Vision Isn't Just a Poster On The Wall...
It's your GPS. Without it, chaos rules. With it, everything aligns.
Recently, I had a coaching session with a client, and they brought forth some concerns they were seeing with a couple of their employees. But if we’re being really honest, this also applies to our personal lives as well.
“Jason,” they said, “I think I’m beginning to see the problem… my supervisor is telling me X this month, but next month it’ll be Y. My employees just aren’t seeing it, and they’re getting frustrated… which is leading them to turn on each other and burn out!”
“And what are you all working towards? You and your management? Where are you hoping to go this year? Next?” I asked.
“Well… to be honest… I have no idea,” he replied.
This has been a theme I’ve been hearing from my clients lately—both professionally and personally. We all have actions to take (and we take them daily!), and when we have no idea where those actions are leading us, it creates a void that drains the very buckets we are trying to fill.
Let’s keep this in the work environment for a moment: when we have no overall vision, management starts treating everything like it’s an emergency. Things heat up, and the emergencies start flying in from all sides. This just increases stress and frustration, and eventually leads to reactivity, burnout, in-fighting, and people only looking after their own best interests instead of the collective whole.
And if we’re not sure what we’re working towards—or why we’re doing what we’re doing in the first place—then we’re operating without vision (or at least trying to!). Without our vision casting a direction for us, everything feels urgent. So our employees (and we) waste time on work that doesn't move the needle at all, and our team (and ourselves) gets pulled in multiple directions. As a result, people stop working for the sake of a job well done, start resenting their work and those around them—which means they stop working for the collective good and begin competing for time, recognition, or resources (or a combination of all three!).
It reminds me of a start-up I worked with years ago. They grew quickly, and as new people joined the team, the dynamics changed—and so did the foundational questions every organization (and person) needs to ask themselves. As a result, their vision had to evolve. However, they didn’t update the things they were measuring, or their KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), to reflect that new vision. So while their employees were trying to digest and work towards the espoused vision, their performance was still being evaluated by outdated standards. As you can imagine, this only added to the frustration and did little to support a healthy culture.
We do the same thing as individuals. Over time, we (hopefully) grow in wisdom and perspective, and sometimes… we start to see life a little differently—which impacts the vision we’re working towards.
As leaders—whether at work or at home—it’s our responsibility to notice when these signs start to emerge. When we do notice them, we need to look deeper than the surface-level incident and consider what the system as a whole is trying to tell us. If we sense we’re working without purpose, then maybe it’s time to reflect and make some changes.
If you’re like some of my clients (or like the client I started this post with) who still have a boss to report to, you might be thinking, “That’s great, Jason, but I’m not in control of my company! I have bosses too! What am I supposed to do?”
The first thing we can do is articulate what our vision is for the parts we do control. If you’re leading a sales team—what’s your vision for that team? Where do you want to lead them? What are you trying to accomplish?
The second step is to communicate that vision to the people you’re leading—clearly and often. Speak it so frequently that people start thinking about making you into a meme. Then, align your priorities and performance metrics (within your scope of control) to that vision. Finally, communicate that vision up the chain as well, and shield your team from the politics that naturally play out.
This approach works on a personal level too. Articulate what you’re working towards—who you are becoming—and share that vision with the people you care about. Then align your life with that vision and use your community to help hold you accountable as you implement your priorities and track your progress.
Let’s be very clear about something: a vision is not just inspirational—it’s operational. Without it, everyone suffers, our culture weakens, and our outcomes fall flat.
So let me ask you this:
Is your vision clear?
Do those around you know what your vision is?
How are you putting your vision into action?