Sharing a compelling vision for your organization’s year ahead, your team’s work priorities or your family’s vacation is a differentiator. When a community clearly understands why something is happening and how it will unfold, shit gets done and people have fun doing it together. But creating a vision isn’t easy and sharing a powerful story that inspires action can be tough for leaders. Here are seven strategies for creating an awesome vision.
Start with why
Everything begins with why. Just ask Simon Sinek, who has written several books and participated in a thousand YouTube videos about the idea. You can also ask my toddler, but then you’ll find yourself in a different, circular kind of discussion about why a table is not called a brontosaurus. Before people will listen to your vision – let alone follow you towards it – they need to understand why it’s required and why it’s relevant (more on that later). According to the Canadian Management Centre’s Mumtaz Chaudary, a well-articulated case for why something needs to change (or why it doesn’t) connects and inspires communities.
Be inclusive
Understand that your vision isn’t really your vision. Great ideas always reflect many peoples’ perspectives. “Constituents want visions of the future that reflect their own aspirations,” argue HBR’s James M. Kouzes and Barry Posner. “They want to hear how their dreams will come true and their hopes will be fulfilled.” By harvesting peoples’ ideas, hopes, fears, and questions as you construct your vision of the future it becomes easier for folks to see themselves in the experience. It’s also an effective way to accelerate buy-in and move things forward.
Be clear
When it comes to setting a compelling vision I usually get derailed by two things. First, I think and speak really fast and lose people if I don’t check that we’re on the same page. Second, at times I struggle to translate complex ideas into simple and concrete examples that people can test for themselves. I’m inspired by David Rock and his team at the NeuroLeadership Institute as well as Google CEO Sundar Pichai for how they favour white space over bullet points and text-heavy graphs. When I use a whiteboard or share a few images with simple explanatory phrases about my ideas two things happen: first, I slow down, which makes it easier to follow my thinking; second, I paint a picture (almost literally) with images and concepts that are accessible, which makes it easy for everyone to understand.
Be inspirational
“Wow! Your vision of reasonably tweaking the status quo makes me want to show up early and stay late for the same pay!” Said nobody ever. “Visions should provide a sense of aspiration, they should stretch imagination,” says Fast Company’s Daniel W. Rasmus. “They should describe the state of the organization, across its functions, not rush to summary. Different parts of an organization may have different visions.” My contagious enthusiasm and childlike sense of wonder are superpowers that I bring to bear when sharing a vision. Think about how to demonstrate sincere excitement as you share the idea because people want to follow leaders who see the future as hopeful and better.
Be honest
People want to work with honest colleagues and honest leaders. During a recent phone call my sister and I were discussing how to lead teams through difficult experiences. She noted that a thing her team appreciates about her leadership style is that she is honest about what’s going to be difficult, political and/or nearly impossible on the journey ahead. When adversity is a known factor and not a terrifying surprise on a project or a trip then people will be more prepared for the experience. They’ll also feel more connected to each other as they steel themselves for the bumps ahead.
Be open
The thing about a great vision is that it’s shared with others, which means that you will need to be open to the idea evolving and, perhaps, even changing a little bit right after you pitch it. If you’ve prepared properly then the changes won’t be major (if you launch your vision for your team’s work to your manager and she stares at you like Emma Stone stares at her stupid lawyer boyfriend in Crazy Stupid Love then you have bigger problems). Since a bold vision of the future – whether it’s a community plan or a family trip – is dependent on different forces at play, such as budgets or weather, then it might need to adapt as circumstances shift. Acknowledging these factors and demonstrating your flexibility will reflect the open mindedness and thoughtfulness that you are bringing to your big idea.
Make it personal
Congratulations! Your vision is almost sticking. What will inspire people to connect with the idea is how much of themselves they see in what you’re sharing. Simple, inclusive statements or words like “we”, “us”, and “our” (instead of “my” or “they”) will help to align personal interests with the bigger picture. You can also think of specific examples of how a team member or folks doing a particular kind of work will be impacted by your vision for the future.
For example, as I set out my vision for the future of learning at Vancity, people are naturally more engaged when I describe ways that the change will impact their work and the value they bring to our organization. “We are shifting from subject matter experts who teach ideas to people in classrooms to curators of content who empower teachers throughout the organization and in our communities” is how I will begin conversations about how things will change over the next few years. “So, let’s talk about what this means for you” is usually what I’ll say next followed by “what’s on your mind?” Because the stickiest, most compelling visions align self interest with shared success.