At the core of leadership sits the driving power of vision. Vision, Bill Hybels has said, is “the most potent offensive weapon in the leader’s arsenal.” Why? Because people cannot follow something they cannot see.
Understanding and defining your vision is not an easy task. As a leader, you need to clearly understand your vision before you can articulate it for those you lead. Many of the leaders I coach appreciate the help I give them in talking through and defining their vision. Leaders are rarely able to come up with a vision on their own. Getting help from a team, mentor, colleague or coach is often necessary and helpful.
This is not easy. But according to a recent Harvard Business Review article, being forward-looking and thinking (having a vision) is precisely what sets leaders apart from non-leaders.
What is a vision? Where does it come from? A vision is born out of dissatisfaction of the way things are and seeing a picture of the way things could be. It carries with it a sense of discontent with the way things are, and conviction that things need to change. Vision has many definitions but the ones I like are:
- “A picture of the future that produces passion in people” (Bill Hybels again) or
- “A clear mental picture of what could be, fueled by the conviction that it should be.” (Andy Stanley)
- A preferred future.
- A destination.
- BusinessDictionary.com says a vision statement is: “An aspirational description of what an organization would like to achieve or accomplish in the mid-term or long-term future.”
Great change begins with vision. A desire to change the things that are not the way they should be. What is that for you? What needs to change in your organization, the team you lead, or your own life?
The heart of great leadership is the ability to craft and articulate a compelling and meaningful vision. The question then becomes: how clear, tangible, inspiring and motivating is your vision for yourself and your organization?
How can you articulate a vision? Begin with this simple formula: Identity + Values + Purpose = Vision
Identity – Who do you believe you really are? What you want your most important stakeholders, customers and employees to say about who you are? How do you want to be known by them? Seek out honest feedback on this—you may not clearly understand how others perceive you.
Values – What is most important to you? What do you stand for? What is most important for your company to stand for in its marketplace and/or business world?
Purpose – Why are you here? Given who you are and what is important to you, why is your company or organization here in the world? What is its contribution to the marketplace or economy?
Vision – A compelling future that is meaningful in the present and built upon a confluence of your identity, purpose and values. Where are you heading? Where is the company heading? Based on the defined values, identity and purpose, what is the company world going to be like in the next five years?
Once you’ve established your vision, you need to clearly communicate it. From there, you can go on to determine your mission, and move toward it.
What gets in the way of articulating and understanding your vision? What do you find most challenging about crafting a vision statement? Leave a comment below and let us know.
