Historically, one of the essential characteristics of a leader is their vision. Every great leader has demonstrated the ability to articulate where their organization is headed or what it stands for. It is the leader that creates the value system for the organization. Often, this is lofty vision that requires some exploration and understanding to really quantify what it all means.
In today’s world, rapidly changing markets, continued economic instability, and an accelerated evolutionary pace of development, having a long range view strains leaders. Operating in a turbulent, fast changing, rapidly moving business environment there are many leaders who simply are spending more time keeping the machine running and less on what that machine could be in the future.
Unfortunately, simply keeping the machine running is treadmill behavior. Business need a long range view. The team, the customers and the owner/investors have expectations of where the business is going and what it will be. In many cases, managing the machine is simply all most leaders have time for.
In today’s collaborative and connected world, leaders have access to a visionary resource few leaders of a different age have–their team. Rather than singularly defining their vision in conjunction with the management team, business leaders today have the opportunity to simultaneously empower and engage their employees in defining their vision for their company. No one knows the business, the customers, the competition, and the market better than the employees. Why not engage them in a discussion to uncover the team’s vision and perspective of the firm.
Business leaders have a great opportunity to motivate, stimulate and inspire a disconnected employee team by simply involving them in the next visionary discussion. It provides a real world, street view that only the team can provide. And, besides great information and insights, it serves as a great motivator for putting future initiatives in gear.
Dave Cooke is CEO of Strategic Resource Group, llc an organization that specializes in helping businesses increase their revenues through effective growth initiatives and employee development programs. His contributions and insights can be found on his blog posts, SalesCooke and Sustainable Revenues.
