A leader’s vision isn’t worth much if it doesn’t take hold in the organization. And it won’t go far without effective communication. A vision describes some achievement or future state that the organization will accomplish or realize. A vision has to be shared in order to do what it is meant to do: inspire, clarify and focus the work.

“Part of your job as a leader is to generate commitment to your organization’s vision. To do this, you have to communicate the vision in a way that matters to people,” says Talula Cartwright, co-author of Communicating Your Vision (Center for Creative Leadership, 2006). “Communicating a vision is like making a sales pitch,” explains Cartwright. “You want people in the organization to believe the vision and to pass it on to others.” Leaders need to get the word out about the organization’s vision in multiple ways – and keep the message going. Tactics to consider include:

Stories. When you tell a good story, you give life to a vision. The telling of stories creates trust, captures hearts and minds, and serves as a reminder of the vision. Plus, people find it easier to repeat a story than talk about a vision statement.

The elevator speech. Every leader needs to be able to communicate the vision in a clear, brief way. What compelling vision can you describe in the amount of time you have during a typical elevator ride? Be prepared to reinforce the vision in line at the cafeteria, when you visit the customer service department, and even walking through the parking lot at the end of the day.

Multiple media. The more channels of communication you use, the better your chance of creating an organization that “gets” the vision. Use the newest communication technologies, but don’t forget the tangibles: coffee mugs, t-shirts, luggage tags and whatever else you can think of that will keep the message in circulation. (more…)

How successful is your organization in meeting the objectives set by your leaders?

When teams are energized, motivated, and inspired, they can achieve amazing results.  On the other hand, we’ve all seen what happens when teams are de-motivated, disengaged, or unenthusiastic about their goals. (more…)

When life is especially hectic – as it generally is during the holiday season – we can quickly feel pulled apart by competing demands in our work and personal lives.  Year-end priorities at work require attention, yet there are also holiday parties to attend, family time is even more important than usual, and special events require extra time for shopping and preparation.

It’s no wonder we can feel sucked under by all the details, spinning between one last-minute deadline and another. What we most need to do when we start spinning like that is something that can feel both difficult and counter-intuitive. (more…)

If you ask employees about the direction of your organization, you will likely get lots of blank stares. It’s usually not their job to cast the vision for the organization.

That being said, it is critical that everyone understands exactly where your organization is headed. As you prepare to facilitate this session on organizational vision and direction, try one of these things: (more…)

We don’t often think of all the invisible forces we rely on to lead a normal life, but how could we live without gravity or magnetism or electricity? Space is filled with these invisible fields. Quantum physics posits that space is rich in the energy waves of particles. The only problem is these fields can’t be observed directly; we only know them by their effects.

Do organizations have fields, invisible forces that can’t be noted except by observing the behavior of employees, or by walking into that office or store? Most of us have dramatic experiences that indicate the existence of such fields. Perhaps it’s walking into a tense meeting and immediately “picking up the vibes.” Or perhaps it’s the sense we get when we walk into a store of how we’ll be treated as a customer.

If organizations do have fields, one of the more interesting questions is whether organizational vision acts as a field. Is the vision of the organization strong enough to be felt? If we meet with different employees at different levels of the organization, do we pick up the same messages or commitment to the vision? Is the space of this organization filled with consistent directions about purpose, direction, values?

If vision is a field, then we need to think about how to create it. What types of activities and focus are required to fill the space of our organization with consistent messages? If we figure out how to do this, field theory suggests that people will be positively influenced by this field. Instead of having to deliver the same message to all employees, especially new employees, the field will communicate that to them. Although these ideas are conjecture, one thing that field theory suggests is that organizational change could be easier and faster than we had thought. If we don’t have to directly influence each person or deliver training to every employee, change might occur through a consistent, intentional field that affects everyone in the organization simultaneously.