How's Your Vision?
By Leanne Crain
Not your eyesight, your vision. The vision of your company and the vision of your team. If you were to ask someone below your upper management what the vision of the company is - would they be able to answer? Could they tell you what good the company does, and how they are important in it?
If not, maybe it's time to re-do your vision. Understandably you may not be able to overhaul the company mission statement, sometimes that's out of your hands. However, you can redirect your team and realign them with a vision they can really believe in.
In today's society, just giving an employee a paycheque is no longer enough. The younger generation especially, wants a feeling of worth and accomplishment to be associated with their job to be truly satisfied. People want to see an overall vision that they can work towards - they want to know how they are making a difference, and how the company will make a difference and achieve some good. With a mission statement or vision they can believe in, your team will work together more effectively, while being more productive and motivated.
So where do you begin?
- Start by breaking people into groups of two or three. Ask them to think about how things should be in the future. Have them ask each other a question such as: "in a year, if you felt proud to be part of the team and the company, and excited and happy to come to work - what would be taking place to make you feel this way?" Have the team summarize what their partners are saying.
- Next have the group or pair discuss the ways that they directly impact the company, the clients and the bottom line. Then have the group discuss how the company affects people - what good does it do?
- Gather back into a large group and take all the summary points from the first question and combine them together. On another page/whiteboard, summarize all the answers from the second and third questions. Read over all these and try to find a common ground to create a vision from.
- The vision statement/mission statement should be clear and concise, but take into account points you have collected. You are looking for something that will make your team happy and motivated every day. Your statement should include: Who you want to be, what type of relationship you would like to have with your clients, what important work the company does and what the company will look like in the future. You want the statement to have an emotional impact on your team and show them a compelling reason to get out of bed and come to work every morning.
- Once you have come up with some form of vision, bring in an outside person who doesn't know what your business is about and explain it to them - try to tell them exactly why the company or team was created and what difference you will make. If you can make it make sense to that person, you are on the right track.
- Write it down! Put it up where everyone can see it. Don't make it pages long, try to make the vision something that is simple, but makes you yourself be proud to be part of that team or company. Most of all, you want your team to feel like they have part ownership over that vision, that will help them work towards it more effectively. Also, keep in mind that you should be able to change it from time to time to "re-adjust the sails" if required.
Take a moment right now to think about your company, and the value it brings to its customers and its employees. If your vision or mission simply states what your team or company does, it’s time to re-vamp. Remember, it takes more than a paycheque, it takes a purpose.
For more information on how to make a vision or mission statement, or how to make your team even better, contact Gary Gzik at 613-342-2200 ext 108 or ggzik@bizxcel.com
Seizing the Day discusses changes at BizXcel and how we are always transforming and advancing in order to serve our clients better.
Leanne Crain is a Marketing and Administrative Assistant for BizXcel. Her background is marketing and tourism, and she has over 12 years experience in the sales and marketing field.
