Creating a Vision that People Will (Gladly) Follow
If you are a leader with a vision, congratulations, you've got half the job done. The hard part is to get the organization to buy into and rally around it. A vision, after all, begins as a very personal thing, unlike, say, a mission statement, which is often the product of collaboration right from the start.
We won't argue here the merits or demerits of "the vision thing," other than to say I'm a big believer. While a mission articulates an organization's core values, its reason for being, the vision draws a picture of how the mission is executed and demonstrates why that work is important. It looks to the future and allows your employees, customers, and other stakeholders to see themselves in the work and to dream.
According to Harvard ManageMentor, there are three ways to effectively communicate a vision:
- Repeat yourself. To rally people around your vision, you need to remind them of your message and reinforce what you are trying to achieve. Don't worry about sounding like a broken record.
- Make it two-way. Don't pick up a megaphone. Be sure to create dialogue around your message so that people hear it and understand it.
- Put out calls to action. Don't just tell people what you imagine for the future, ask for their help in making it a reality. Be specific about what you want people to do and why.
Share the results. If your mission is to provide low-interest loans to citizens of third world debtor nations, and your vision includes whole communities becoming self-sustaining, then constantly document and celebrate that work as it happens. Make the vision real.
How do you communicate your vision?
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