Francis Wade | The right level of vision for the right time

As a leader, you care about offering staff a lofty vision to follow. As such, your company has a vision statement, but unfortunately it has zero impact. How can you craft and communicate a future that inspires?

Situation: You are a recently promoted CEO who has inherited the usual vision statement. Like almost all others, it has never inspired you or your staff to engage in new behaviours.

Yet, you do not lack a personal picture of the future. As a highly accomplished individual, you are driven by it. Perhaps it may not be in words, but you are energised by what could happen if it were embraced by stakeholders.

However, your next steps are unclear. Should you just convert your intrinsic future into a new vision statement? Here is a novel angle on the perennial challenge of engaging staff when you are already highly motivated.

Understand the way true vision works.

At a superficial level, an active vision alters how we experience the present. For example, a Sunday evening at a nice hotel feels worse than a Friday afternoon in the office. Why? Our anticipation of the future transforms our perception of the moment.

You have experienced this phenomenon, and it’s what you want for your stakeholders. If you could inspire them, perhaps a few would stand out. They’d be the ones sacrificing discretionary time, rather than just working to pay their bills.

But can a vision statement produce this game-changing outcome? No. Instead, here’s the process I recommend to clients. It begins with the definition of a ‘Level 1 vision’.

Don’t start small

Most organisations begin by creating a Level 1 Vision – a written summary consisting of a few paragraphs. Inevitably, the words end up being vague. Wistful, generic and not to be taken seriously. ‘Someday-ish’.

Half the managers think: ‘We have already reached that’.

A better approach would be to treat the statement like a headline leading to a longer, more substantial description of the future. But where can this greater detail be found?

In most companies, it’s non-existent. To remedy the situation, follow this formula.

Conduct an offsite with your leadership team and choose a deadline 15 to 30 years from now. Describe the desired outcomes, a picture of the future in that year. It should only be a few pages long and could include images, videos, or any other media required to bring your team’s imagination into focus.

But never do this exercise alone.

If you involve your leadership team, you should feel a joint sense of inspiration and momentum building. After all, it encompasses all the good things the C-suite wants to accomplish.

Unfortunately, this ‘Level 2 vision’ is where many organisations stop. As such, they end up with a list of outcomes that are unlimited … and therefore unrealistic. No one believes they can all be achieved, even over a long-term horizon.

Consequently, initial optimism quickly sours into cynicism and despair, sometimes within just a few days. People may start referring to it as ‘The CEO’s wish list’ in a sarcastic tone.

So, don’t stop here. Continue the offsite.

From inspiration to credibility

In the next step, convert the Level 2 vision into a combined, realistic set of targets supported by a conservative strategic plan.

To be realistic, this means that your team must engage in some difficult conversations. This is the only way to resolve different points of view. Approach these negotiations with the help of a facilitator to ensure the process flows smoothly.

By the end, you will have a Level 3 Vision that probably looks nothing like the one your competitors are following. But it can be powerful because it includes these elements.

• Specific measurable results;

• Milestones;

• A pathway to travel from this year to the target year; and

• Full alignment of your team.

Regrettably, your job isn’t finished. Next is communicating all three levels of a vision.

There is still a role for Level 1 and Level 2 visions, simply because there are so many details to be communicated.

Therefore, once you have completed a ‘Level 3 vision’, continue on to shape and align its two counterparts. These will be shorter and more digestible.

For example, at Level 1, Vision 2030 Jamaica can be summarised as “The place of choice”. By contrast, at Level 2, there are four national goals and 15 outcomes. At the third level, there are granular targets being pursued by each government ministry, department and agency.

The point is to master communicating all three levels, using them tactically depending on the audience. Don’t mistakenly share the wrong level and risk rejection.

Instead, inspire your stakeholders in ways they appreciate.

Francis Wade is a management consultant and author of Perfect Time-Based Productivity. To search past columns on productivity, strategy and business processes, or give feedback, email: columns@fwconsulting.com