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    Setting Vision

    “The big picture doesn’t just come from distance; it also comes from time.” – Simon Sinek 

    Many organizations set a vision as a bold statement of hopes and aspirations. A vision lets people know what the organization hopes to achieve through their work, and it helps the organization set priorities and guide action. 

    Unlike a mission statement, which describes your core purpose and remains relatively stable over time, a vision may be updated every 3 – 5 years, so that it reflects the difference you hope to make in the future as events and circumstances change.  

    A vision statement should be:

    • Descriptive. What would you see if it were already in place?
    • Specific. Is it clear enough to guide your efforts to achieve it?
    • Compelling. Does it draw people to want to work toward it?
    • Bold. Does it inspire and challenge you and your team to move beyond the status quo?
    • Intentional. Would others see it as a serious effort?
    • Practical. Is it grounded enough in reality so that people see it as achievable (and don’t laugh you out of the room)?
    • Shared. Does it provide a shared meaning for all involved in working toward it? 

    When setting vision, consider who should be involved in the conversation—it’s not wrong for a leader to draft a vision independently, but collaborating with your team can be an energizing process! Further, engaging others in developing the vision builds their understanding and shared commitment to work together to achieve it. Set up a good conversation with an agenda, participation agreements and expectations, and space and materials for idea generation. You can also ask participants to review other organizations’ visions, look at strategic plans for your agency or the enterprise, look at information about your organization or team (participant or employee survey results, for example).

    When collaborating on a vision statement:

    • Ask questions. Where do we want to be in 3 years? 5 years? 
    • Be observant. What is going on in our organization? What purpose does our work serve? 
    • Be creative. What could our future look like without the limits we face today?
    • Identify themes. What common ideas are we hearing as we consider everyone’s ideas for the vision?
    • Step back – but keep talking! It may take a few tries to find the words to articulate your vision. It’s generally not a good idea to wordsmith in big groups. Take opportunities to digest new ideas, or let smaller groups make suggested edits to bring back to the larger group for further discussion. 

    Once you’ve finalized your vision, use it! Share it with others (inside or outside of your organization, depending on your intent), let it guide your action planning and priority setting, weave it into communication with your team, and revisit it to ensure it hasn’t lost its aspirational or motivational power. 

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