Last year, I wrote an article called Clarity First – Commitment Second, which focused on the importance of setting clear/realistic expectations that everyone can commit to. The issue is the term “clarity,” can ironically be vague and somewhat non-descript when it comes to leadership and your company’s vision.
Now I will dig a little deeper to explore the importance of a strong leadership team that relentlessly pushes for deep understanding and defined clarity around their organization’s vision.
It’s important to reach a strong consensus and buy-in to the vision of your organization. But too often team members will passively shake/nod their heads, which ultimately leads to disengagement and lack of commitment to that vision. Instead, teams must often engage in healthy debate to reach true alignment on their vision.
Begin with Articulating your Vision
An organization’s vision is usually in someone’s head (typically the founder), but until it can be clearly articulated and shared, it will garner little results.
Your team’s relentless pursuit of clarity will lead to alignment around the vision. My clients utilize a simple EOS tool called the V/TO (Vision/Traction Organizer) to guide leadership to powerful articulation of their vision.
5 Key Elements of Your Vision
Your organization’s vision should be composed of 5 key elements contained on the V/TO:
These elements are where your team must relentlessly push for 100% clarity and alignment.
I have witnessed many great debates, that have led to solid results. In one recent case, several members of a team argued for hours about the validity of one of their Core Values, i.e. “compassion.” Though it was clear that this was a desired Core Value, one team member argued it was more aspirational than truly “Core.” This frustrated another team member and a very lively debate ensued. In the end, they agreed that it was more aspirational and eliminated it.
It was the relentless pursuit for clarity that lead to this healthy debate resulting in a decision ultimately agreed by all – including the team member who argued for it.
The pursuit for clarity begins with the commitment to alignment and this is what great leadership teams do so well!
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