and undermining to an organization’s success than plastering a fake vision on the wall that’s disconnected with what the organization does day in and day out. Stick it on the shelf with all the other management books that you ask your staff to read but never bother to yourself nor incorporate the lessons into your firm. In fact, if you’re going to plaster your walls with what amounts to just another inspirational picture of a rock climber being successful, with no intention of letting it guide your company culture, consider hiring a different interior designer. Your employees can spot a fake from a hundred miles away.
You don’t communicate your vision
Why is it that we tend to think that if we have a vision in our head, that somehow others will magically know what it is and embrace it as their own? If you’re thoughtful about your vision for your business (family, community, idea, fill in the blank), then chances are you’ve spent a lot of mental brain-power thinking it through, refining it, condensing it, polishing it, testing it, and filtering your plans through it. You’re intimately familiar with it and own it. But if you haven’t communicated it clearly to those around you, here’s a news flash… they don’t have a clue about it. And you can’t just mention it casually. It’s your vision and you have to sell it. Preach it whenever you can. Make the opportunity. Vision is like insurance. People don’t just buy it (they have their own vision, remember?). Visionaries have to sell it.
You act inconsistent with your vision
This is really just hypocrisy, plain and simple. You may have all the rationalization in the world about why you’re making a particular decision and it may make perfect sense to you, but if it’s perceived by your people as inconsistent with your stated vision, you lose credibility. Does your latest and greatest idea pass the sniff test? People are generally a lot more perceptive than we tend to give them credit for and can spot inconsistency from a mile away. Do you ever stop to ask anyone about your decisions? Do you have any accountability?
You don’t align organizational with personal vision
A fact of leadership is that a broad organizational vision is only as good as your ability to connect it to the people you’re leading and serving. It’s a common mistake to assume that the macro vision is enough and that people are automatically going to buy in. If you don’t work to connect with your people and understand their view of the world and connect their individual aspirations with your vision, then you are managing, not leading.
Organizations are made of people who have attitudes, ideas and aspirations and they are living in a world with competing values, demands and needs. If you find yourself frustrated because your people aren’t thinking and acting consistent with your vision, perhaps you may need to evaluate what your vision is and how you’re communicating it.