Edition 71 - Have a Vision

Have a vision

For many career folks of my age, the message of having a 5- or 10-year plan was always in front of us. A popular interview question was

“Where do you see yourself in 5 to 10 years?”

It forced us to at least have a vision and some understanding of how we were going to get there. The question was meant to gain some insight into what was important to us and if we had thought things through a bit as to how we were going accomplish them. It was meant to determine if we had any self-motivation to achieve. Had we thought it out? Do we have a plan?

I was conditioned by that very question in my early to mid-career. It forced me to think about my future and be intentional. Again, all self-focused. Which isn’t always a bad thing. But it’s not the main thing.

Proverbs 29:18 says

“Without vision, the people perish…”

I know this is potentially grabbing a verse out of context, but Solomon is speaking on the topic of wisdom. It’s a statement full of wisdom and one that speaks the truth about the importance of having a vision.

As leaders, we need to create and communicate a vision. In business, those visions are codified in strategic plans and balanced scorecards, which from there are broken down into measurable steps and individual goals. Everything an individual does is in support of the company vision. Every individual goal should align with a tactical approach to achieving a strategic goal supporting the vision.

Having non-associated goals for the sake of having goals is non-productive and misses the mark. It’s critical for individual goals for personal and professional development to support tactical measures to achieve strategic goals to align with the vision.

So, back to “Where do you see yourself in 5 to 10 years?”

I truly hope that I never see that question in an interview again, especially at my age. When it’s asked, I simply respond that I have a desire to serve the company and support the vision in whatever way possible through diligence, sharing my career’s worth of experience and knowledge, and building relationships with colleagues and our clients. That is what is meaningful to me and that is my value proposition.

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Steve Platia has been developing and leading high-performing teams, products, and processes in the renewable energy, manufacturing, and oil/gas industries for over 30 years. He can be reached at [email protected] or (918) 269-0472.

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