Without leadership people flounder.
In my previous post I shared about a coaching session I had with a client who wanted to set a clear, compelling and captivating direction for their business. I referred to this as a vision that was powerful.
To me a business vision can be described as powerful when:
(i) the achievement of it seems almost impossible
(ii) your team buys in to it and believe they can make it happen
(iii) it is visible around the office
(iv) the owner of the business is seen to be leading the charge
Today I want to share some thoughts and challenge you to address your vision. Last time I discussed the first point, today the second.
TEAM BUY IN
Some business leaders feel they can print a vision statement and hang it on the wall and then declare it implemented. How wrong they are. Worse than that would be sending a group email to all staff advising them of the new vision and requesting participation. I know you wouldn’t dream of doing something so stupid, would you?!
Your people are your greatest asset. That means you have to treat them that way, respect their perpective and input, and invite them into the journey. The way you do that is referred to as “casting vision”. This phrase has been popularized by modern writers and is an age-old truth handed down since the writings of King Solomon. This phrase, casting vision, refers to the process a leader engages themselves in to bring unity and cohesiveness so that everyone accepts the vision and moves forward as one combined force towards the destination.
Sharing vision with your team is more than speaking it out, it’s more like selling it. Take my family, for instance. If I have the “vision” to go the beach for the weekend I have to convince them its a good idea so they come along willingly. (Many of you parents know how unenjoyable a weekend away with grumpy teenagers can be!) While the idea of going to the beach for the weekend sounds like an easy vision to sell to my family, your vision should also sound like a great idea that people would want to be involved in! Surely you’re not planning to set a vision to be the worst employer in town with a bad reputation – no way! What I mean by this is you should have an easy sell to the team to get them on board.
The way to NOT get them on board is to assume that they will come for the ride, even of you don’t ask them. Like most assumptions, that’s a bad assumption to make. As I’ve learned with my family, don’t drag them along, invite them along and “sell” how much fun its going to be and how rewarding the result will be.
In conclusion, Team Buy In to your vision will make it powerful. Here’s what my client is finding; as they bring staff in for discussion meetings and invite open-minded thinking to the table for the development of strategy people are getting excited. They’re talking about the future of the business during lunch, they’re swapping ideas over coffee, and they’re approaching the owners with suggestions they have about how the business can be improved so that it can reach the desired future. Wouldn’t you love that in your business?
Next time I’ll discuss how important the visibility of your vision is, and I might not say it the way you think!
