Vision That Matters
Do you have a vision that matters?
The one line vision statement may well be the worst management and personal development practice of all time as it has created a view that one sentence tells the whole story and as we all are discovering you can only say so much in the 140 characters Twitter gives us.
Problems with vision
There are many obstacles to creating a vision that matters and they include:
- Vision is much more than a one line statement;
- People think vision is for the leaders and just a top down responsibility;
- People understand and learn in different ways;
- Some people are short term some long term;
- Some people engage with detail others are more abstract;
- We think we are too busy to think about the future;
- Vision has a bad reputation due to poor past experiences and bad leadership;
- People see vision as a work activity not something for their private life; and,
- Personal, partner and professional vision is not linked.
These obstacles result in:
- Without personal vision good relationships are hard to form as there is a lack of active choice to participate or clarity about what is desired and expected;
- Wasted time and effort due to lack of vision or ineffective vision;
- People who “see” in other ways are left out as the vision is one dimensional and fails to account for different types of learners and thinkers;
- Poor results, disappointment, blame and resentment when results aren’t what we like;
- Poor organisational and personal performance;
- Opportunities are not seen nor taken;
- A lack of control leaves us vulnerable to others and we later discover we don’t like what happens;
- Change is hard to deal with as we don’t understand why; and,
- We have little motivation and no reason for learning and improvement.
It does not have to be this way
When we have a vision that matters we experience:
- Personal Success;
- Professional success;
- Powerful relationships;
- We see and act on opportunities;
- Connection with multiple types of people and perspectives;
- Making the future happen with better actions;
- Motivation and commitment;
- Shared understanding, less mistakes and waste;
- More time and energy for what matters;
- Preparation for multiple scenarios; and,
- Leveraging what we do today for results tomorrow.
What is in a Vision That Matters
In the introduction it was suggested that a vision that matters is much more than a one line statement. A vision That matters include:
- Purpose;
- Values;
- A description of the desired future including tangible and intangible aspects;
- Current reality;
- Strategy, and,
- Beliefs, assumptions and the underlying thinking.
To be effective purpose, values, the desired future, strategy and underlying thinking must be compatible and when two or more people are involved a shared understanding and commitment is required.
How do we present a Vision That Matters?
People learn, understand and connect in multiple ways and so the description of the future we want to create should combine the numbers, measures of success, milestones and other “concrete” information as well as more abstract descriptions and a sense of how the success will feel and how it will be described by others.
Vision that matters needs to be presented in multiple formats to connect with diverse personalities including:
- Writing;
- Pictures;
- Conversation;
- Posters;
- Online;
- Speeches;
- Workshops;
- Meetings; and,
- In action each day.
Seven Steps to Vision That Matters
The seven steps to developing a vision that matters are:
- Decide to do it;
- Consider who needs to be involved;
- Determine the process you will use and who can help;
- Create the content of a vision that matters;
- Create multiple formats for understanding your vision that matters;
- Take action to implement; and,
- Listen, learn and update.
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