Have you ever walked into an office space, maybe even your own, and seen a big bold, typically framed, vision statement hanging on the wall? If you have, then it’s likely you’ve asked yourself if employees really know it, let alone use it to guide their daily work.

Vision statements are great and can be very valuable, but a question every leader must ask is, “is our organizational vision providing a compelling purpose for our employees’ daily responsibilities?” If the answer is no, you have some work to do. But don’t worry, it’s highly worthwhile. Very few people are motivated to act based on a singular task alone. In fact people want to know that their work matches up with a long-term direction. Employees want to know that their work means something and is valued.

How can you help renew the passion in your organization for its vision?

• Ask yourself: “Does our current vision help define our organization’s long-term destination?” Ensure that your vision statement isn’t just a jumping off point. The end destination must be clearly communicated and understood.
• Keep it simple. A vision by nature should be easy to understand. Still, it’s quite common to find overcomplicated, complex terms muddying the waters. Just remember: If your employees don’t understand your vision, they won’t be motivated by it.
• Get an inside opinion. Ask employees for their ideas on how they feel their work enables the vision. Don’t miss out on a perfect opportunity to involve your workforce by giving them the chance to individualize the vision.
• Get an outside opinion. Validate with customers if your organization’s vision is in alignment with their current and future needs. Ultimately, if a vision is not customer-centric, it stands the risk of becoming irrelevant and subject to frequent change.
• Revisit often! As decisions are made, goals are evaluated, changes are proposed, and new strategies are defined, be sure to revisit the vision to ensure that alignment is not lost. The vision should serve as the measuring stick and help guide day-to-day decisions.

Take time to make your organization’s vision statement more than a fancy wall flower. You’ll find that your attention to and communication of your vision statement will renew a sense of organizational purpose for yourself and your workforce.

Tags: Compelling Purpose, Focused and Aligned Leaders, Skilled and Motivated Workforce, Vision, Vision Statement

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 25th, 2009 at 11:03 am and is filed under Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.