Where there is no Vision, the people perish.

This Proverb succinctly states the truth about the need for vision. We all need and have vision of some sort. The better the vision, the better the performance and result. But where there is no vision, people wither away and cease to be engaged in their work. Without vision people won't find meaningful solutions to problems, but will rather just get by to get through the day.

Vision tells us where we are going & why we do what we do, every day.

How can we accomplish our goals, if our goals are not clearly defined and thoroughly understood by every employee?

Setting a Vision

by Mike Figliuolo

Setting a Vision text

As you're leading the thinking for your team, your responsibility as the leader is to set a direction. You need to paint a clear and compelling picture of what you're trying to get the team to build, because if they don't have direction, they don't understand how their role, and the work that they do contributes to the greater good of the organization. The more clearly you're able to articulate that vision of a future state, the more excited you can have the members of your team be about how their contributions drive to that ultimate end state. You need to lay out what should we do and why should we do it. For example, I run a very small training firm out of Columbus, Ohio, but I've laid out a vision for our organization that we're going to be a global firm of uniquely skilled executives who teach managers around the world to be great leaders. Now, you say, that's pretty audacious for some guy from Columbus, Ohio to say he's building a global firm that helps managers become great leaders. But you know what, that vision is really compelling, and we're acting on it. This maxim drives the behavior of the members of my team, and it helps me make decisions. So as we have opportunities to work with large global corporations, we jump on those. When we can better understand our clients needs around the world, we're better equipped to meet them, and laying out this vision for somebody who is going to come work with me, or think about working with me, can help inspire them, and help them understand this is what we're all collectively building toward. So, as you think about laying out a vision for your team, it doesn't have to be some big corporate strategy that you're laying out. I worked with a vice-president of operations recently at an electric utility, and the vision they laid out is we're going to be the safest, most productive, electric utility in the United States. It was very clear. Safest and most productive. They said where they played, in the United States, in a particular industry. Now, you may be saying, gee, that's a really big scope, and my team is smaller than that. You can still lay out a vision for your organization. I knew a finance team that said, we are in the business of turning data into insights into impact, and again, it helped the members of that finance team realize, we don't just crunch numbers and pull reports, we're actually generating insights that can drive the business forward, and the members of that team were much more energized because they understood that the reports they generated would show up in business results. So as you think about laying out the vision for your organization, think about what is the purpose of this team? What is the work that we actually do, and what is the impact that we want that work to have? Not just within our team, but across the broader organization. Then think about how do you make that exciting? How do you make it something compelling where people are going to be really fulfilled coming to the office and contributing to that broader vision? Once you've done that, distill it down to small, simple words that anybody can understand, and then bounce it off the members of your team. Ask them, are you committed to this? Are you excited about building this, and when everybody across the team is generally saying, yeah, that'll be really cool and exciting to build, you've generated your maxim for articulating the vision of that team, and where you're going.

"You need to paint a clear and compelling picture of what you're trying to get the team to build..."

"Visions can be developed down to the team level"

"Ask: 'What is our purpose?'"

"Make it compelling."

"Use simple words."

"Get input from your team."

Setting a Vision and Mission

by Mike Figliuolo

Setting a Vision and Mission text

As you go to set the direction for your high-performing team, you'll need to articulate both a vision and a mission for the organization.

A vision provides a clear picture of where you're going as an organization. It articulates what you want to be and I encourage people to look three to five years out. Anything less than three ends up being too tactical and if you're looking beyond five years, it's pretty hard for people to see that far into the future and see it as a possibility. As you articulate this vision statement, it should be something that's ambitious, but realistically possible. And that's a fine balance between the two. You want the ambitious part so the team has something to reach for. But if it's not realistic, the team may look at it and say well there's no way we can achieve that, and they won't get behind it. That vision also needs to be something that's worth doing and can win people's commitment. It needs to resonate on an emotional level. They need to look at that vision and say I'm really excited if we can achieve that and I want to be part of reaching that goal. The vision also needs to be differentiated from your competitors. You're trying to carve a space out in the marketplace that says here's why we're better and here's why we're going to win. And last, that vision needs to be concise. A few critical words and no buzz words. Those long visions that take up an entire page and you walk away from it saying I don't really know where we're going, are ones that are only going to serve to confuse and frustrate the team. So precision of your words is critical here.

Once you've laid out that vision, you also need to lay out a corresponding mission. That mission is a statement that is a cultural reflection of the values and beliefs and philosophy of the organization. It tells people, this is why we exist. You're also going to, in that mission, articulate how your organization creates value for your customers or for the broader organization. The mission needs to be clear, brief and understandable by all employees at all levels of your organization. It should also be clear enough that outsiders can come in, hear your mission, and understand I know how this team contributes to the broader whole. You have to clearly specify what business the organization is in. And even if you run an internal team that serves only internal customers, you should still be able to articulate this is how my team creates value. And that mission needs to be worded so it can serve as a rallying point for the people in your organization. And then they know how they're going to contribute to the broader whole.

 "A vision provides a clear picture of where you're going as an organization."

"Once you've laid out that vision, you also need to lay out a corresponding mission."

"The mission needs to be clear, brief and understandable by all employees at all levels of your organization."

Creating a Vision

by Dan Crenshaw

Creating a Vision text

The first step toward achieving your goals is to create a vision that's as vibrant and clear in your mind as possible. There are many studies confirming that athletes who continually visualize their goals achieve a great deal of success. When you establish a very clear vision in your mind and make it as real for yourself as possible, your goal will become more meaningful and more motivational to you. However, many people either don't know where to begin or don't have a clear understanding of what they really want in life. I've provided a worksheet to help you in this process. At the top of this worksheet, you'll see the statement "These are the things I must accomplish in order to feel successful on," with a blank space for a date one year from now. To be fully motivated, set goals for things you feel you must accomplish. If you list things that you would merely like to accomplish, you'll find it much harder to stay motivated. The stronger the desire, the more likely you'll achieve your goals. Notice in the instructions, the terms "become," "do," and "have." Each part of your vision will fall into one of those three categories: either who you want to become as a person, what you want to do, or something that you want to have in your life. Let's follow one example. Imagine I feel I must complete a marathon one year from now. First, I want to describe that thoroughly. One way to think about that is to imagine that I've taken a time machine one year into the future. I step out. I take a picture of myself. What is that vision like? How will I feel? In this example, I might say, "I will have run a marathon successfully and I will feel better about myself and be healthier than I have ever been in my life." I could provide more detail than that, but that's enough for our example. Next, you'll see an important question to answer about this vision: why you know you will be successful in becoming, doing, or having this. There's an important reason for this question. Many brain-science experts and psychologists have found that the moment you introduce a new idea in your brain, its tendency is to give you many reasons why you should not or cannot accomplish this idea. To get past this, we want to consider why this goal is attainable. By framing the question as a why, and then the answer as because, the brain will come up with reasons why it can and will become true. In my example, I'll be successful in my first marathon because I'm using this goal-setting system, because I'm committed to the process, and because it's something I've dreamed of my whole life. I would list as many reasons why I know I will succeed as I can think of. The more supporting reasons you can list, the stronger your commitment to this vision will be. You'll repeat this process for up to five things that you want to accomplish in the next year. I recommend that you do not list more than five and ideally have less than five things that you will accomplish within one year. Why? Well, simply put, by focusing on a few concrete objectives, the more likely you are to succeed. Once you've created this vision, put it some place were you can see it regularly. You may even want to frame and put it in a prominent place in your home, or office. This vision is the foundation for your success in achieving your goals, so you want to keep it in view always. Once you've written out your vision, we're ready to move on toward actually achieving it.

Download Vision Worksheet.

"There are many studies confirming that athletes who continually visualize their goals achieve a great deal of success."

"When you establish a very clear vision in your mind...your goal will become more meaningful and more motivational to you. "