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Why do so many leaders/executives skip the vision process? It calls for creativity and easily can be brushed off as an ambiguous waste of time. I’ve been there (see borrowed goals). But what I’ve realized is if I wanted big change and epic growth, I needed to have more than a goal, I needed a vision. This went way beyond creating a vision board or SMART goals. It was a whole process that was worked on regularly, and ultimately made a significant difference in the type of person I was and the type of organizational culture I created.
I remember many times hoping for a specific result, but most times not reaching it. As I moved through the process of setting goals to reach those results, I remember not understanding where I really wanted to go or acknowledging any kind of end game.
This was a process that repeated itself over and over again to the point of epic frustration. I simply wanted to push to my destination without any deviation whatsoever but there were many changes back then and the fact that I did not really know the process (or myself) made it incredibly frustrating.
The upside was that as I moved forward in my journey I learned ways of making the process more effective. There are always great dynamics in one’s vision but, once there is a real process, those dynamics seldom affect the ultimate “vision”. Dynamics simply become a turn in the road to the destination.
It became obvious to me that only with a vision, a plan, and a good execution would I be able to accomplish what I wanted. It was of utmost importance for me to understand where I wanted to go, what I wanted to achieve and to ultimately set the goals and plot a route to reach my vision.
Visioneering always begins with yourself. An understanding of what you want, how important it is, and what changes you need to make to get there will be the foundation that the rest of your vision will rest on. In the hard times, it’s what you can turn to for clarity, alignment and motivation to keep you going.