FIRST STEP TO GREAT LEADERSHIP CREATING A COMPELLING VISION

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1 FIRST STEP TO GREAT LEADERSHIP CREATING A COMPELLING VISION Would you tell me, please which way I ought to go from here? she asked.. That depends a good deal on where you want to get to, was the reply. I don t much care where -- she said. Then, it doesn t matter which way you go. That excerpt comes from Alice in Wonderland. The scene is when Alice comes to a crossroads and discovers the Cheshire cat perched in a tree. It s a poignant reminder that the path we take will determine our destination. Whether it s the path that we are taking for ourselves, or the one we want to lead our organization on, it really does matter where we want to go. Let s look at it another way. Every person and every organization travels in time, right? No matter what happens inside your company with your people, you will end up somewhere in the course of the next month or the next year. So where will it be? Well, like Alice, it depends on what path you take. Most companies have places they want to go. Typically, companies will say they want to go to a place where they will have increased sales, lowered costs, new markets, new systems, upgraded equipment, etc. These might be considered objectives or goals. But are these goals part of a bigger mission or vision? Sometimes they are, and sometimes they re not. Does it really matter? I think it does. Let me illustrate with a little story. I call it the Bus Story. Some people may eagerly hop on the bus. Others will probably be more hesitant. They ll ask things like, Where is the bus going? Don t you think they should know where you re taking them? Think about it. If you were to go to the bus station and ask a bus driver, where is this bus going? And the bus driver replied, We re going to drive around a bit. We re headed north, but there s no set destination. We ll see how the trip goes and play it by ear. Is that a bus you want to hop on? Probably not. Well guess what, that s how your people feel when you haven t determined where you are taking your company and where they re headed on the company bus. So, the first thing you ll have to do as the company bus driver is pick a destination. Let s say we re in Atlanta, GA and we want to go to Washington, D.C.

2 Let me explain what happens to most company bus drivers. You ll get some people that say, You know what I don t really like bus rides they make me sick/they re not comfortable/i don t feel safe/etc. I ll just follow you in my car. You end up starting your trip to Washington with some people in the bus and a caravan of cars following behind. At first, you think well this is ok. We re all headed to Washington. Well, you hop on Interstate 85 North and you only make it about 20 miles until you get stuck in traffic. There s an accident ahead, so you re just crawling along. A couple of the cars take the Route 23 exit when they can.

3 They know that Route 23 will take them north, so they can get off the interstate for a while, enjoy some different scenery and get past the traffic snarl. Well, eventually the traffic clears up. The bus and the remaining caravan make it about as far as Greenville, SC and a couple of the cars pull off at an exit. They want to take a break and get something to eat. I guess you can see by now that when people follow in their cars, they almost never arrive in Washington at the same time. Sometimes the people in the cars never even make it to Washington. They took an off-ramp and exited the route because they found something more inviting or distracting along the way. Most companies and leaders think that telling people where the bus is going is enough. Wouldn t you like to believe that your people would automatically want to jump on the bus? The company takes a trip every year, shouldn t everyone know what to do by now? The fact is, that each year the trip is different. It s to some strange new place and the company always wants to get there in a hurry. It s not always fun. People argue on the bus as to what s the best route to take, there s

4 jockeying for the window seats in the front of the bus, etc. After a while, it just seems easier for some of your people to say, Forget the bus, I ll drive. In any organization, there are always gaps to close. The distance between where we are or our origination city and where we want to go, our destination city. Do you and your people know exactly where you are trying to go? And how should they know? One of the most important responsibilities of a leader is to shape and communicate the vision to everyone in the organization. Let me share a quote with you from Father Theodore Hesburgh, the former President of Notre Dame University. The very essence of leadership is you have to have a vision. It s got to be a vision you articulate clearly and forcefully on every occasion. You can t blow an uncertain trumpet. A simple and understandable vision is essential since delegation to and empowerment of your people depend on a shared understanding of the organizational purpose. A vision should honor the past (all those cities your bus has visited before), but prepare for the future (with an eye on future destination cities). Most importantly, a vision must be lived. If your vision is not lived every day in every way, it will be hollow and empty. It will not empower anyone. In fact, it may do more harm than good. And you ll find more people not wanting to ride on your bus. They ll want to take their own cars. Creating an effective vision is no simple task. A vision should be succinct, clear, and exciting. It should guide the organization and everyone in it while leaving wide latitude to pursue new opportunities. So there are actually two things we must do. We must create that Vision. In other words, we must determine where we are taking the bus. Then we must communicate it effectively so that everyone wants to get on the same bus to get there. Let s start with understanding how to create the vision and come up with a vision statement. The vision is a statement of your company s potential. It is a statement of what your company can become. When your vision is effectively communicated to all employees, it should provide a common focus and direction. Your vision should be concise and meaningful. It should be derived from examining your values and principles and what you want your company to be in the future. Since your vision will guide your company into the future, it is critical that it is well crafted and meaningful to all your employees. To make it powerful and useful, work hard on editing it down to its bare essentials. In other words, boil it down to what is memorable and poignant. An effective and Compelling Vision will be: 1. Based on an insightful analysis of the present situation facing the organization 2. A good choice from well-considered options

5 3. Appealing to deep desires of those who work within the organization 4. A clear statement of the motivating force that drives the organization forward 5. Achievable To help you determine your Vision, some of the questions you can ask: What do you want your organization to look like in the future (next 3-5 years)? What is your organization especially good at? How are you doing competitively? What changes do you expect to see in the demand for your products or services over the next five years? What other organizations do you consider ahead of you? What do these more successful organizations have that you don t? What do you use to judge success and are you satisfied that you are measuring important criteria? Please note that these are just some of the questions. There are many more to take into account such as your internal strengths and weaknesses, industry and cultural trends, competitor s positions, etc. Once you ve determined your vision, there are six key elements needed to effectively communicate it. And get your people on the same bus. 1. Keep it simple. Eliminate trite expressions, techno-gobble, or jargon. Example: We are going to become faster than anyone in our industry in responding to and satisfying customer needs. 2. Use metaphors, analogies and examples. Paint verbal pictures so people can picture and visualize where they are going. 3. Use multiple forums. Utilize big and small meetings, memos, articles, as well as formal and informal interactions. 4. Incorporate repetition. Ideas sink in deeply only after they have been heard many times. 5. Lead by example. Behavior must be consistent with the vision since we believe what we see more than what we hear. If speed is being promoted, don t take six months to approve a capital request. If cost reduction is important, don t expensively redecorate the CEO s office. 6. Give and take. Two-way communication is always more powerful than one-way communication. Listen and be listened to. By listening, you may find out about a better route, a short cut on your journey.

6 We ve covered two common mistakes that companies make with regard to their vision that keep them from reaching their potential. First, they fail to clearly articulate one. Second, they fail to communicate it effectively. There s another huge mistake that can derail all the efforts you may make to overcome the first two mistakes. It s failing to make sure that all employees activities support and are in alignment with the vision. Continued: Next Step: Creating A Mission article. Ann W. Rosser CEO Finding Resolution, LLC