While there are many elements that contribute to the success of your business, one of the most important is your company vision. You can assemble the most talented team in your industry, but unless they are all unified by and working towards a shared vision, it will be much more challenging for your company to achieve its goals.
Your company vision provides a guiding light that drives your company forward:
Due to the important role your company vision plays in aligning your entire team, it should be crafted thoughtfully and involve a highly collaborative process that ensures proper buy-in from your entire organization. For your vision to be effective, it must unite everyone from your leadership team all the way through your entry level employees. The following guide will help you create a shared vision that guides your leadership team and elevates the success of your company.
In order to create a company vision that is shared by your leadership team, you’ll need to engage them in the process of creating your vision. Your team is your most valuable asset, and they will help you provide a greater diversity of perspectives to this process.
Make sure to include your leadership team in every stage of the process, from brainstorming ideas to providing feedback and deciding on a final vision. You’ll end up with a much more robust vision when it is built with the varied experiences and insights of your entire leadership team.
One of the greatest benefits of engaging your leadership team in the process is that it will help build buy-in and ownership from the other leaders of your company who will be responsible for implementing this vision and communicating it to the rest of your team. It will also make your leadership team feel heard, improving their commitment to both your company and the vision that drives your actions.
The first thing you should do when your leadership team sits down to plan your company vision is to define your “why.” This is the reason behind your vision and your strategy. Your why should be clear, compelling and relevant to your team. Most importantly, it should be driven by the following three core elements:
In order to create an effective vision that achieves the mission numbers you established in the previous step, you need to first understand where you currently are in relation to these goals. The best way to accomplish this is to conduct a SWOT analysis with your leadership team.
A SWOT analysis provides a deep dive into your company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats:
Assessing your current state provides a powerful tool that will help you identify your gaps, challenges and areas for improvement.
After you complete your SWOT analysis, your leadership team should define the goals and actions necessary to achieve your mission numbers. Start by identifying your key performance indicators (KPIs). These are the success metrics that will measure your progress towards your goals. The KPIs you choose should be specific to your mission goals and numbers. Some common examples of KPIs to track include:
Next, set SMART goals to drive the actions of your team. SMART goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound. These goals will help you create an action plan containing the tasks, resources and responsibilities necessary to achieve them. SMART goals provide a powerful tool that will help clarify the expectations, priorities and milestones for every employee at your company.
Using all the information you’ve uncovered from this robust collaborative process, work with your leadership team to craft a concise vision statement that captures the essence of the future state you’re trying to achieve for your company. In order for your company’s vision statement to be inspiring and motivating, it must resonate with every member of your team. When every employee is aligned with your vision statement, it will help you cement a strong company culture that drives success.
There are three essential elements of an inspiring vision statement:
Once you’ve created your vision statement, your leadership team must communicate your vision to the rest of your employees. Your vision should be consistently referenced and communicated during internal meetings and presentations. Always emphasize the benefits, impact and value of your company’s vision and long-term strategy to improve buy-in and create a more inspired team.
It’s understandable if you find the steps discussed above to be a bit overwhelming. Creating a shared company vision that guides your leadership team and inspires your employees can be challenging. Many companies struggle to craft an effective vision, often to the detriment of their long-term success. Fortunately, you don’t have to work through this process alone. PassioHR can help.
At PassioHR, we have extensive experience helping small and medium sized businesses implement robust employee engagement plans that will inspire their team and elevate their success. As part of this process, we’ve worked with many of our clients to create an effective company vision that guides their team and drives their actions.
You’ll benefit from our exclusive Elevated Engagement Plus™ Approach focused on helping you create a more successful and inspired organization. With this unique approach to employee engagement, we’ll provide your team with customized recommendations based on the specific needs of your business. We’ll spend time with your leadership team to learn about your unique company culture and workforce dynamic.
Based on the information we uncover during this discovery process, we’ll work with your team to craft a compelling company vision that aligns with your unique purpose, core values and mission numbers. Our team will provide you with the coaching you need to properly communicate this vision to the rest of your team so that you can achieve the buy-in and alignment necessary for sustained success.
Contact us today to schedule a free consultation.
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