Continuing our journey ("Leadership: Why don’t we have the impact we would like?"), I think we should consider for a moment one of the expectations employees have of a good boss: they expect him or her to have a clear vision of the future.
Have you ever asked yourself this question: do I have a vision? What meaning do I want to give to my life, the things I do? Does my work have meaning for me? Am I prepared to follow my boss?
The younger generation seems to give even more weight to this issue, but whenever over the last 25 years I have asked what makes a good boss, the need for vision/meaning always features prominently in the answers given by employees.
“Vision” – in the broadest sense and in common parlance – means the ideal representation, actively created, of a target situation to be achieved in the future. In this definition, vision generally has a positive connotation. It is associated with activity and creativity.
Employees expect their managers to have a clear picture of the future. Where are we going? How do we wish and need to be perceived on the market in five, ten and fifteen years’ time?
The clearer the picture you make of the future, the greater its appeal, and the more it will be a daily source of order and inspiration. The vision leads to trust.
Perhaps I can illustrate this with the analogy of a car journey:
Imagine that you and I have to drive to Austria for a workshop, a journey of around 600 km. You are the boss; I am the employee.
You arrive in your car (a Volvo XC90, for example) and, seeing your car, I immediately have a feeling of trust, security (in this analogy, the car stands for the company).
Moreover, I quickly recognize that you are a good driver (you have the necessary skills), and so my trust grows... I nod off to sleep in the passenger seat.
Two hours later, I wake up. In the discussion that ensues, you tell me that three years ago you spent your holidays in the region we are heading for. This news further increases my level of trust. You may not know the exact location, but you already have some experience of the area. I go back to sleep again.
Another hour passes and, when I wake up, I glance at the petrol gauge on the dashboard and notice that it is three-quarters empty. I reckon we have enough petrol for another 150 km.
Out of the corner of your eye, you noticed that I was looking at the gauge, and you say calmly: “Don’t worry, David, the next service station is just 100 km from here"
The next stage is clear. Again, I am reassured.
This little story highlights the key points I am making about vision. Employees expect their boss to be a kind of guide, to have as clear a vision as possible, but above all they expect the next stage to be clearly defined. The next stage is clear.
This gives a sense of direction, trust, security, meaning
By the way, I forgot to tell you that near the place in Austria where the workshop is being held, there is a winery that uses a very special grape, so it’s great we’re going this way.
If you can bring positive factors into your vision, you will create a dynamic, a positive momentum, and your employees will follow you, looking more to the future and less to the past.
In conclusion, here are a few pieces of advice: Think about your vision; make sure that the first stage is clear; communicate and make sure that your employees enjoy success and are aware of the contribution they are making. Celebrate the completion of this first stage and announce the next objective.
And here are the four questions I always ask when speaking about vision with my teams or my customers:
- Who are our customers?
- How do we want to be perceived by our customers; what is our impact?
- How do we want to work as a team; what makes our team different?
- What are the trends that will have an impact on our business in the next few years? How do we want to be perceived by our customers; what is our impact?
It is not enough to have visions. You still have to make them reality.
Lisz Hirn, 1984
Wishing you Clear Vision