A shared vision is the backdrop for learning and change. When employees know where they are trying to get to, they can identify what they need to learn in order to get there. To create a shared vision, you must achieve consensus on the direction of the group and on the desired results; everyone on the team must have the same goals for the future, and be guided by the same underlying principles. Managing by shared vision is much more productive than managing by coercion.
Every member of the team must help develop the vision. Do not try to impose a vision from the top of the organization:
While top management’s endorsement and financial support for the vision is important, team ownership of the vision does not occur when the vision is promulgated exclusively by top management. Employees will not feel like the vision belongs to them unless they have a say in creating it. They will not understand the reasons for organizational change or performance improvement unless they know the facts. They will not be motivated to learn unless they believe in the new direction for the organization. Provide opportunities for all group members to have input and share reactions to that input.
If some group members have a vision for the team that is not shared by others (for example, to be recognized as a superior performer in comparison to the other members of the team), they will not contribute to team learning. The group energy will be scattered and diffused like a searchlight; each member will be focused on his/her own personal situation and not that of the team. However, if everyone in the group is committed to the same long-term goals, the energy will be concentrated like a laser beam on a single target, and everyone will work and learn together.
This does not mean that everyone on the team must approach the problem in the same way. In fact, having a shared vision frees up group members to try new approaches to the problem. For example, if the shared vision is a high quality, best-in-class climate-control system for a new car that is delivered to the internal customer on-time and within budget, then each team member can contribute in his/her own way, as long as the intent is to reach the team goal.
A shared vision comes out of group consensus, where individuals feel a sense of ownership in the goals—a belief in personal responsibility for how the results are achieved.
One way to develop consensus and ownership is to hold a visioning meeting of group members. A typical visioning session includes the following elements:
1. Sharing background information about the organization, its history, its current status, the environment in which it functions, and its strategic goals
2. Achieving consensus on what the team does well, what activities have been successful, and what resources it has available for the future
3. Achieving consensus on the principles that guide the work of the team
4. Discussing how this picture of the team fits with the vision for the organization as a whole
5. Brainstorming what team members would like to see the team achieve in three, five, or ten years
6. Achieving consensus on the priority items from the brainstorm list
7. Discussing and identifying the implications for the team of working toward these goals
8. Identifying what the team needs to learn how to do and what knowledge it needs to have in order to achieve these goals
Sustaining a shared vision over time will take work. As the months and years go by, events, developments, and trends in the environment will require you to alter or remind people of the organization’s mission. As employees learn and change and the makeup of the team changes, the group can lose sight of the principles and goals. It is relatively easy, for example, to commit to outstanding customer service when revenue is high and you are fully staffed. This goal is more difficult to sustain but even more critical, however, when revenue is down and the staff is overworked. Find ways to remind team members of the current vision, and periodically repeat the visioning process or at least give employees an opportunity to affirm their commitment to the vision or their desire to change the vision.