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Trumpeting the Vision — D3, W3, M1 — Intentional Leadership — Vision

So, what did you learn yesterday about the communication methods you are using to share your vision?

Spend some time today to reflect on what you’ve learned, what it means, and what you now need to do to communicate your vision more consistently and effectively, so it sticks, with your team/organization.

Is it time to refine your vision statement more clearly and simply?

Have you clearly articulated the “Why” behind your vision? What’s the compelling reason for you to strive for it? What will happen to your team/organization if you don’t reach it?

If you haven’t heard this already, it might be helpful to know that the most popular radio station in the world is WII FM (or What’s In It For Me?). You need to be able to help your people make the personal connection between themselves as individuals–then the team, then the organization–to your vision. If you can do this effectively, you will be way ahead of the game. And the way to do this is to really get to know your people, what inspires them? What motivates them? What do they want to do, be, or have more of?

Do you need to put different benchmarks in place to measure your progress along the path to your vision? If so, what are they? And what are the key milestones you will need to reach along the way?

Once the measurements have been clearly defined, how will you celebrate when you reach them? And how will you reward your team members for their efforts?

Next, it’s time to thoughtfully map out your communication plan: Audience, Key Messages, Vehicles (primary and secondary), Timing, Owner, Outcome, Status, and Review. Successful leader-communicators consistently spend 80% of their time (with respect to communication) planning the communication and only 20% actually communicating. While it may seem counter-intuitive because it’s so easy to open our mouths and speak, truly effective communication does not just happen!

Your plan is nearly finished! Now, outline the key action steps needed to implement the plan, including who owns each action, what the expected deadlines are, and what the outcomes should be.

Now that you have an initial draft of your plan put together, who can you ask to review it? Find a trusted advisor or mentor and ask for their candid feedback before you take the plan to your team/organization.

It may sound like a lot of time-consuming effort, but I promise you the time you spend thoughtfully considering and planning your work will pay off in the end, with a more thorough, thoughtful, carefully crafted approach and it will show in the results.

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Trumpeting the Vision — Day 2, W3, M1 — Intentional Leadership — Vision

As we spend this week contemplating what tools and with what frequency we are communicating our vision, let’s spend today really digging into what we’ve been doing and how it’s working for us.

Take some time to ask yourself the following questions:

  • What methods have I been using to communicate my team’s/organization’s vision?
  • How effective have they been?
  • What measures do I have in place to determine effectiveness?
  • Do I need to consider other measures?
  • Have we been celebrating activity linked to our vision?
  • If so, how?
  • If not, why not?
  • How do I connect with the vision and demonstrate it in my actions?
  • Do I need to be doing something differently?

The answers to these, and other questions that will no doubt arise as you go through this exercise, will allow you to recognize if changes are needed in your strategies and actions, or confirm you are on the right path.

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Trumpeting the Vision — Day 1, W3, M1 — Intentional Leadership — Vision

Welcome to week 3 of our Intentional Leadership journey!

Today, we will focus on the incredible volume of messages the average person is exposed to in a day — anywhere between 247 and 3,000 — depending on which source you pull the research from,  and those sites are focused only on commercial (advertising and marketing) messages; what might the number be when you factor in all the personal and directly-related business messages we deal with in a day? Hard to wade through, aren’t they?

This is one reason we must “trumpet the vision” as we are working to inspire and motivate our organization. It’s oh-so-critical to make your vision as crystal clear and simple as possible, and then to say it over and over and over, and celebrate it, and link it to action… many times a day, every single day.

It probably sounds boring and tiring, but it’s true. People need to hear things a minimum of 12 twelve times, through a variety of different mediums, before they truly begin to notice and attend to a message. Repetition is critical. This does not mean you need to say exactly the same words the same way every single time.

Indeed, what will be more effective is to weave your vision into messages at a variety of levels. Connect it to the major initiatives your organization is undertaking. Tie it into what lower level teams are working on. Draw the lines to how individuals are helping your organization move closer to the vision.

Don’t necessarily be subtle and don’t assume they will quickly see all the connections you see. Draw them the picture over and over and over. Make the connections for them.

Today’s exercise is to spend some time considering how your vision has historically been communicated and reinforced. What has worked the best?

If you’re not sure, spend some time talking with your people today and ask them what the vision is. If they can’t tell you simply, you have some work to do.

If that’s the case, take some time to articulate your vision and really consider if it’s simple enough to grasp quickly. Think about how you can make it more real for your team or organization; what picture do you need to draw for them so they get it?

Who can help you? Remember, you need not be the only vision ambassador; you know the people who get it — enlist their help in communicating and reinforcing your vision throughout the organization, in a variety of different ways.

Let me know how I can help you.

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