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#LEADERSHIP

How Can a Leader Create A Vision?

BY
Andrew Langat
February 22, 2023
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“Create a vision and never let the environment, other people’s beliefs or the limits of what has been done in the past shape your decisions.” – Tony Robbins

Leadership is vital for the success of any organization; like good health, good leadership is rarely appreciated when present.

Conversely, a leadership that lacks commitment or unique strengths comes with its fair share of challenges that eventually affects the bottom line or even lead to complete failure.

Great leadership is not accidental. It is often developed upon a solid vision that helps rally all stakeholders.

Think of famous leaders like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Warren Buffet. They are known for their success in their business ventures regardless of there preferred leadership style.

What is common among them is that they created a vision and delivered.

Leadership and vision are the same, and leaders must have a well-defined plan, purpose, and vision. These help them keep their duties on track and prioritize their goals.

In this article, we will review what a leadership vision is, what a leadership vision statement is, how to create a leadership vision, examples, fundamentals, and the importance of a leadership vision.

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What is a Leadership Vision?

Leadership vision is the ability to focus on the essential aspects of yourself or your business. A vision envisions lessons from the past, present realities, and future aspirations. A powerful vision can help boost employees' performance.

A powerful vision can help attract people to follow the dream and direction of the business. A strong image can help inspire people to join your organization, and this will help you achieve continuous success.

This vision is usually captured in a leadership vision statement.

What is a Leadership vision statement?

A Leadership vision statement is a declaration of a leader's purpose, beliefs, and values. This statement communicates a company's expectations and objectives. A vision statement also provides a company's strategic plan to achieve goals.

A Leadership vision statement can create accountability for the goals set. A leader's vision may lead to integrity, humbleness, and fairness. Keeping this goal in mind may help create a professional and enjoyable working environment, which could improve team performance.

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How Can a Leader Create a Vision?

Whereas, passion, purpose, and vision drive successful leaders. Their vision affects every action they take and every decision they make.

Their own vision of what they need to achieve is what will rally their team toward the objective. This call for one not only to be strategic but also inspiring.

So how can a leader create their personal vision?

Here are some pointers for creating a vision:

1. Master the art of communication.

Leadership communication is as essential as having a vision. Infact, it is a core leadership behavior worth having. Learning communication style will assist in advocating your vision.

When you have a concise, honest, and positive image, communicate it to your team. Never assume that your team already knows what your idea is. Try to be transparent as possible.

How communication helps create a vision: When you clearly communicate as a leader, it helps crystalize your viewpoints when explaining the purpose.

2. Practice Self-awareness.

Leadership and vision both come from within. To determine your vision, you must get in touch with your inner purpose and choose the ultimate reason for doing what you do every day. Self-awareness, a core sub-set of emotional intelligence, is an active skill that requires time and effort but is well worth it.

How practicing self-awareness, helps in creating a vision: It helps you become more inclusive, establish boundaries, manage expectations, understand different viewpoints, and boost morale and motivation.

3. Practice Clarity.

In today's business environment, there are a lot of uncertainties, and having a clear, concise, and solid vision can help you de-risk some situations. Employees seek to find work that gives them fulfillment and makes them feel like they are making a difference. Hence having a leadership vision will encourage them to stick around.

How Practicing clarity helps create a vision: Visions are brief statements comprising three key elements: what you do, how you do it, and why you do it. This should be captured succinctly.

4. Be action-oriented

Communicate your leadership and vision not only through your words but also through your actions. When you have a strong vision, you'll have the confidence to make decisions, set and achieve goals and take massive, determined action in every aspect of the business.

How being action-oriented assists in creating a vision: Visions are action-oriented. Having a personality trait that aligns with this assists.

5. Be Optimistic

The best leadership visions are always positive, forward-looking, and enlightening. No one wants to work toward a future that's fixated on problems or filled with challenges. Great leaders embody this ideal, reevaluating situations positively, focusing on solutions, and envisioning possibilities.

How being optimistic assists in creating a vision: Dreaming big is a core part of optimism. This will compel the relevant stakeholders to work towards realizing the set goals.

6. Take Further Education

Remember that leadership can be enhanced through further training, such as executive coaching. Moreover, getting the services of a leadership coach or enrolling for initiatives such as mentoring and coaching assists.

How further training assists: It will assist in refining your weakness and enhance your strengths as a leader.

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What is the difference between a Vision statement and Mission statement?

A vision statement is future-oriented. It serves up the direction that inspires and guides actions. It helps a company dream big.

A Mission statement communicates concrete plans and details. It is grounded in the present day-to-day steps of any organization. A mission statement helps an organization achieve its future aspirations.

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Why is a Leadership vision Important?

Leadership vision sets a blueprint for the company's future. It fosters the desire to improve and grow to meet the set goals. A leadership vision is essential for the following reasons:

It provides inspiration and motivation.

People are likely to work harder when they have targets to meet. Leadership vision sets goals for the team to accomplish within a given period. Having a clear vision can help develop an inspiring environment for its employees. Employees will be motivated when they are working on the big picture.

It offers clarity and focus.

It is easy to convince people to work when they have a defined destination. With a powerful leadership vision, leaders can act on their vision to accomplish their goals. A compelling vision can also help keep team members engaged.

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Fundamentals of a Leadership Vision Statement.

A shared vision that can lead people to success must meet a few fundamentals;

Future-oriented.

A good leadership vision statement should be forward-looking. Having a future-oriented goal can help an organization grow, improve and succeed. Leaders should assess their current objectives and how they focus on the future.

Simplicity.

The vision should be easy to communicate to all levels of the organization.

Uniqueness.

Organizations should strive to have a vision that expresses the leader's unique values, strengths, beliefs, culture, and direction.

Inclusivity.

A vision statement should be able to include everyone in a workplace, and this makes them feel appreciated and valued. Inclusivity shows employees that you value their contribution.

Direction.

A good vision statement should be able to direct all aspects of a company, from hiring new talent to marketing products.

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Importance of a Vision statement in Leadership

Businesses like Steve Jobs and Bill gates all have a clear, measurable vision for their companies or organizations.

Vision statements serve a unique role in a business that cannot be achieved by any other means. They play a crucial role in answering essential questions that are key to the success of any business.

Without vision, leadership is unlikely to have the effect that it's capable of. With vision, leaders can promote innovation, achieve organizational results, and set a standard for success.

It is critical to develop a solid vision of what is to come and the expectations for leadership. With that clarity comes actionable goals to achieve the expected result.

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How do you Sustain your Leadership vision?

Once you have established your vision for your company or organization, you need to find a way of sustaining it moving forward. An image can always help you work on the big picture, but if not, sustained performance can dip. Here are some tips for sustaining your vision:

  1. Endeavor to revisit your vision regularly and ensure that you keep it updated.
  2. Communicate the updated changes to your employees and colleagues to keep them motivated, ensure that changes are aligned with the overall goal, and maintain loyalty within the ranks.
  3. Try to ensure that your vision is realistic and achievable. Also, ensure that the vision ties into the organization's values and culture.
  4. Ensure that you follow through on the promises in your vision so everyone can follow through. Leading by example ensures that your team will follow your dream.
  5. Maintain a positive outlook when undergoing diversity. This ensures that your employees keep a level head and remain hopeful.

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Leadership vision statement examples.

Some companies or organizations have maintained high success, which can be traced back to their vision. Here are some examples;

1. Disney.

Walt Disney Company is a multinational mass media company founded in 1923. Its primary focus is on the entertainment industry, and its success over the years has been consistent.

Vision: 'To make people Happy.'

2. Google.

Google is an American multinational technology company founded in 1998 focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. Its success since then has peaked.

Vision: 'To organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.'

3. Spotify.

Spotify is a Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded in 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 489 million monthly active users, including 205 million paying subscribers, as of December 2022. It's

Vision: 'To be a cultural platform where professional creators can break free of their medium’s constraints and where everyone can enjoy an immersive artistic experience that enables us to empathize with each other and to feel part of a greater whole.'

4. Target.

Target is an American big box department store, the seventh largest retailer in the United States. It was founded in 1962 as a discount division of its parent company Dayton's department store.

Vision: 'To make Target the preferred shopping destination for our guests by delivering outstanding value, continuous innovation, and exceptional guest experience by consistently fulfilling our Expect More. Pay Less. Brand Promise.'

5. Reddit.

Reddit is an American social news aggregation, content rating, and discussion website. Registered users submit content to the site, such as links, text posts, images, and videos, which other members then vote up or down. It is a network of communities where people can dive into their passion, interests, and hobbies.

Vision: 'Reddit is the world’s largest and best platform for online communities to share and connect.'

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To sum up & How Highrise Can Help

Having a solid vision is the foundation of successful leadership. It sets you up for what you are trying to achieve. Therefore, you need to take the time to create a vision that will help you yield the success you desire.

Highrise can assist you in developing a vision that will help inspire your organization to greater heights.

Reach out today for a consultation.

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AUTHOR
Andrew Langat
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Andrew Langat is an experienced content specialist in Leadership, Productivity, Education, Fintech, and Research. He is an avid reader and loves swimming as a hobby. He believes that quality content should be actionable and helpful.