The Power of Vision
A vision is a potential future. But a good vision is a potential future that motivates people enough to make it a reality.
What motivates people is the resonance between their personal vision and the vision of the organization. Many leaders overlook this simple but profound truth. If you give people a paycheck, they will work for you. But if you hire people who believe what you believe and want what you want, then they will give you more than their time and effort.
This is why so many organizations struggle to engage and motivate their employees. Just about every corporate mission statement sounds something like:
“To be the leading provider of _______ to the _______ industry.” or; “To maximize shareholder value by leveraging best in class _____.”
Boring.
Nobody cares.
Those statements don’t resonate with anyone. Any company with a vision statement like that will struggle to attract and retain top talent, because top talent wants to give their time, effort, and passion to a compelling vision. Not to maximizing shareholder value.
As others have said, you need gas to take a road trip. But if the purpose of your road trip is to visit as many gas stations as possible … don’t be surprised if no one wants to go with you.
This is the first and biggest challenge I see with most organizations. They’ve not done the hard work to articulate the positive impact they want to make in the world and why employees, partners, and customers should join with them in the pursuit. If you offer people a paycheck, they will invest their time and energy. But if you offer people a purpose, they will invest their heart and soul. Which would you rather have?
If your organization is struggling with recruiting, quiet quitting, or slowly eroding margins, it may be time to revisit your vision. Take some time away to explore the purpose and positive impact you want your organization to make. If this doesn’t come naturally to you, find a good coach or consultant to help you discover your deeper desires for purpose and impact. It might feel like a waste of time, but this investment in purpose will pay significant dividends for your people and profits.
Once you have a compelling corporate vision, there is another step. Truly great organizations not only know their corporate vision, but they help their employees each discover their own personal vision. When this happens, organizations see powerful impacts in their recruiting, retention, productivity, and innovation. Why? Because their employees are not working for a paycheck, they are working as an expression of their own personal identity.
How do they do this? We’ll address that next. But for now, reflect on your corporate vision. Does your company have a compelling purpose? Is it compelling to your employees, customers, and partners, or is it only compelling to you? How do you know?
