Communicating Your Vision. David Baldwin

desire and personal connection to values (see Vision and Values worksheet on pages 12–13)

      • realistic—is achievable, with focused direction and distinguishable outcomes

      • flexible—offers space to grow, adapt, and develop

      • clear—is easily communicated and understood

      • compelling—moves people to action

      While there are distinctions to be made between vision, mission, and goals, the strategies and techniques for communication are applicable to all three. Throughout this guidebook, we will be less concerned with the distinctions and more concerned with the communication.

      The Leader’s Role

      One part of a leader’s job is to create commitment to and alignment with the organization’s picture of future success. Communicating the vision throughout the organization is essential to moving the organization forward.

      In order to inspire commitment to a vision, a leader needs to have an effective way to communicate it. Presumably, the leader supports the vision and can draw on his or her personal passion and professional commitment and credibility to be dynamic in presenting it to others. David Campbell, Senior Fellow at the Center for Creative Leadership, says that leaders who are perceived to be dynamic have a passion about something and speak about it often. Leaders should be this dynamic about the vision. They should be passionate about it, and they should speak about it often. Many people in an organization attribute its vision to the people in leadership roles. If leaders stop talking about the vision, it becomes more difficult to see. To keep the vision alive at one organization, the executive team utilizes an on-site video studio to record components of the vision. The recording is electronically distributed to managers around the globe and used as a platform to communicate and receive feedback from their direct reports in fulfillment of the organization’s vision.

      You can never communicate too much. Treat every communication effort as though it is your most important attempt at getting the message out. People may not hear it the first time around, and when they finally do hear it, they are likely to consider that the first time you have said anything about it. This is especially true when a leader introduces a new vision. People need time and opportunities to hear it, to separate the message from the noise of change. It takes more than one memo or speech to capture attention and build support. Intersperse the vision throughout regular conversations, be dynamic, and be intentional about continuously communicating.

       Stories

      Stories give life to a vision and help people see it clearly and remember it. Stories give integrity to the vision by grounding it in common values and truths. The telling of stories creates trust and captures the heart and mind of the audience. Stories establish common ground between the teller (the leader with a vision, in this case) and the audience (the other leaders, managers, employees, stakeholders, customers, and others associated with the organization). A story is a powerful tool for disseminating a vision; people share the story with others, creating a ripple effect.