Blog about Leadership

The Leader’s Vision

Last week, I wrote Dreams, Goals, Planning, and the Decisions that Matter with the core message that dreams can become reality through implementing long-term goals with sound planning and decisions.  I want to build on that with the business and leadership focus on vision.

Leadership quote from Allen Pathmarajah:
“The difference between vision and hallucination is action.”

3 Steps to a Successful Vision:

1. Have a Vision

Many corporations and organizations have a corporate vision.  These are usually developed by top management and reflect the long-term goals for the company.

This vision should be definite, but broad.  It is better to say that company is seeking to have the largest market share in its industry or to develop the highest quality products than to merely say the company is seeking to be the best.

2. Communicate the Vision

A corporate vision is a top-down message.  Top managers from the CEO and COO to the department directors should communicate the vision.  There should be publications (posters, newsletters, and email messages) that make the vision known by everyone in the company.

3. Take Action on the Vision

As Allen Pathmarajah notes, the vision is useless to the company if it is not acted upon.  To ensure the vision gets needed action:

A. Keep the vision up to date, fresh, and relevant.

The vision should be continually reviewed, updated, and kept relevant.  If the company has achieved the largest market share, then the vision should be changed to “sustain the largest market share.”

B. Continually communicate the vision.

It is not enough for one newsletter to communicate the vision.  If the last time your employees read or heard about the visions was three years ago when the new CEO put it out, then your employees have forgotten about it.

C. Demonstrate what the company is doing.

There should be evidence of how the vision is implemented within the organization.  This evidence should be shown and communicated with the vision.  The words of the vision should be exemplified through the activities of the company.  This is the “how to” message from the CEO to every manager.

For more on action, read Ready, set…Action and Do Something.

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