Vision inspires, directs, and moves people into action. Without it, organizations become static, complacent and/or disconnected from their mission.
On the other hand, vision can also become greatly exaggerated. There’s a fine balance between big vision and wishful thinking. Nothing is more disheartening than when a leader projects a great vision that never comes to pass. Over time, this kind of behavior will hinder trust and confidence in the organization.
Yes, talk is cheap!
Leaders must focus their energy on how they plan to execute their vision. Here are some tips for activating vision:
Think bite-size, actionable steps. Small steps ultimately lead to seeing the vision come to life.
Consider your organizational capacity. Does it have the bandwidth to implement the vision? Who or what will you need and how will you get it?
Resist the urge to hype up an unrealized vision. Underpromise and overdeliver instead of the other way around. Choose incremental progress over immediate fireworks.
Integrate vision into the culture and environment. Can people see the vision? Hear it? Smell it? Taste it? Touch it? Track it? Incorporating more senses into vision implementation is key to making it stick.
Overcommunicate and then, communicate again.
