Leading Your Team With A Vision Statement
Whether you want to or not, you will probably find yourself leading some kind of team during your lifetime, and not necessarily for a short time.
You could be a business owner or a manager who handles day-to-day decisions, a teacher who commands a class of students, or a parent who is responsible for taking care of your children for the first 18 years of their lives.
Obviously, there are different duties for each of these roles, but the intent is basically the same: you’re trying to bring a person or thing to a desired position at some point in the future.
For children, you’re trying to shape them into good citizens while the business owner is trying to turn a profit and create a decent place to work.
Successful Leaders
The most successful leaders are the ones who have a vision in place upon which all goals, decisions, and day-to-day activities are built. As I mentioned in the last blog, it’s easy to get bogged down in the day-to-day comings and goings of your life, but it’s crucially important to take time, especially if you’re the leader. You must make sure you’ve got things on the right track.
1. Business Leaders
For instance, if you’re a business leader, how much of your time is spent answering emails and sifting through spam? If you have an assistant who can weed out the emails that need to be answered ASAP from those that can wait, you’ll have a lot of time on your hands to take care of more important things.
2. Parents
If you’re a parent and you’re having trouble helping your middle school student with his/her homework because you don’t understand it, find a tutor. Doesn’t it make more sense to find a someone who is top-notch in their expertise instead of spending your time teaching your child the wrong things or the wrong way?
These kinds of problems can be better solved through delegation.
However, that assistant or that tutor isn’t setting the vision; they are just helping to achieve the goals within that vision.
A Word of Caution
Sometimes it appears that you’re heading toward your vision by solving the small problems that pop up along the way. However, if you don't stay mindful of your vision while you troubleshoot problems, you may find yourself wandering off your path without realizing it.
Drift too far and, despite feeling like you’re making progress, you'll end up setting yourself back.
For example, if your vision is to create quality products for your business, but you find yourself taking shortcuts to save a few dollars on materials, you have veered off your path. Even if you still might be hitting the same overall sales goals, you will be putting out sub-par products and, eventually, customers will realize it and stop buying.
You can keep these kinds of setbacks from happening if you regularly revisit your vision.
A Couple Pieces of Advice
Please take this to heart.
If you’re leading a group and are developing a vision statement, you must do these two things. Read them closely and think about them carefully.
Display and reflect the vision statement through strengths, beliefs, and values.
Inspire loyalty through equal caring and attention paid to employees and family members – you don’t want anyone feeling left out.
Two More Things to Consider
Help employees or family members believe they are better and stronger as a unit than as a collective of individuals.
Make sure your vision statement is part of your everyday life at home or at the office by prominently displaying it for all to see
For more about creating vision statements, check out the last two blogs in this series.