Don’t Have a Vision for Your Business Unit? Ask Yogesh Sood
Dear Yogesh,
I work as a senior leader at a multinational firm and report directly to the senior vice president of the company. Recently, we had a one-on-one discussion regarding a survey that took place, and the feedback she gave me left me a little hopeless about the work.
The survey that recently happened was to gain insights into how the employees feel. And it seems like the employee morale is low. Mentioning this, my senior asked me what my vision was for the business. She mentioned that my work and processes are good, but how do I work on inspiring others around me? The truth is, beyond hitting our numbers and deliverables, I don’t have a vision.
I don’t even know where to begin with creating a vision—or what to do with it once I have it. Any insight would be useful.
Regards,
Raman
Dear Raman,
This is a common thing I’ve heard from people in the position of senior managers and managers. You have been consistently promoted because of the work that you’ve done and the deliverables that submitted. Getting results, holding people accountable, and bringing the best to the table helped you get to where you are right now. However, when it comes to your ability to inspire and motivate people, it just doesn’t occur to you.
First, I would like to tell you to not stress over it and take one thing at a time. You will surely get there. Now, to begin with, I want you to remember what your leader did or tell you to motivate or inspire you. Or, you can ask your senior vice president to get more clarity on how to begin defining a vision.
If you are still confused, here is what I consider a holy grail before creating a vision for myself. Authors Ken Blanchard and Jesse Stoner define vision as “knowing who you are, where you are going, and what will guide your journey.”
It originally means that you must know the WHY—the context and meaning of the work your people are doing. You are painting a compelling picture of a job well done that will be motivating for your team.
You must have heard people talking about creating a vision of your own. But I believe that people already have the first draft in mind, it is how you present it to people. You are indeed highly motivated, which is probably because you have a strong sense of what counts as successful and can connect your team to it. So, your work here is to articulate those things very simply. My experience is that many leaders think these ideas are obvious to others because they are obvious to them. But this never is the case. You have to spell it out, and then you have to repeat it as many times as you can.
Before you hop on to making a vision of your own, let’s take a look at some statements to make you understand why it is required in the first place.
- IT HELPS US UNDERSTAND WHAT BUSINESS WE ARE REALLY IN: It helps you have an understanding of the results that you want to achieve and how will they benefit your organization. What does your team do that no other team does?
- IT PROVIDES A PICTURE OF THE DESIRED FUTURE IN A MORE TANGIBLE WAY: What are the gains you will get when you follow your vision?
- IT PROVIDES GUIDELINES THAT HELP US MAKE DAILY DECISIONS: What are your expectations, and how well you have delivered to the other person?
- IT IS INSPIRING, WHICH IS NOT EXPRESSED SOLELY IN NUMBERS: A vision is different from a goal, which can usually be expressed in measurable terms.
Employees are looking for meaning and connection in their work. When people feel that they are connected to a bigger picture, they can perform better, deliver more, and build trust.
When you have a clear idea of the points and questions mentioned above, you will be ready to write your vision down. You might want to follow your vision statement with a mission statement. The vision is what is possible, and the mission is why you do what you do and for whom. A mission statement looks like this:
Our mission is to __________ (do something) for __________ (what people?) so that __________ (those people can have something, do something, and feel some way).
It is suggested that you involve your team as well to create a vision for the company as they play a major role in helping achieve the end goal.
The key is to stop thinking and start doing. Examine what inspires you and what matters. Get all of your thoughts down on paper, and then start shaping them. Take your time. Be prepared to have things sound twisted, high-minded, or farfetched. It will all come into focus.
Regards,
Yogesh Sood
The above is an adaptation of a blog written on JUNE 11, 2022, by MADELEINE HOMAN BLANCHARD