A simple practice to change the way you lead

I’m going to tell you about how you can change the way you lead by extending the age-old practice of “visioning” to any major assignment you’re in charge of.

“Visioning” has long been a cornerstone tool in the world of strategy. For years business leaders (or leaders in general for that matter) have understood the value of a pithy but powerful statement that charts a course for the future. Famous vision statements include Microsoft’s original vision for “A computer on every desk and in every home,” or President John F. Kennedy’s “We choose to go to the moon in this decade.” These statements can galvanize a group around a singular purpose, and when done right, they allow each individual to see their role in accomplishing that purpose.

Two incorrect assumptions often arise when we think about vision statements:

1. They’re the domain of CEOs
2. They must be pithy

I would encourage you to use the concept of visioning any time you need to mobilize a group of people to accomplish any task. Starting with the end in mind will not only allow you to clearly flesh out your end goal, but it provides your team with a clear picture of where they’re going.

Here are three tips when applying this concept:

1. Start smart: The idea isn’t to be creative at the expense of insight. Collect all relevant data, organize it, and ensure you understand the key insights and their impact on what you’re doing. If you’re visioning the future state of your customer experience for example, make sure to integrate customer insights and consumer trends into your thinking.
2. Do what’s right, not easy: Beware of incrementalist thinking. When thinking about your desired end-state, define the right outcome while ignoring existing limitations. Once you have the “right” answer in mind, you can then ground the “right” answer in reality. Starting from reality tends to limit creativity and results in underwhelming outcomes.
3. Less isn’t always more: There is a time and a place for a pithy statement. Typically, an abridged portrayal of the future is helpful when communicating to a large group of people where you don’t have the ability to expand and provide additional context. When mobilizing internal teams however, it’s OK to be verbose. Take a page or two or more if it allows you and your team to fully flesh out your end-state.

Remember, visioning isn’t a concept reserved for the rarefied air of the C-suite, it’s a useful tool to provide clarity to teams of any size and scale. On top of all that, it’s a lot of fun! Happy visioning.