Why everyone should believe in Something

Whether you work in football, sport, education, business, or really any sector to be honest you should have something you believe in. When I say believe in I'm not talking religion, or the tooth fairy, but having a long term vision, philosophy and methodology of how you wish to succeed in your field. This is vital for long term success and minimising problems that will occur on the way.

To make my point lets first examine what not having a long term plan, or vision may look like in working practice. I'm sure everyone has worked for a person, or an organisation that doesn't have a plan, or vision at some point and will be familiar with the pitfalls that ensue. If a Leader, or business has no vision, then it is often the case that they will latch on to a new trend, or what someone else is doing from week to week. When this starts to happen the employees will have no clear direction and end up trying flip flop from one ethos, to another. This then creates a place of uncertainty with no identity that doesn't really stand for anything, other than the current trend, or flavour of the month. Decision making then becomes very reactive to the current problems faced, that usually stem from not having a clear lack of vision in the first place. Another common problem that occurs is lack of motivation from the staff. If the staff are given freedom within their roles then they can at least get to work on their area and impart their area of expertise. The only problem then is that everyone may start pulling in different directions and things can quickly become disjointed. However sometimes in top down organisations it might be the case that you find yourself constantly waiting for orders from the top for you to follow. When these orders don't have any clear direction and are reactive in nature, then motivation will become rock bottom.

Can peoples ethos and philosophy change over time? Yes of course and the context of different environments will alter a persons perspective, as one environment may not be suited to a certain ethos, or philosophy. That said to adapt to certain environments might be part of a philosophy and while this may change, certain things may stay and be classed as non negotiable's. These are the things like our values and beliefs that we are not willing to change no matter the circumstances and the things that we are willing to stick by, even in times of unrest.

So what are the benefits to having a clear vision? Leaders/organisations with a clear vision will usually help their charges to:

• Deal with problems faced without constantly seeking approval
• Be able to work independently, or remotely
• Be motivated to be their best and have professional fulfilment
• Be proud of the organisation they work for

It's not always easy to know what your values and beliefs are, or to develop a philosophy, it takes a lot of time and self awareness, but if you don't know what you stand for, then how will anyone else.