Strategic Visioning for Abundant Leaders: 3 steps to manifest your vision

Strategic planning rocks!

But without being connected to why you are planning for something, and without

embodying what you are planning for, the strategic plan will only get you so far.

The past few years we’ve witnessed that with many of the leaders we’ve worked with this year, the overwhelm and brain fatigue has been real; understandably.

I myself was there a year ago this time.

2023 was the first year ever that I came into the new year without a 5 page strategic plan with multi prong goals and KPIs for every aspect of my life and business.

As a strategic business growth strategist, this was very odd for me.?

And yet, it’s what I needed at that time for my human self as well as my brand evolution.

Sometime in 2022 I began to recognize that I was experiencingn what I now think of as, “post-pandemic burnout.”

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one.

A 2022 study showed that over 50% of leaders report feeling burned out.

This affects women at higher rates.?

I experienced it too. Through the pandemic I had been so energetically, “all in,” with my team, in support of clients, witnessing and processing crises in the world, after a few years it was catching up to me.?

In addition my business had achieved a few big goals and milestones, so after hitting the goals I was left exploring, what next??

And not just, “what business goal should I have next?”

But asking deeper questions:?

What do I truly desire now?

How is my work meant to evolve forward?

What is the legacy of my contributions???

And who do I need to be to live that legacy?

Answering these questions requires reconnection with the self, without a 5 page strategic plan attached to it.

So instead my strategic plan focused around being present each day, trusting myself to be present with what I felt most called toward and embodying the energy of the person who can be that.?

I realize this may sound “airy fairy.”?

For me, there were times it was uncomfortable AF.?

And through years of supporting leaders through business growth and transformation, I’ve come to find again and again, that the self alignment must come first in the strategy equation.

Soul + Strategy (hence my brand name, Soul Seed Strategy).?

Everything we do as leaders is from a certain consciousness, or self belief system. You’re taking action on that belief system.?

This is why when you have clarity for your vision, shift your identity to match that and then take action, you get a different result.

As a leader, if you become so burned out that you lose the passion for what you once loved, this is a sign that it’s time to be for a bit.?

To drop the plan and reconnect with your soul.?

It’s like running a race or climbing a mountain (speaking metaphorically. Not that I’d know from experience, unless climbing the hill at Devil’s Lake state park counts?).?

Breaks are required.?

When you hit a peak you don’t keep going to the next.

It’s necessary to pause at the plateau, or come back down the mountain, to regroup before the next climb.

To integrate all of you’ve learned and accomplished and to reconnect with what you most desire next, otherwise, what do you keep climbing for? In the first five years of my business, I climbed hard.

We had massive results.

And about a year ago, it was time for a re-group, a recalibration to ask myself the questions that mattered much more than “how do we add more revenue,” or “improve our marketing system.”

And that’s what I did.

Gave myself space to regroup!

To recalibrate to my “next level.”?

Because of this approach I gained so much this last year as a human first, and leader second. A year later, I’m healthier.

Reconnected with an upgraded vision, energy and passion.

Clarity for where I’m taking my life annd business.

A year ago, I didn’t quite have that, because I was at yet another, growth transformation point.?

This last year, my lighter approach to my strategic plan gave me fresh perspective and the ability to fall in love with aspects of my work again while seeing a new upgraded vision for myself and company!

A feeling of “ahh yes, this is what I’m meant to be doing,” has given me clarity about where my strategic focus will be in the year ahead.

But that feeling, that ahh yes, this is me, this is what I’m called toward, would not have been possible without allowing myself the space and permission to really connect with myself and what I desired next.

Connect with my feelings.?

My emotions.

That is the seed.?

From there, the strategy and the how follows.

?

But how do you know what to bring to life or to move forward in your business/career or how to do it,

If you aren’t even clear it’s what you actually WANT anymore?

So many clients I meet with are experiencing some version of this.

A desire to live and lead intentionally.

A wish to slow down, have a “break,” clear the monkey mind, to energetically reset.

Especially in this post pandemic world.

Leadership is a lot, especially the last few years.?

But with responsibilities, a team, family, people relying on you, it’s not likely possible to disappear to a cabin in the woods or an oceanside retreat for a few months … so how do you meaningfully reconnect with yourself, when there is limited “space?”

By doing “the work” that matters:

The work that can help you recover from burnout,

Reconnect with your passion,

Align with your upgraded vision!

I want to share with you the 3 steps that helped me this last year move through my own transformational “shi(f)t.”

Recently I shared these steps with 25 amazing leaders in a workshop.

If you were there, you experienced the power in the room.

If you didn’t make the workshop, I still want you to have the benefit of the key takeaways!

So if you’re feeling called to reconnect with your vision in a meaningful way, if you see the value in a strategic plan but right now are feeling the pull to connect with something beyond the “logical mind,” then these 3 steps to manifest your Intentional Vision, are for you:

Step 1: Define what’s wilting and blooming in this season of leadership and life

Imagine your life as a field of flowers: connect with what flowers are ready to wilt and be released back to earth, which are coming into full bloom, and what seeds are just being planted for future growth…

Represented here are all of your passions, hobbies, commitments, relationships, career paths and projects.?

Different shapes and colors at various stages of bloom.?

As you visualize your flower patch, what aspects of your life/career are reaching their end stage?

What flowers are wilting?

What projects, relationships or patterns have lived their life cycle and coming to an end?

To make space for new growth, often something needs to be released or let go.

Just like flowers wilt, die and the seed goes back to the earth to bloom anew, so do stages of our lives and careers.?

When I looked at my life and business in this way, it allowed me to move through change with greater grace and ease, honoring and celebrating all that was, while creating space for the new vision to emerge.

By being in this awareness, I was able to see some things I had unconsciously been hanging onto with frustration and resentment, that hadn’t come to fruition as planned.?

By imagining my life and business like a field of flowers with relationships and my own evolution represented at different stages, it allowed me to be happy that those experiences and relationships happened, rather than staying sad because they were “over.”

In addition, this exercise allowed me to connect with what felt most alive, vibrant, ready to come to full bloom!?

By honoring my journey in this way, it provided space for grief and moving the energy about things that hadn’t gone to plan, and that made fresh room for me to get excited about what’s coming next!

Tangibly speaking, I let go of some services in my company that no longer lit me up the same way, and focused my energy toward birthing our year long mastermind and coaching program for amazing leaders, Soul Seed Awakening.

This would not have happened if I hadn’t intentionally connected with my vision, and then moved in momentum with priority action toward what I felt called toward most.?

I had to let go of the way I had been doing business, so I could do business the way that I really desired to.?

What flowers in your field are ready to be honored and wilted back to earth? And what’s ready to come into full bloom??

Step 2: Pick your Flowers

Which flowers are ready to come to full bloom in 2024?

You might also think of these as your top goals.

Your flowers can represent projects, problems you are ready to solve, patterns you are committed to transforming, relationships.

You may have several flowers for personal life, several for business.

You decide how full your bouquet will be.?

In the workshop we hosted when we asked participants “what flowers are ready to bloom for you in 2024?" the shares were as unique as each person.??

Participants shared things like:

• My blooming flower is me speaking on stages this year, that’s my top personal goal.
• Finally committing to taking my business more seriously, running my business like a CEO with a thought out strategy and team in place.
• Trust myself and my own energy, first and foremost.
• My personal well being. I’m putting my self-care at the forefront.
• To keep walking this transition out of my current business, and generate $100k revenue in my new business model by year end.
• I’m going to write my book I’ve been dreaming about writing for years.

You choose which flowers are your priorities for 2024.

Step 3: Nourish your Flower with Aligned Action

Now you’ll take your pretty little flower, and consider, what does it really need, in order to grow??

4 powerful questions to help your flowers bloom:

• What does success look like when you’ve achieved the vision (when that flower has come to bloom)?
• Who do you need to become for the flower to bloom?
• What are you no longer available for that is going to be left behind so that this flower can take center stage??
• What are the risk factors that could prevent you from allowing this flower to bloom?

Now consider, what actions will you take to support the blooming of your flowers?

Some aspects of what got you here will help you get there (zone of genius for the win). But also, sometimes what got you here won’t get you there (blindspots and gaps).

It can be difficult to identify exactly where your gap might be. Is it something you’re doing, or not doing? A gap in your beliefs or business fundamentals?

One of our signature tools that helps leaders to get clarity about what actions to take is our Business Alignment Assessment, a free assessment and workbook in which you assess your actions across 7 key brand growth areas, check it out here.?

This assessment can help you identify where you may need to focus to help your flower fully bloom.

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Strategic plans are great.

But strategic visions are even better.

Because a plan without embodiment of a vision is just words on paper.

A vision pulls you and your company forward with emotion, clarity, conviction and purpose as you accomplish the plan together.?

Embodiment of you being the leader who is capable of that, makes it real.

Especially when you feel overwhelmed or burned out.

In those moments, it’s important to take off the thinking cap.

And reconnect with what really matters, why you are moving that way in the first place and how you are being in it.

Only then will you manifest your intentional vision.

What’s growing in your garden this next year?

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