Perhaps the greatest gift a leader can give to their team is a vision. Without a vision, people wander. Developing one can be hard work, but a good vision is always worth the effort.
As an elementary school student, I rode the bus to school. Mr. Haase (pronounced ”hass”) was my bus driver. A sizeable plump man, he wore the same green outfit every day. I could never discern the boundary line between his body and the driver’s seat; he morphed into the chair more than sat upon it. I was terrified of him.
Our route took us from farm to farm, past endless wheat fields that stretched into the horizon. We had miles between stops with little to do except exercise our imaginations. And in adolescent boys, that’s usually a precursor to stretching rules.
But not on Mr. Haase’s bus. He was determined to run a tight ship, and nothing escaped his attention. He was quick to warn you if he sensed anything unusual. Mr. Haase spent so much time looking into the long rectangular rear-view mirror, I believed he navigated by looking out the back of the bus. Some leaders are like this.
The Seduction of Retrospectives
Many agile teams incorporate the practice of holding frequent retrospectives. For continuous improvement, this is an important practice. It is a chance to review the previous working cycle, identify what went well and what didn’t, and define actions to improve things in the future.
But if you are leading a team, take caution that you aren’t spending all of your time reviewing and correcting your team (or even praising the past). Constant review and tight control lead to poor morale and risk-averse team members. Rather than playing to win, they play not to fail.
Look Forward and Lead
As a leader, spend a suitable amount of your energy on looking ahead. Where do you want to be in three or five years? Wheel in hand, gaze out the windshield and take in the view that others may not see. Give your organization a North Star, pointing in the direction it needs to go. The rear-view mirror is there when you need to look back. But it will never be an effective compass.
Make it Compelling
As an adviser, I once sat in on a meeting to hear a CEO present the vision to his senior team. The energy was high with a sense of anticipation. Then the CEO began. The first slide of his vision deck was a revenue growth chart for the next three years. Useful for budgeting? Yes. Motivating for those in the room looking to apply their talents to something bigger than themselves? Not so much.
As Horst Schulze writes in Excellence Wins, “[With a vision you] give them a purpose to get out of bed in the morning and come to work. And together, you keep moving forward.”
You give them a purpose to get out of bed in the morning and come to work.
Invite Others
An interesting vision sets the stage for an invitation. An invitation to others who want to join a cause, not just do a job. It serves as a filter for those that are the best fit for your organization. Those who will set aside selfish motives in pursuing something great. The ones who will give their all, because their all is worth giving to accomplish a preferable future.
Again from Schulze, “The challenge is to cast a vision and then invite other living, breathing human beings to join you in pursuing that vision. This is probably the most important strategy a leader can undertake.”
Don’t be afraid to paint the picture for others to see. Do it often. Remind those in your organization why what they do matters and invite those outside your team to join them.
You Got This!
Not enough time to think about the future? Schedule time as a recurring appointment. Write the vision down and rewrite it until you are confident it represents a preferable future and you become excited about inviting others to join the pursuit.
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