Leadership: What Vision? Part 4

Vision, vision, vision. We here this term thrown around everywhere in the "business" world. A company must have vision. A CEO must have vision. Corporations do not go anywhere fast if there is no vision.

I liken it to my car. I have a great little car. It has a strong motor, all wheel drive, new tires, etc. But if I can't see out the windshield I won't get very far. Also, if I don't have a plan as to where I am going, I may go somewhere but it might not be of any use to me. I need a place, a destination to aim for, then I have to be able see how to get there.

That's how I see "vision." It can't just be a catchy statement about your group. It can't just point you in a direction. It must give destination, and provide a way to see how to get there. The best visions are closely related to goals: attainable yet challenging.

Look if a vision sets such a lofty goal, that it seems impossible, then you may be sabotaging yourself before you ever get started. This is a motivation killer. On the other hand if it isn't challenging enough, you won't get much out of your team. Again there is a motivation killer at play. So a vision must be attainable, accomplishable, not too far out of reach.  But it must also be challenging, give a mark to reach for, pull the best out of yourself and those around you, and give something to work hard toward.

Will Mancini frames vision as 4 parts: mission, values, strategy, measures. Mission is the what: What are we doing? Values are the motive: Why are we doing it? Strategy is the map: How are we doing it? Measures are the mark: When are we successful?

As leaders we often have passion and giftedness in one of these areas, maybe two. But almost never in all 4 areas. We must therefore gather those around us who can help us to define, communicate, and put action steps around each of these 4 elements. Without this, we may have a nice statement to go along with the company name, that has absolutely nothing to do with day to day operations, much less the future.

Which of these 4 parts to the vision are you currently employing? Which one is your organization lacking? Where are your strengths? What is your biggest weakness? Is there someone on your team that can help in an area that is lacking or do you need to bring in outside help? Can most of your leadership accurately quote and frame their work via the vision?