We have often discussed it in our blogs: motivation. What drives a team to achieve success? Talent, but above all the role each individual plays within the team, is of crucial importance and can turn a group of talents into a well-oiled machine.
Another important factor influencing success is having a vision and mission that everyone can identify with.
A vision that your team supports, resulting in everyone pulling in the same direction and team members going the extra mile for each other and for you to achieve that common goal.
This blog provides a number of concrete tips to help you create a rock-solid and identifiable vision.
Why is your vision so important?
As a company or department, you have a strategy. However, that strategy is often quite broad, difficult to explain, and therefore hard to make tangible. This is especially true for your team members, who may only be involved in a small part of the overall strategy.
The vision you formulate for your department is more compact and powerful than the strategy. This vision is intended to give your team a picture of the common goal and to inspire and enthuse.
With a well-formulated vision you can kill several birds with one stone:
- Everyone's goals are aligned, so that everyone is pursuing the same vision.
- A central vision allows you to benchmark with other departments and years.
- Your team will be inspired.
- You create clarity and understanding in your environment.
Every team needs a clear vision. A point on the horizon. A goal to work towards together. In the world of sports, that vision is often self-evident and can be linked to winning a prize.
For example, the World Cup title the Orange Lionesses are currently working hard for. In the business world, establishing a strong vision is not always that simple. We have put together a number of tips for you.
Tips for drawing up a strong vision and mission
Tangibility is the keyword. A vision must be tangible, so that your team can almost taste it, so to speak. The vision must be palpable in the very DNA of your department.
'Everything for a smile' is, for example, the vision of Coolblue, which leaves little to the imagination. The vision is clearly palpable and present throughout the company. Everything for customer satisfaction.
This vision is even reflected in the job titles. For instance, Coolblue employs a 'corner-of-the-mouth marketer,' whose job it is to put a smile on everyone's face, both internally and externally. Practice what you preach. But what exactly makes a vision so strong?
Realism
A team fighting against relegation but formulating the championship as its vision is not being realistic. Your vision must be achievable and realistic to strike the right chord with your team members.
Unfortunately, managers often fall short here by formulating a vision that either seems unfeasible or has to be realised within too short a timeframe.
Involve all stakeholders, it is not a one-man show
However difficult it may be, as a manager you do not necessarily determine the vision. Pushing your opinion through does not always ensure the necessary support.
Involve all stakeholders in formulating the vision, for example by dedicating a team meeting to it at the beginning of the year. Involve both your manager and your team members, and where possible, your customers as well.
Make results visible
Just as with your strategic objectives, you want your vision to be measurable and therefore visible. Let's briefly return to Coolblue's 'Everything for a smile' vision.
This is easily measurable through online reviews. These scores are displayed throughout the building, so that everyone can immediately see the vision in practice.
Make it graphic
Making things tangible and visible also involves graphically supporting your vision. A green happy emoticon, for example, or a red angry emoticon, in relation to customer satisfaction. By illustrating the vision, it becomes even more tangible and recognizable.
For example, media network Medium.com outlined its vision using a storyboard. A comic strip featuring personas and customer situations.
Don't get stuck in the preliminary stages
Formulating a concrete and measurable vision is therefore not that simple. Certainly not if you want to make optimal use of the opinions of all stakeholders. A potential pitfall is getting bogged down in endless discussions. After all, you can never serve everyone's interests equally.
It is your task as a manager not to over-discuss the process and to make the decision at the right moment! Is your vision 90% established? Then just get started and make adjustments along the way if necessary.
Formulating a rock-solid vision for both internal and external stakeholders is one of the ways to bring your organization into balance. The interplay between strategy, culture, employees, and success is central to Kenneth Smit's business improvement services.
Want to know more? Contact us.
