The power of renewal - Creating a compeling vision

As the calendar turns to January 1st, we all find ourselves at a crosswalk - a time for anticipation and renewal. For leaders, this is an opportunity to steer their team members with renewed energy and purpose by crafting a vision that will guide their team through the upcoming months and beyond.

At its core, a vision is a portrait of what your team strives to become or to achieve, beyond just targets and metrics. It’s about painting a picture of the future that motivates those around you and acts as a constant reminder of why the hard work matters, especially in the not rosy times. Before looking at the future, take a moment to reflect on the previous year’s victories and setbacks and gather insights. This exercise will allow you to use past experiences to inform and shape a more relevant and strong vision for the future.

There’s a few key aspects that make a vision stick.

• Clarity. The vision should be easily understood and remembered.

• It must resonate. Make sure it aligns with the values and aspirations of your team.

• It should be ambitious. Don’t shy away from stretching the imagination and encouraging growth.

• It needs to be specific enough to provide guidance or flexible enough to adapt to changing circumstances. Involving your team members in the vision-setting process is a great way to stimulate ownership. When people get actively involved, they’re more likely to commit to making it a reality.

A vision without a plan is nothing but a dream. Breaking down your grand vision into actionable goals and strategies will create a roadmap that your team can refer to better understand what they must do today in order to achieve the bigger picture tomorrow. Define clear metrics and/or milestones to ensure you know that you’re heading in the right direction and to allow you to recalibrate when you’re not.

This year, seize the opportunity to reflect, engage and inspire. Your vision might just be the catalyst that transforms aspirations into reality.