Ashley C. Stowe, PhD
I have seen it many times. A leader steps up at an All-Hands meeting to set the course for his organization. He speaks passionately about what is required of his employees and how important the work to be done is. Meanwhile, looking back at this leader are a group of employees who glaze over at his commentary, building with disgust as they overlay their own struggles, the minimal raises, and benefit changes knowing that their leader certainly would not be nearly as impacted as they were. Each of their employees think they have a better way to move forward. Less often, a leader walks up to the same spot and inspires the same employees to follow him.
So what is the difference? Was one leader a passionate orator or a militant taskmaster? No. The successful leader simply engendered a work environment whereby employees understood the purpose and direction of the company and felt that this leader valued each of them, not simply the bottom line. His vision was not about numbers, but about people. The numbers—ROI, percent growth, ranking—were simply the collateral results.
More importantly, the vision set forth by this leader was not simply his vision being imposed on his employees, but a shared vision among those people. Peter Senge considers a shared vision to be one of five disciplines required for business success. It is a difficult thing to achieve as a leader because it requires giving up some control. The leader asks pointed questions about the course of action, or more fundamentally what the organizational values even are. He asks not only his closest senior advisors, but individuals throughout the organization from the top to the bottom. Taking these voices into consideration yields buy-in from individuals that are trusted by other employees as each level of the organization.
Sports teams provide the simplest example. Each player and coach on the team has their individual goals—set a record, make the All-Conference or All-America team, be drafted by a professional team, or even just get playing time. All of these personal goals must become secondary to the team goal of winning a championship. If each member of the team can suppress their ego for team goals, they operate as a single unit whereby each member carries the vision themselves. It does not require a single leader to drag everyone else along. When this shared vision is missing, great talent underachieves and in-fighting destroys the team.
Within your own organizations, ask yourself, “What is our vision?” Is everyone in your organization working together toward accomplishing that vision? Are you? If not, perhaps your organization and your leadership needs to try to build a shared vision. To develop your organization's vision, understand your organization's core values, focus on people, and then talk to these people for their input. As you work together to build your vision, build it together so that you, as the leader, do not have to do all of the heavy lifting to convince everyone to follow the vision. In a shared vision, employees become the mouthpiece and the horsepower to achieve it.
Comments
Post a Comment