It informs and inspires at the same time and I think it serves as a great example of what an effective vision can be. NASA hit the nail on the head, but it's not that easy for everyone, especially when not all of us get to build rockets for a living. Every year our largest investor, Union Square Ventures , holds an unconference - an informal gathering of the 60 founders in their portfolio.
Last year, one session I attended was more crowded than any session I had ever been to. The topic was "How do I talk about vision to my team? Vision can be hard to talk about, but it's important to understand. When team members believe in the vision of a company, they are much more likely to tie their individual values to that shared vision. This allows them to have a greater sense of ownership and contribution and motivates them to offer new ideas and new ways to help.
I've found that when employees ask about vision it typically falls into one of three buckets: 1 Functional: they really just want to know how important their role is. No matter what the reason, it's the role of the CEO to deliver and to invite people in to help write the roadmap. I want to share a bit about the way I think about vision and how to best communicate it.
Figuring out the distinction between vision and mission can be tricky for many founders- I know it was for me. I found this short description to be a good place to start. I think the best way of drawing the distinction is that a mission describes what your business does today, while a vision describes what you hope to accomplish by executing on that mission. The vision inspires. At CircleUp, our mission has and will always be the same: to help entrepreneurs thrive by giving them the capital and resources they need.
That's what we do today and will do every day. Our vision is to create a transparent and efficient market that drives innovation forward for all. That is, by executing on our mission of getting great consumer businesses capital and resources, we hope to open doors to innovation. You can read more about the specifics of our vision here.
That feeling is difficult to describe, and I certainly never talked about it when I was playing. When it happened, I could feel my play rise to a new level. It came rarely, and would last from five minutes to a whole quarter or more. Three or four plays were not enough to get it going. It would surround not only me and the other Celtics, but also the players on the other team, and even the referees.
At that special level, all sorts of odd things happened. The game would move so quickly that every fake, cut, and pass would be surprising, and yet nothing could surprise me. It was almost as if we were playing in slow motion. During those spells, I could almost sense how the next play would develop and where the next shot would be taken. My premonitions would be consistently correct, and I always felt then that I not only knew all the Celtics by heart, but also all the opposing players, and that they all knew me.
There have been many times in my career when I felt moved or joyful, but these were the moments when I had chills pulsing up and down my spine. Sometimes the feeling would last all the way to the end of the game, and when that happened I never cared who won.
I can honestly say that those few times were the only ones when I did not care. On the five or ten occasions when the game ended at that special level, I literally did not care who had won. What is it about vision that creates such a magical experience? Here are 8 ways vision unleashes the full potential and brilliance of a team. Unleashes energy When a vision stems from the innermost values and beliefs of the people, it generates a tremendous excitement, a compelling spirit, and a powerful level of engagement.
Members see themselves as part of a larger whole and they see where they fit in. Day-to-day activities have more meaning because it is clear how they contribute to the greater welfare of the team. Supports Empowerment When leaders are assured that shared direction and values drive employee decisions, they are more willing to let go of control and let others assume responsibility. Leaders spend less time managing others and day-to-day crises and more time focusing on planning and big picture issues.
Sparks Creativity Creativity flourishes because there is more room for autonomy within the broad guidelines that a shared vision provides. Because everyone knows they each desire the same result and share the same values, they can act more independently without concern for competing self-interest. Triggers Trust People work together more easily.
The organization becomes a partnership, where each person has something to contribute in his or her own way. Stimulates Creative Disagreement People can argue about ideas without fear of it leading to damaging personality conflicts and without fear of ridicule and exclusion. Pair this with research that has demonstrated that millennials are more motivated by social causes than any previous generation, and the root of millennials apparent flightiness becomes clear. We are committed first and foremost to our personal causes, and we are passionate about what we want to see changed in the world.
We have personal visions for our lives, and our dream is that we can work within organizations that have visions that would align with our own. Therefore, rather than viewing retention of talent among millennials as a lost cause, millennial businesses need to be more focused than ever on pitching themselves to potential employees. Because it is by embedding a vision throughout an entire organization that businesses will inspire and retain exceptional talent.
It is actually more important than ever, now, that organizations clarify and promote their visions. To this end, there are a number of initiatives leaders can take to tailor their impact to better mobilize and retain the millennial generation.
Maintaining a global perspective while actively working to expand community involvement are important to foster that sense of purpose.
Demonstrating measurable results towards this purpose helps to keep the vision from stagnating, reinvigorating individual commitment. Ensuring a vision remains relevant to the organization requires strong, active leadership based on solid relationships with those leaders work with. Instead of hard coding a vision into the individual, leaders should welcome feedback and contributions from individuals they invite to share the vision with.
When leaders intentionally foster these networks, they can better understand the passions of individuals as well as their perspectives of the vision. Adapting the organizational purpose to blend with individual passions is crucial to embedding a relevant vision. In order to bridge the gap between the long-term trajectory of a vision and the fickleness of the millennial age, leaders need to understand what emotionally motivates millennials.
Having done that, leaders can then create and communicate a vision that is emotionally relevant and appealing.
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