Using The Power Of Your Vision To Overcome Obstacles

We all know how powerful a vision can be to overcome obstacles but few of us follow through. In fact for many, following a vision only becomes important when their life is on the line.

Participative Vision Alignement Or Sheep Driving?

I recently worked with a client who was wanting all his leaders to be more proactive in building the future for the business. The business was successful but more driven by the market than as a result of an exciting aligned vision shared by its leaders.

One of our workshop challenges focuses on ‘aligned vision’. The key players were very direct during this exercise. Their behaviour showed they were “no-mess Charlie” type leaders. The job got done, but mainly by them sweating and toiling – everyone else became ‘sheep’.

At the end I asked the ‘sheep’ “how did you go” – one ‘sheep’ answered “I felt like a task to be ‘done’ rather than a brain that had ideas to build the project”. They ended up feeling de-valued and disengaged.

Can you relate to this?

3 Tips About Aligning Your Team To Your Vision

1. Share what is on your mind.
   The good, the bad, the ugly. If you give people the ‘space’ to respond, you will be pleasantly surprised at the new ideas that surface. Share your vision and your reasons why.
   This strategy has the bonus of building trust. You will begin to trust those in your team. They will begin to trust you, your decisions, your direction, your vision.
2. Shut up.
   Many leaders believe that they have to be the one talking. Start getting comfortable with silence. The way to do this is to note point 3 below. Begin with a question, then shut up.
   Apart from the ideas and innovation generated, the big surprise for you is that you then would have energised both your people and yourself.
3. Get good at asking questions.
   Have a look at Forbes Business magazine Tomorrow’s Best Leaders Will Lead With Questions, Not Answers.
   I can speak personally about this too. Over my 20 years as Director of Bridgeworks, I have had several coaches and mentors.
   The best of these was a CEO who was a client. Rarely did he tell me what to do. Almost always he asked questions that were both provocative and dug deep into my conscience.
   His most powerful question: Why?

NOTE: Keep an eye out for one of the most powerful transformations of bringing vision to life. An interview with West Papuan refugee, Jefry Yikwa. It was his vision that helped him not only survive but thrive against all odds.

Could You Better Use Your Vision to Overcome Obstacles?

Let me ask you:

• How is your business going, right now, as we are all adapting to working in different ways from the past?
• What style of leadership are your teams experiencing at all levels of the organisation? Are the leaders doing or inspiring?

Even with physical distancing rules easing, we are still a long way from the “old normal”. The road ahead will challenge most businesses. So, more than ever you will need the power of your vision to overcome obstacles that will demand smart action.

If your organisation could achieve its vision more easily, if you could help your teams feel more engaged, how much more would you be able to accomplish? If you could come out of this year’s dramas stronger than before, how good would that be?

The workshop challenge we mentioned earlier reveals a lot to our participants: a lot about themselves, and a lot about ways to inspire their teams and keep them engaged. Our new virtual workshops equip leaders and teams in organisations like yours to come out even more effective than before!

check out our programs here There is no better time than today to prepare an easier tomorrow.

Have a chat with Wayne to define the optimal virtual program to sharpen your organisation culture, leadership and teamwork!