Shared Vision as a Guiding Star
By Laura Freebairn-Smith & Jason Kitayama
Implementing a shared vision is no easy task. Visionary leaders—those for the 21st century and beyond—need to transform their organizations by activating the energy of their internal cultures to fulfill bold promises for the 4 Ps: planet, people, profit, and purpose.
Leaders with an abundance mental model, what we call Abundance Leaders at OPG, want their organizations to have a positive impact on their staff, their community, and the world. In the current political and economic system we have in the United States, organizations serve as a primary cultural driver and moral barometer, partially because right now our government is not working well. It will work well again in the future — we are optimists — and it has worked well in the past. If we make some systemic changes to our government, it will work even better in the future.
In the meantime, organizations, for-profit and non-profit, are driving culture, and they are driving people’s daily experiences. We want to encourage you as a leader to think about your organization as a microcosm of what is possible. Instead of patching and layering actions on a badly built organizational ‘chassis’ (putting policies one over the other, or focusing on only one part of a systemic problem, e.g. “Let’s just look at compensation. If we solve compensation, then we’ve got gender equity”), we encourage you to tackle societal issues through your organization’s policies, processes, and focus.
Abundance leaders understand that the decisions they make about their organization have ripple effects out to their staff’s families and the community. Abundance leaders want to use the time and energy of their organization to make the world better; they understand that they have the power and opportunity to make decisions about how resources are used that can change lives.
At OPG, we do many things throughout the year to enact our vision and mission.
OPG’s mission is to create a better world — one rich with a spirit of abundance, innovation, compassion, and respect. Our work is designed to facilitate deep human connections that form the basis of thriving workplaces and communities. Using our own office as a laboratory, we work alongside our clients to create extraordinary work cultures and to build momentum toward our common goal of a better world.
For example, we have an annual competition to give a donation to a non-profit. We provide discounts on our services to organizations with budgets under a certain dollar amount. We have a four-day workweek.
It is important to get buy-in from your staff and key constituents for your organization’s vision which can improve camaraderie across your team. While there are numerous models and approaches to building a team and creating a shared vision, here we call out some typical challenges faced when starting to implement a new strategic vision. If the vision calls for new plans and programs, sometimes it can be challenging to get staff engaged in making the change. The same difficulties can arise if the vision calls for significant lift or innovative ways of doing things.
Challenge: Getting on the same page
Solution: Define the page and how you all will win.
Often, new plans are put in place by senior leadership teams and are rolled out through middle managers. Imagine this is like a game of telephone, where the meaning, value, and excitement associated with the project become diluted with each new messenger. Often the delivery of the new plan to the staff is accompanied by the words “I don’t even know why we’re doing this…”
While it is impossible to deliver each message with the enthusiasm of its author, it is important to deliver the message as thoroughly and enthusiastically as possible. In addition to the details, it is critical to outline the benefits that the new plan will provide for the organization and the staff, as well.
Watchout: What you think is a benefit and what the staff thinks is a benefit can be completely different. Check your assumptions.
Challenge: Building trust in the plan
Solution: Have a plan B from the get-go.
Even when you have delivered the plan in a meaningful, enthusiastic way, it can still be difficult to get the team to look past their initial reservations. Hear them out. Really listen to staff’s concerns and ask for their help in identifying potential obstacles, formulating ways to measure the success of the plan, and what to do if the plan isn’t working.
Watchout: Setting targets with a broad team can lead to sabotage. Keep the goals SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound), with a specific focus on “Achievable.”
Challenge: Executing the tasks to support the vision
Solution: Talk about why it matters.
Even when staff have fully bought into the vision, the new tasks and responsibilities for everyone on the team can be an additional burden: too difficult, unappealing, or seemingly disconnected. We often lose sight of the big picture while powering through the smaller tasks. Curtail this by constantly talking through the vision and how the tasks contribute to it. Reiterate how staff will benefit from the vision and by completing the task.
Watchout: Using corporate language over and over looks like parroting vs. really believing. Use your own language to describe the value and benefits or ask staff to help craft a statement that you all can get behind.
Tips and questions for moving forward
- Include your staff in developing a vision, which is one of the first steps in developing a strategic plan.
- Spend some time thinking and writing about how you would like your organization to be a microcosm of a better world. What do you need to do differently?
- Use your organization’s vision in a variety of ways: in outreach material, in job descriptions, in advisory board recruitment, etc.
- Does your organization’s vision move you? Is this work you want to spend time on?
Looking for More Support?
- Email info@orgpg.com for more information about how OPG can help you energize your organization around a shared vision.
- Cultivate an abundance mental model at our Abundance Leadership Immersion Program.
- Read more about strategic planning with OPG here.
This post was originally published in Wiley Publishing’s Dean & Provost in March 2023.
