Good leaders are driven by their vision and naturally dissatisfied with the status quo. Even when they reach the summit of one mountain, they start looking for the next peak to climb.
Great leaders always keep in mind that they must share their vision and get their team to join them for the climb.
Here are 10 Tips for Conveying Your Vision
- Own it. Winston Churchill said, “Before you can inspire with emotion, you must be swamped with it yourself. Before you can move their tears, your own must flow. To convince them, you must yourself believe.” The first person who should be excited about your vision is you.
- Appeal to people’s hearts. Engage people’s hearts by giving them a reason to care about your vision.
- Speak to their goals. Spend time learning about your people and about what their goals are, then connect the vision of the organization to their goals.
- Keep it simple. The best communicators take the complex and make it simple. People are not motivated by complicated theories and abstract ideas.
- Paint a clear picture with your words. If your vision is unclear, “the mist in your mind will eventually become a fog in your organization.” People think and remember in pictures. To drive your vision home, give people an idea for the mind and a picture for the heart.
- Eyes on the prize. What do you hope to accomplish? What are your expectations of the team?Decide which beliefs, actions and behaviors will be necessary for your group to create the results you want, then communicate this to your team.
- Explain the benefits of buying in. People rarely do anything until they see the personal, measurable benefits of taking action.
- Include clear action steps. You must give people something to do if they are going to take ownership of the vision. What is the one thing your team can do now to move the organization forward toward your goals.
- Model personal commitment. Remember, all eyes are on you. They want to see just how committed you are to this big idea. Be vigilant and hold yourself to a high standard.
- Create a community. People love to feel committed to a shared goal. Good leaders and visionaries create a sense of family and a sense of destiny.
Great leaders understand the value and power of their words. Crafting and sharing a well-developed vision can change a person, a team and ultimately a company. You have the ability to make people proud to work for you as an individual, and as a leader. Use this ability wisely. Instead of scaling the mountain alone, you will be climbing it together.
Make it a great day!