Let your team dream with you!

Let your team members in on your vision

The key here is communication. Keep your team members in the loop; be as transparent with them as is humanly possible about your visions. If you keep information from them, they may start to feel like they are not really a part of the company, or team. This would cause them to lose trust in you, and maybe even start to look for greener pastures. Nobody likes to feel like an extra wheel, which is exactly how your people would feel if you are keeping information from them.

Communicate with them about your plans, how you want it to be carried out, your aims and objectives. Let them dream with you, feel like your dream is their dream too. You will notice an improvement in the way they carry out tasks assigned to them, because they know the importance of what they are doing.

If you will be sharing your vision with your employees, you want to make sure it is something worthwhile, something inspiring enough for your employees to want to act on. Create a vision statement that will inspire you and your employees. An effective vision statement will tell a story of the benefits the organization creates, the impacts of the products they are working on, how their services will contribute to the society, the value the organization has in the community, what the company hopes to achieve, and more.

If you can create a vision statement that your employees can accept, and even value, you will have succeeded in making your employees engaged. An engaged mind will think along the lines of how to make the vision statements more than mere words on a paper.

As a leader, you should “own” the right to effectively communicate your vision statement to your team. They will be more accepting of these vision statements if it comes directly from you to them. When they hear it from you, there is a substantial increase in the possibility of having the vision embraced and executed to their full potential.

Ensure common understanding of your strategy and goals among your employees. Let them know how their work affects the final result. Help them to understand how their work fits into the bigger picture and what the team, or company as a whole is trying to achieve. Let them know that the entire team works like a chain reaction. If one part of the team fails to deliver, the other parts of the team would inevitably be accepted.

In addition, your employees need to see that your visions are sustainable, and can be useful in the future. They want to know that they would not be stuck in the past, but evolve as time changes. Your vision statement should be able to change as the time changes, while still maintaining its core values. If you can show to your employees that your plans are not backwards, but can be adjusted to suit the needs of the present time, you can motivate them better to maximizing their full potentials.

As earlier mentioned, you do not want your vision statement to be merely words on a paper. If you are fond of saying things you would not act upon, how would you be able to impress upon your employees the importance of the vision statement? A good leader sticks to his words. If he says that he would accomplish something within specific time duration, he does just that. You do not want to give the impression that your vision statement is dispensable, and you can do without achieving it. If you do this, you should not expect more from the people working under you.

Consistency is a primary key to success, and as a leader, you have to show this trait. If everyone on your team understands what the company is trying to achieve, and their role in the big picture, you will get a much more consistent approach, and less tendency for people to come up with their interpretation of what they think something means.

Effective communication with your people ensures that everyone is aware of the regulatory requirements, and would have no excuse for not complying with them. They are well aware of the guidelines, or policies, of the company and would consider themselves forewarned. This would lead to fewer cases of employees disregarding company rules.

Communication is only complete when the other party fully comprehends the information you have passed forward. It is not enough for them to hear, they have to grasp what it is you are trying to pass across. Make what you are trying to communicate with them, which in this case is your vision statement as simple to understand as possible. Eliminate ambiguity and vagueness.

Be as straight forward as possible, while still maintaining the main essence of the vision. You could come up with seminars, with engaging slide shows, or even video shows to enable them receive the information you are trying to pass across.

You should know that your manner of approach matters a lot. If you are passing a message as vital as your vision statement, you don’t want to come across as rude or imposing to your people. Pass the message in a manner that is befitting- gently, and with passion. Let your passion be a source of motivation and inspiration to your employees.

KEY: “Developing excellent communication skills is absolutely essential to effective leadership. The leader must be able to share knowledge and ideas to transmit a sense of urgency and enthusiasm to others. If a leader can’t get a message across clearly and motivate others to act on it, then having a message doesn’t even matter.”-Gilbert Amelio

(Extract out of the bestselling book "The Art of Successful Leadership" - Michel F. Bolle - 2016 -Tredition Publishing)