People with a vision have a 3-dimensional view of what they want to achieve – success however, is not automatic, they must keep their vision in focus.
When the vision is seen, articulated or mapped out, people are usually:
- energised by the opportunities;
- passionate about the direction;
- invested in seeing it come alive;
- collaborative with each other; and
- innovative in their thinking;
It is no wonder why people with a vision are exciting to be around – it’s because they have a concept that they can see 3 dimensionally, all facets of the vision is clear in their mind.
Which begs the question – how much of your vision do you see to keep the vision in focus?
Leaders who keep their vision top of mind ask themselves questions like:
- Do I see how employees connect with the company vision…?
- Can I see how the market responds to our brand…?
- How will I need to manage your team not only now but in 2, 5, 10 years time…?
- Am I clear on the culture of my organisation to support the vision…?
- What does being successful mean to my personal life…?
- What innovations can we set as a new trend…?
- What new skill sets will I need to continually lead this successfully?
Often these such questions are overlooked by CEOs in the hustle and bustle – and those elements of the original 3-dimensional image can slowly start to fade in favour of other seemingly more urgent matters.
The organisation, therefore, becomes ‘just another business’, diminishes its an expression of the original message as people get bogged down in ‘keep things running’.
One particular franchise owner had this problem of ‘the fading vision’ (and corresponding fading motivation). He had bought the business with excitement, passion, and commitment just like every other business owner had done before him – but issues that are just synonymous with running a business got the better of him and the business was losing sales and profits fast.
He contended with challenges of:
- long hours;
- staffing issues;
- losing market share;
- brand presence; and
- effects of poor leadership skills.
The solution for him just as it is for every leader is focused on closing the gaps in skills – whether management or leadership related to aligning people and strategy with the vision of the organisation.
That is:
- Keeping your leadership team connected with the vision;
- Maintaining frontline customer engagement strategies;
- Developing your own leadership skills in vision management; and
- Continuing to grow a strong employee engagement culture;
The success or failure of any enterprise is how successfully you can lead others to translate the vision through the core filters of 1. Management Teams; 2. Employee Culture; 3. Customer Experience and 4. Leadership Development.
Every leader should complete a Vision Alignment Diagnostic at least once a year to determine how well your people and your strategy is aligned with the vision. Contact Ilse on 0427 355 138 or e-mail ilse@purposesync.com to arrange a meeting.
