Imagine navigating a ship without a compass, in the dark, with choppy waves rocking you about. That’s what leading without a clear vision feels like. But what is leadership vision? Is it just goals? No, leadership vision is far more than goals: it’s a whole picture of the desired future.
With leadership vision, we have these benefits:
- Clarity and focus for the leader and the team
- Inspire and motivate others
- Guides decision-making and strategic planning
- Attracts and retains talent
- Drives purpose and alignment
This blog post provides a step-by-step guide on how to develop a compelling leadership vision, starting with the foundation: self-reflection.
Leadership Vision Foundation: Self-Reflection and Understanding
When you lead a team, it’s common to focus outwardly. You are there to lead them, after all. However, you cannot properly lead someone else before you have lead yourself. Introspection is key. You must first look inward before you can begin working on others. Start with your core values.
Core Values
Your core values are the principles that guide your leadership. Ask yourself: What do I stand for? You must answer this question truthfully and fully. Don’t just regurgitate something you heard another great leader say – you have to mean it. You have to live it.
A leader might say, I stand for integrity – until they get busted doing something they shouldn’t have done. Maybe you do stand for integrity. If so, there isn’t anything in your life that would go against that statement.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Next, in your self-reflection, analyze your strengths and weaknesses. How can your strengths contribute to your vision? In what areas will you need support? Honesty is key here, too. If you claim to be a strong verbal communicator, but can’t speak in front of a crowd, you may need to re-evaluate.
Purpose
After you’ve determined your strengths and weaknesses, it’s time to reflect on your purpose. A lot of people will tell you to follow your passion. But, what if you haven’t found a passion yet? In my life, I’ve found myself passionate about many things. I played rugby in college and was crazy for it. After that, I worked in hotels for a while and genuinely enjoyed the work. I also love to sketch realistic portraits. Are these all my passions? Or, do I simply develop a passion for projects as I work hard on them?
The book So Good They Can’t Ignore You says that passion is not already in you. Author Cal Newport suggests that passion follows mastery, not vice versa. Passion comes as you get good at something. So, I suggest starting with something that you’re pretty good at. The better you get, the more passionate you will feel. Perhaps that is your purpose!
Personal Leadership Style
Finally, you must think about your personal leadership style. How do you naturally lead? Do you lead like your first boss because that’s what you were exposed to? Do you want to change your leadership style because you’ve been ineffective? Or, maybe you just don’t like your leadership style and want to make a change. Whichever leadership style you choose, you have to
Envisioning the Future of Success
Always, always think big! But also, be grounded. That’s a confusing statement, isn’t it?! I know, this can seem like a challenge. It comes down to realistically ambitious possibilities. For example, imagine setting a goal of making a $5 million profit next year when this year’s profit was $500. This is not realistic; it is just overly ambitious. What could you do realistically that is just a bit of a stretch?
Also, consider the long-term impact of your vision. What do you want your organization or team to achieve in the coming years? Thinking in the short term might help us determine some immediate movements, but we need to think ahead.
Gather Ideas
If it’s appropriate, consider involving your stakeholders in your vision. Gather input from your team, mentors, or investors to enrich the vision. Of course, you have to be careful with this because people may have conflicting interests. If you’re going to consider all input, you may need to be prepared to explain why some ideas were chosen and others turned away.
Define Your Focus
You will also need to know where you want to place your focus. What are the critical domains where your vision will have the most significant impact? This might be in innovation, customer experience, or team growth. Without this focus identified, you may find yourself off course or all over the place.
Vision Statement
Finally, you’ll want to craft a concise and inspiring vision statement. A memorable phrase or sentence that encapsulates your desired future can help you remember the vision quickly. Check out these examples:
- Empowering entrepreneurs to break through limitations and build businesses that reflect their boldest visions.
- Transforming driven individuals into unstoppable entrepreneurial forces, shaping a future of innovative and impactful businesses.
- To illuminate the path for entrepreneurs to build businesses aligned with their deepest values and create a lasting impact.
(These are AI-generated vision statements. While they are a little generic and impersonal, you can use AI to help you get a good start!)
Connecting Leadership Vision to Action
When you’ve created a leadership vision statement, you have to implement some strategic planning to develop a path to action. It starts with translating vision into goals. I know that here is where most people would suggest SMART goals, but I won’t. They never really worked for me, and I get bored with them. Instead, I work backwards. If my vision looks like X, then I will need to do A+B+C+D to reach it.
How do I create these goals in this way? I start with yearly goals, then break them down into monthly goals, and break those down into weekly goals. There is typically one thing that I make sure I do every single day to work toward that vision, too. These goals are action plans. They are all connected, so be sure you don’t get off track!
(If you struggle with sticking to your goals, you might try gamification!)
Be sure that your team is fully understanding of the vision. If there is a misunderstanding, it is the leader’s responsibility to communicate clearly and consistently. Does everyone know their role? Do they know the direction they’re moving? Check and double check! Then, you have to make sure individual and team goals are aligned and contribute to the overarching vision.
Embracing Flexibility and Adaptability
We’re making progress now! Up next, you have to acknowledge that the vision may need to evolve over time in response to changing circumstances. Remember back to the pandemic. Do you think that most leadership visions from prior to the pandemic survived and were met throughout those years? I don’t think so. I think everyone had to pivot – and you will, too. Vision is not static; don’t think you have to stick to it without adapting.
You may receive feedback that makes you need adjustments. That’s okay! Input can be hugely beneficial. Don’t shut it down immediately. Honestly consider the feedback and its source. If it’s someone you trust, you should absolutely consider making changes.
Changes will also be necessary if you run into unexpected challenges or setbacks. Viewing obstacles as opportunities to refind the path toward your vision can help you along your journey. Don’t fear the challenge – embrace it!
Also, embrace the vision regularly! You can’t create a vision and then leave it to gather dust for the next year. Read it regularly. Without your attention to your vision, it will become a long-forgotten dream.
Embodying the Leadership Vision
This might be the most important component of creating a vision that means something: you have to walk the talk. If the leader’s actions fails to reflect the vision, no one else will take the vision seriously. You have to inspire others through your commitment! Your dedication to the vision will be contagious, so don’t leave it behind.
As you make steps toward the vision, you have to acknowledge milestones and reinforce the journey. Celebrate progress! Every step in the right direction is something to be recognized.
Finally, be sure that you stay true to your values. Your pursuit of the vision must align with your core principles. To get off track will not only set a bad precedent, it will turn the vision into something else entirely.
Leadership Vision: A Conclusion
A well-developed leadership vision can be a path to achieving greatness. However, the vision cannot reach itself. The leader and the team must be in agreement in pursuing the vision wholeheartedly. So, take the time to develop your leadership vision, but also take the time to follow through and reach it. Your leadership vision is the compass that will guide you and your team to lasting success.
To learn more about lasting success, consider starting a solid morning routine!