I had the privilege of attending one of the Leadercast simulcast events this past Friday. At the event you get to hear some incredible business leaders speak on the topic of leadership (Andy Stanley, Dr. Henry Cloud, Chris Barez-Brown, Coach Nick Saban and Steve “Woz” Wozniak). Leadercast’s vision is to “make leaders worth following”.
The first speaker was Andy Stanley, pastor, leadership expert and author of over 20 best-selling books. He shared on “how to make your vision stick”, using a timely example – politics.
Stanley shared the findings of a survey where people were asked the question, “what do you want in a leader?” The answers were pretty consistent:
- Integrity
- Honesty
- Someone we can trust
- Someone who keeps their promises
- Some who’s “yes” is “yes” and “no” is “no”
Stanley then made the statement that, “we don’t follow people who exhibit those characteristics, we follow those leaders who display the most clarity”. We follow leaders who are the clearest about what they think the future should look like. Clarity is magnetic. Clarity trumps integrity. We follow those leaders who cast the most compelling vision of the future.
Stanley then asked several other questions to further illustrate his point:
- What was Barak Obama’s campaign slogan in 2008?
- What about Hillary Clinton’s slogan in 2008?
- What was Mitt Romney’s slogan in 2012?
- What was Ted Cruz’s slogan?
- What about Bernie Sanders’?
- Lastly, what is Donald Trump’s campaign slogan?
You get the picture. Several candidates who are no longer in the race, did not do a great job of clearly articulating their vision (see answers below)
So what is vision?
According to Stanley, vision is, “A mental picture of what could be fueled by the conviction that it should be.”
The clearer you can be with your company’s vision the more influence you can wield. Influence is the essence of leadership and clarity is perceived as leadership.
How Do You Make Your Vision Stick?
Stanley gave four ways to make visions stick.
- State it your vision simply
According to Stanley, “memorable is portable”. The more memorable the better.
Our vision is to “Turn Chaos into Clarity” – wherever there is chaos in a business we want to turn that into clarity around your vision, goals, and KPIs.
- Cast your vision convincingly
What problem is your business solving? What is your solution? Why should anyone care?
For us, we are trying to eliminate confusion and chaos in small business by offering technology and consulting which helps small business clarify and communicate their vision, define their goals and track their KPIs.
Why care? The clearer you are, the faster you can execute. Faster execution equals greater results.
- Repeat your vision regularly
You must repeat it because people forget. This goes back to memorable piece. If it’s not easy to remember people will lose focus.
We’ve got work to do on this, but we are trying to communicate our vision each week in this weekly email, on our website and in every interaction we have with customers, prospects and employees.
- Celebrate your vision systematically
According to Stanley, “what’s rewarded gets repeated”. Look for opportunities to celebrate whenever your vision is realized.
Stanley’s presentation was a huge (no pun intended) confirmation of what we’re doing. Again our vision is to:
Turn Chaos into Clarity, helping small businesses realize their vision faster.
We picture a world where:
- Every small business has 100% clarity about the vision of their business which energizes and motivates everyone on the team
- Each member of the team has 100% clarity about the company goals and how they can play their part in achieving those goals
- Each employee has 100% clarity around how their performance is measured and rewarded
- Metrics are fun and inspiring because they measure the right things, things that truly move the needle of the business
- Every employee is involved in, enthusiastic about and committed to their work and workplace
- The less fortunate among us are empowered to realize their life’s vision
So how are you celebrating your vision systematically?
We recommend a regular meeting rhythm where you meet with your staff and reiterate your vision. Remember vision is, “A mental picture of what could be fueled by the conviction that is should be.”
What mental picture are you painting for your staff on a regular basis? What is your conviction of what should be?
Your next steps
How clear is your vision? Is it memorable? How do you know if you’re making progress on your vision? Do you repeat it regularly? How about celebrating it?
If you need help driving your vision forward, we’d love to help. Contact us today for a free demo of our software.
Answers:
- What was Barak Obama’s campaign slogan in 2008 – “Change we can believe in”
- What about Hillary Clinton’s slogan in 2008? – “Solutions for America!”
- What was Mitt Romney’s slogan in 2012? “Believe in America”
- What was Ted Cruz’s slogan? – “Reigniting the Promise of America”
- What about Bernie Sanders’?
- A Future To Believe In
- Not me. Us.
- A Political Revolution Is Coming
- Not For Sale
- Enough Is Enough
- Feel the Bern
- What about Hilary Clinton’s slogan in 2016? – “Hillary for America.”
- Lastly, what is Donald Trump’s campaign slogan? – “Make American Great Again”