We have often talked about it in our blogs: motivation. What drives a team to achieve success? Talent, but especially the role that everyone has within the team, are crucial and can turn a group of talents into a well-oiled machine. Another important influencing factor for success is having a vision and mission that everyone can identify with. A vision that your team supports, with the result that everyone is on the same page and team members will go through great lengths for each other and for you to achieve that common goal. This blog contains a number of concrete tips to achieve a strong and identifiable vision.

Why is your vision so important?

As a company or department you have a strategy. However, that strategy is often quite broad, difficult to explain and therefore difficult to make tangible. Especially for your team members, who may only be involved in a small part of the overall strategy. The vision you formulate for your department is more compact and powerful than the strategy. This vision is intended to give your team an idea of ​​the common goal and to inspire and enthuse.

With a well-formulated vision you can kill several birds with one stone:

• Everyone's goals are aligned, so that everyone is pursuing the same vision.
• A central vision allows you to benchmark with other departments and years.
• Your team will be inspired.
• You create clarity and understanding in your environment.

Every team needs a clear vision. A dot on the horizon. A goal to work on together. In the sports world, this vision is often obvious and can be linked to winning a prize. For example, the World Cup title that the Orange Lionesses are currently working hard on. In business, creating a strong vision is not always that easy. We have listed a number of tips for you.

Tips for drawing up a strong vision and mission

Tangibility is the key word. A vision must be tangible, so that your team can almost taste it, so to speak. The vision must be tangible in the DNA of your department. 'Anything for a smile', for example, is Coolblue's vision, which leaves little to the imagination. The vision is clearly tangible and present everywhere in the company. Everything for customer satisfaction. This vision is even reflected in the job titles. For example, Coolblue employs a 'corner of mouth marketer' who must put a smile on everyone's face. Both internally and externally. Practice what you preach. But what exactly makes a vision so strong?

Realism

A team that fights against relegation but formulates the championship as a vision is not being realistic. Your vision must be achievable and realistic to strike the right chord with your team members. Unfortunately, managers often fall short here by formulating a vision that either does not seem feasible or must be realized within too short a time.

Involve all stakeholders, it is not a one-man show

No matter how difficult it is, you as a manager do not necessarily determine the vision. Pushing your opinion does not always provide the necessary support. Involve all stakeholders in formulating the vision, for example by dedicating a team meeting to it at the beginning of the year. Involve both your manager and your team members and, where possible, your customers.

Make results visible

Just like with your strategic objectives, you want your vision to be measurable and therefore visible. Let's go back to Coolblue's 'Anything for a smile' vision. This is easily measurable through online reviews. These scores are displayed everywhere in the building, so that everyone can immediately see the vision in practice.

Make it graphic

Making it tangible and visible also includes providing graphic support for your vision. A green happy emoticon, for example, or a red angry emoticon, in relation to customer satisfaction. By illustrating the vision it becomes even more tangible and recognizable. For example, media network Medium.com drew out its vision through a storyboard. A comic with personas and customer situations.

Don't get stuck in the preliminary stages

Forming a concrete and measurable vision is therefore not that easy. Certainly not if you want to make optimal use of the opinions of all stakeholders. A possible pitfall is that you get stuck in eternal discussions. You can never represent the interests of everyone equally. It is your job as a manager not to discuss the process to pieces and to make the decision at the right time! Is your vision at 90%? Then just get started and make any necessary adjustments along the way.

Formulating a strong vision, both for internal and external stakeholders, is one of the ways to bring your organization into balance. The interplay between strategy, culture, employees and success is central to the business improvement services from Kenneth Smit. Knowing more? Contact us.