I had a toy as a kid that I thought was super-cool at the time.
It was a remote control car that had the ability to make three-point turns when it collided with something. I set it loose in the kitchen. It spun until it hit the oven, then immediately backed up at an angle and went 90 degrees to the left again until it hit the cabinets.
Once again, a three-point turn in the other direction until it hits the refrigerator; and so on. Fun for a while, but the car never left the kitchen.
I have observed many teams play out the “remote control car syndrome” every day in their workplace. Without a leader who clearly outlines a vision—a path toward a goal—the team clashes with each other, stepping on each other’s toes or moving forward with false starts and quickly reversing their steps.
They may even think they are agile, spinning quickly when they hit an obstacle.
But they never leave the kitchen. They can never experience the rush of success. And, sadly, those employees who crave clarity get sick of banging their heads against walls and eventually leave the team.
Those who stay turn into a self-serving bureaucracy.
The wise Solomon declared: “Without vision, men perish (run away).
I also believe that followers are desperately trying to understand where their leaders are taking them. I’ve seen employees flex and light up when their leader hosts a full meeting and lays out the exciting vision for the year ahead.
If you were to ask your team if they knew where your organization is going, would they say yes and be able to define it as one voice? Entrepreneurs, if you’re wondering what your one-year plan is, can you do it now?
Research says that managers spend less than 3% of their time looking into the future. So let’s be honest: It’s hard to get to the vision time (working on the business) when you’re in the flow of your to-do list (working on the business).
However, we know if we are crystal clear with our vision, we are enlivened.
And, it’s been said that when employees believe in what they’re doing, they’ll walk through the doors for you.
Why? Because they forget themselves and feel like they are making a difference. They know why they work.
Author John Maxwell’s Law of the Compass: “Vision gives team members direction and confidence.”
If you are a leader, accept the role of vision maker.
The difference between a leader and a follower is the percentage of time spent looking ahead.
You can build your visionary muscle by finding a visionary leader in the Tri-Cities or your industry and picking their brain. You can also read biographies of visionary leaders.
It starts with creating the vision. When I talk about this topic, I take out my binoculars and say that a leader must first see the vision clearly before sending it to the team.
Here are five tips for creating the vision:
- Determine where you stand and why you can’t stay there together. “Reality without vision destroys possibility: vision without reality destroys credibility,” said author Robert Quinn. The same kind of thinking that got you here will not keep you growing. You need to show why your organization can no longer stay “here” and must follow the journey to “there”.
- Dream about where you want to take your organization. What’s the fire in your belly? Visions stay with you; you can’t shake them. Vision is a picture of the future.
- Build relationships with your constituency and then listen. Join people, have lunch with them, work alongside them in their role for a bit. Manage by wandering around, being present and being an observer.
Find the common aspirations of your constituents. This is the preliminary work to buy the vision. It’s not just your vision; it will be a shared vision.
One-on-one, ask why people keep working for you and why people keep buying from you. Keep listening posts. Ask three questions: What things should we stop doing (or do less of)? What things should we start doing (or do more of)? What do we continue to do well?
- Conduct focus groups. Look for emerging patterns. A great idea is nothing more than three or four good ideas put together. And you get three or four good ideas by listening. Think more. A vision is outside of your current comfort zone, so you need to become more comfortable with the unknown/unknown, but within a delusional zone.
Then, once you have everyone’s ideas:
- Draft a collective vision statement. It is expressed in words (broadly) what your team/organization will look like if they are fulfilling their mission. The statement should have three components: who, behavior/action, evoked values.
It must be convincing. Don’t waste time casting visions that are irrelevant. No vanilla visions!
A clear vision is:
- A destination: a place we want to go, appealing to the team’s long-term interests.
- Visual: being able to picture it in our minds.
- Simple: very focused and compelling, inspiring enthusiasm, clear enough to provide guidance.
- Challenging but realistic: an achievable, ambitious stretch that aims for high standards of excellence that raises everyone’s water level and aligns with the collective personality of our organization.
To avoid obstacles and other bumps in the road, take the time to map out a clear forward vision for your business and your team to ensure the smoothest journey into the future.
Paul D. Casey lives in the Tri-Cities and is the owner of Growing Forward Services, which aims to equip and coach leaders and teams to drive great success. Casey has written five books and hosts Leader-Launcher.com for emerging leaders every month. Online at growingforwardservices.net.
