Maybe you are a corporate executive, technical
expert, or manager leading your staff through change. Maybe
you run your own business. Maybe you lead a project of co-workers
or volunteers. Whatever kind of leadership position you have,
you know that to get people to be more productive, you need
a "shared vision." When
people are on the same page, they accomplish more, faster and
with a lot less pain. Without a shared vision, it makes your
job as leader more difficult and there is more stress all around.
How exactly do you create a shared vision? Over the past few
months, I was coaching a team of six executives at a large corporation.
Our goal was to increase staff productivity and performance.
However, what we actually accomplished was different. We achieved
the basis for a shared vision. That result was unexpected but
highly valued by the participants. Here is just some of what
we learned.
- To create a shared vision, you need a time and space in
which the vision can grow. We committed to meet, once very
two weeks, limited to exactly one hour due to busy schedules.
People commented how they appreciated this time to stop and
work on the big picture.
- Shared vision grows out of shared assurance that everybody
gets something. Each team member shared what they wanted to
make it worth their time and attention. That sharing created
an opening for mutual understanding. No hidden agendas. Participants
said this created trust.
- We found out that it is a myth that in order to have a shared
vision, everyone has to agree. The executive disagreed on many
things but they kept their attention on a repeated search for "what
things DO we agree on." This managed conflict and
preserved relationships.
- Shared vision becomes real when all team members take
action. The executives agreed to deliver the same message
about performance to all staff. This starts the culture change.
These are only a few ways to begin getting everyone on the same
page. The key is focusing your team's attention!
