Abstract
Identifying and communicating a clear vision is one of the most important functions a business leader can perform. All business leaders should understand the basic elements of visioning and how to communicate a clear vision. This study explores the definition of leadership and then goes on to discuss one of the most important functions business leaders perform pertaining to business planning. That critically important function is to create a clear vision for all participants in the business. Creating a clear and effective vision delivers many benefits to the business. Not only does a clear, shared vision help define the values of the company and its employees, but it also helps guide the behavior of all employees. A strong vision also leads to productivity and efficiency. A strong vision requires a recognition and understanding of core values that the business holds. Once the business manager identifies the core values of the business, he or she needs to effectively articulate and communicate the purpose and envisioned future of the business. With such a clearly communicated vision, the business will facilitate buy-in from its employees and create a sense of shared vision that will enable the organization to realize the benefits associated with a strong sense of vision. This study explores the art of visioning in order to help business managers lead their own organizations more effectively. Introduction Much has been written about leadership as it pertains to business management. In the study of leadership, emphasis has been placed on identifying the characteristics, behaviors, skills, and styles of leaders. Those who have studied leadership have defined many different theories and models of leadership from behavioral and trait models to situational and contingency models. 1,2 The study of leadership is not an exact science and is somewhat speculative in nature. It is somewhat speculative in that it deals with many elusive, sometimes intangible qualities such as the abilities and motivations of the leader, organizational context, and the nature of the work group. Another aspect of leadership as it pertains to business management is the necessity of business leaders to have a strong vision for their companies and develop winning strategic plans to accomplish organizational objectives. The strategies and tactics of many visionary business leaders have been studied in great detail and their moves carefully studied and reported. While such study can often serve as a helpful review of how these leaders led their organizations in given business environments, such study rarely provides current business managers with tangible insights as to how to lead their businesses forward in future unknown environments and markets. Rather than explore the various models of leadership and present in-depth academic analysis on the topic of leadership or even study great business leaders, I have chosen to approach leadership in a more pragmatic way. We will next look at ways to identify the core values of the business and look at approaches toward articulating and communicating vision in order to realize all the benefits that can be gained by creating a strong sense of vision for your organization. Definition of Leadership The term "leadership" encompasses many different behaviors, traits, and motivations. It is easy to become confused as to just exactly what leadership is and what leaders do. According to Kotter, leadership "is the process of creating a vision for others and having the power to translate it into a reality and sustain it". 3 Further, effective leadership creates a common vision and leaders are those who do the right thing to accomplish their visions. 4 Effective leaders place an emphasis on helping others do the things they know need to be done to achieve the common vision. Within the context of business, leaders hold the vision of the company and encourage teamwork among all employees and stakeholders in order to align them with that vision. 5 Leaders exhibit many different types of behavior. They set goals, make decisions, motivate, punish, reward, and provide a level of expertise that is valuable to the organization.6 In comparison, managers focus on process and work hard to ensure business goals are attained in measurable ways in which employees are acting in a manner consistent with defined organizational goals. Leaders, on the other hand, also focus on substance and can often be unpredictable in style and create an atmosphere of change, transformation, and even chaos. Leaders are often obsessed with their ideas, which appear visionary, and consequently "excite, stimulate, and drive other people to work hard and create reality out of fantasy". 7 So if business leaders are driven more by their ideas than by a set of clearly defined operating standards, how can they inspire their organizations and set standards of behavior? The answer lies in the important task of creating and communicating vision for their businesses. Many business development experts identify creating vision as one of the most important things a leader can do for his or her organization.8 Further, the leader's ability to identify and articulate core values is an essential part of visioning that helps to build a strong company.9 Definition of Vision A vision is an idealized picture of the future of the business or organization. Vision is a combination of three basic elements: 1) an organization's fundamental reason for existence beyond just making money, 2) its timeless unchanging core values, and 3) a "big picture" aspiration for its own future.10 The vision of a business defines who and what the business is, why it exists, and where it is going in the grand scheme of things. Benefits of Creating A Vision Visioning is the first step in strategic planning. A vision shared by all the members of a business can help all members set goals to advance the organization. A vision can also motivate and empower employees. Visioning skills are used by leaders to pull people toward themselves and their ideas through the creation and communication of a vision. Without a strong vision, strategic plans cannot be properly delineated since there is no guiding principle or ideal to plan. A vision is simply an aspiration or a description of a desirable world that exists within the imagination that can inspire people, bring meaning to their work, mobilize them to action, and help them decide what to do and what not to do in the course of their work.11 An effective vision strikes a chord in people, motivates them by tapping their competitive drive, arouses desire for greatness or interest in doing the right thing, tantalizes them with personal gain, or appeals to their need to make a difference in the world. A vision is an idealized picture of the future organization and it expresses the organization's reason for existence.12 Visions grab people and then bring them into the fold. When a leader's vision is effective and strong, employees and stakeholders get caught up in what they are doing, absorb the vision, and commit themselves to the goals and the values of the leaders. A good vision: How then does the successful leader create and communicate a vision? The following steps will help all business leaders identify and communicate their vision effectively so they can gain all the benefits listed above. Creating and Communicating Vision Most businesses are actually founded on a vision. Most leaders have a clear picture of what they see their group becoming or doing in the future.14 It is this vision that often defines the organization's reason for existing. The vision for many businesses starts with a set of strong personal core values of the founder who then drives those values throughout the organization. The leaders then create mechanisms that bring those principles to life and translate them into action. Perhaps one of the finest illustrations of a vision that was wonderfully crafted and perfectly executed was the vision articulated by Lee Iacocca when he was chairman of Chrysler Corporation. Iacocca's vision was:
"Quality, hard work, and commitment-The stuff America is made of. Our goal is to be the best. What else is there? If you can find a better car, buy it." 15
In this simple to understand statement, Iacocca set out a clear vision for his business and provided an ideal all employees could strive to reach. He built loyalty, set a high standard of excellence, and gave his floundering organization a strong sense of purpose and direction. His vision was in great part responsible for the historic turnaround of the Chrysler Corporation.
In order to create a vision, business leaders provide a meaningful plan to succeed and define their purpose and core values in a way that is meaningful, easy to remember, and transparent --without any hidden agendas.16 A memorable, powerful, yet motivational guiding statement is most assuredly a wonderful thing for a leader to create and communicate for any business.
So how should leaders go about creating and communicating a clear vision? The answer lies in understanding and identifying the business's core values, understanding the core purpose or envisioned future of the business, and clearly articulating and communicating the vision to the organization.
Core Values
Shaping a vision is more a matter of discovery than invention.17 Organizational values cannot be "set", they can only be discovered. Core values cannot be forced on individuals. Core values are those things that people already are predisposed to holding and it is the businesses challenge to find, attract, and retain the people as employees (Collins, 1996).
When setting out to understand the core values of the company, the business leader embarks on a journey of discovery rather than a mission of invention or creation. The first step is to identify the core values that already exist in the business.
Core values are values that are intrinsic to the organization. Core values define the business and what it stands for, and core values endure-even if the same core values at some point no longer are advantageous for competitive reasons. 18 Core values are fixed throughout time and cannot be changed. They are the essential and enduring tenets of an organization.
As examples, the Walt Disney Company has core values of imagination and wholesomeness. Nordstrom has core values that include the desire to deliver outstanding customer service and strive for high individual productivity. Philip Morris holds core values that include belief in the drive to win a fair fight and that people have a right to free choice. The National Rifle Association believes that all Americans have the right to keep and bear arms and that that right should be defended. These core values are intrinsic to their businesses and organizations are not going to change because of shifting popular opinion, competitive forces, or changes in corporate strategy. Great companies do not necessarily have to have likeable or humanistic values, although many do.
In order to identify the core values of your business, you should ask yourself and your employees to define what values are truly central. Ask them what ideals and values they believe in and hold dear. Once you have done that, you should use a simple litmus test to see if those are truly core values. The litmus test is to ask yourself if circumstances changed and penalized your business for holding a given core value, would you still keep it? If the answer is "yes", then you most likely have identified a true core value (Collins and Porras, 1996).
Core Purpose/Envisioned Future
Once you have identified the core values of your business, it is time to define and understand your core purpose and define the future you envision for the business.
The core purpose is the organization's reason for being and it reflects the idealistic motivations for doing the company's work. It is a long-term purpose for the business that is never achieved. Whereas you might achieve a goal or complete a strategy, you cannot fulfill a purpose. Some examples of core purposes are 3M's "To solve unsolved problems innovatively" and Sony's "To experience the joy of advancing and applying technology for the benefit of the public".
Collins and Porras (1996) further suggest creative ways to define purpose. They describe a "five why" approach in which you start with a descriptive statement about your company and then ask "why is that important?". They posit that after asking a few "why's", you are likely to get down to the fundamental purpose of the business.
Core purpose should not be inwardly focused on creating profits or increasing shareholder value. Your core purpose should be to satisfy some important customer need or fill a void in the market that otherwise would leave people lacking an important product, service, or solution.
The envisioned future of your organization is a statement of the long-term goal of the business. It is a clear image of how you will satisfy important customer needs well into the future.19
Effective Articulation and Communication
The major difference between a company with a vision statement and a company with a clear sense of vision is that a company with a clear sense of vision will have employees who have very strong alignment with the organization's core values. Continuous progress toward the aspirations of the company will be stimulated through a strong sense of vision. That strong sense of vision is achieved through a clearly articulated and communicated vision statement.
Once a vision is created, it must be communicated and articulated effectively so that it becomes the shared vision of everyone in the organization.20 It is not always easy to spread a vision through the business so the key part of creating shared vision is in articulating it and communicating it in an enduring fashion. Once this shared vision is created, it will become a driving force that "compels people to do something, change something, become something".21
In their research, Gadiesh and Gilbert describe an excellent way to articulate a vision. They suggest creating a simple statement that they call "strategic principle". Gadiesh and Gilbert define strategic principle as "a pithy, memorable distillation of strategy that guides employees as it empowers them".22 They go on to explain that a well crafted and communicated strategic principle, or vision, enables employees and managers at all levels to work toward the same strategic objective without being overly rigid about how they do so.
Examples of well articulated visions are America Online's "Consumer connectivity first-anytime, anywhere", Ford's "Quality is Job #1", and Wal-Mart's "Low prices, every day". These vision statements are clear, concise, and easy to remember. These are the keys to a clearly articulated vision.
Communicating the vision is achieved when the vision is driven deep into the organization and when it is communicated to all the far reaches of the organization. Superb alignment to a vision can be seen when a visitor to your business could drop in and infer your vision without having to read it on paper, based solely on the actions and behaviors they observe (Collins, 1996).
Effectively communicating vision is more than placing a vision statement on the wall in the corporate lobby. Effectively communicating the vision means the business lives the vision it espouses; that the business means what it says and it practices what it preaches. Corporate executives must "walk the talk" rather than just "talk the talk".23 The business leader must also insist that all managers model behaviors that are consistent with the organization's vision.24 It is through such action that all members of the business will believe in and live a meaningful manifestation of the vision.
Another way to communicate the vision is to share it at every opportunity. Repetition breeds awareness, acceptance, and understanding of your vision (Parker, 2001). In my earlier example of Lee Iacocca's vision for The Chrysler Corporation, not only did Iacocca trumpet the vision internally within his organization, but he also preached it to people outside the organization. In fact, Iacocca's vision became a central theme in much of the company's advertising. Iacocca used every opportunity to share his vision with people both inside and outside his organization, including consumers, suppliers, and even the United States Congress. By doing so, Iacocca had great influence over a great number of people, which in turn helped Chrysler achieve its business goals. The repetition and consistency in the communication of his vision was a critical component of Chrysler's turnaround and success under Iacocca.
Vision, therefore, should be worked into as many conversations at the workplace as possible. The vision should also be integrated into as many communication channels as possible-in personal presentations, written communications, emails, company newsletters, in meetings, advertising, marketing campaigns, and by placing plaques and engravings stating the vision in corporate hallways, offices, and lobbies.
Most importantly, top business executives should use every opportunity available to them to share the vision and always act in a manner consistent with the vision. People both inside and outside the organization will notice when the vision is truly being lived by watching the actions of the business leaders. Truly great business leaders act in accordance with their vision and serve as living examples of behaviors they wish others in their company to model. Established, core employees should be able to explain the vision and elaborate on the message to newcomers thus driving the vision deep into the organization (Goldberg, 1997).
Once the vision is understood, it is likely to be accepted by everyone in the business and there will be a strong desire to live it. Once all participants in the business share and live the vision, they will create an environment of true alignment with the vision and collectively drive the business toward its goals. The sense of shared vision will guide behavior and also be self-reinforcing and self-motivating. Once the leader establishes a sense of shared vision within his or her business, not only will the business benefit but all the members of the business team will benefit also.
Summary and Conclusion
A strong vision for a business can create energy and drive needed to push and pull teams and organizations forward.25 A strong and effectively communicated vision will be infectious, stimulating, and attractive to others and it will motivate them to achieve business goals and aspirations. People rally around leaders with a compelling vision and a clear sense of purpose.
Creating a strong vision is one of the most important functions a business leader can perform. A vision statement compels people to do something, change something, and become something. It is this drive that can transform a business into a strong, vibrant, rewarding opportunity for everyone who comes into contact with it.
Business leaders can reap the benefits of a strong vision by defining the core values of their companies, defining their purpose, describing what they see for the business in the future, and then clearly articulating, communicating, and living the vision at every opportunity.
Creating and communicating a vision is one of the most important activities a business leader can perform and all business leaders should understand the processes for crafting and communicating a clear vision. Once business leaders have created a sense of shared vision within their organization, they will be able to lead their organizations more effectively.
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Additional References:
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Stewart, T.A. (1996). Company Values That Add Value. Fortune. New York. July 8.
