Seeing clearly: How important is a collective team vision?

It can be difficult to meet all expectations as a leader. Typically, there’ll be a number of internal and external stakeholders to satisfy. Consequently, objectives and goals can become blurred and harder to reach.

An advanced leadership skill, getting all members of the team or organisation to pull in one direction can be tricky. However, it’s much easier when there’s a collective vision in place. Here are the things to keep in mind when trying to craft such a plan:

Make it distinctive

As a leader, it’s just as important to have a clear outline of the vision for your team as it is for the wider company and its business objectives.

The first step is to explain the difference between a goal and a vision. The goal will be a date in the diary at which a certain objective is met. The vision is more encompassing, and is a little more ideological and long term.

Consequently, a shared vision needs to be crafted along an expanded timeline. In doing this, it’ll make it easier for the team to hit goals consistently, rather than see each deadline as an end unto itself.

Get accountable

Establishing a vision is one thing, but being responsible for it going forward is what really matters. It’s the leader’s job to guide their peers in pursuit of the collective aim. Moreover, a clear explanation of team ethic can make any distant deadlines easier to meet.

“Seventy per cent of an employee’s level of engagement or excitement about the job or the company they work with is in direct relation to their immediate supervisor,” explained management consultant and author Peter Stark, in an interview with Inc.

Getting together a shared vision is by no means easy. However, once you have one in place, your team should be more engaged with what they do and able to better prove their value to the wider workplace.