Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, once said, “Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion” (Josephson, 2012). Vision is “the stated aims and objectives of a business or other organization” (Dictionary.com). To be an effective leader of a business or organization, you need to have a clear vision, an objective for those you are leading to aim for. You need to get them to see the vision as you do, get them to believe in it as you do. You need to sell the vision to your followers. When they can see their role in making the vision a reality, they will embrace it and make it their own. This ownership will motivate them to strive to attain the goals that have been set for them, or even to set their own goals. The importance of having a vision for your organization is to show those you are leading where you want the organization to be in the future. This ultimate goal is usually long-term and gives the organization something to aim for.
A vision can only be achieved by setting a series of goals in order to reach it. Don Clark puts forth a six-step process for setting goals for an organization. The steps are vision, goals, objectives, tasks, timelines, and follow up. Creating a vision is the first and most important step, because without an ultimate goal to shoot for, the smaller goals have little meaning. The second step is to set goals together with the team. Goals are like a vision but are more precise. The vision is attained through the goals that are set. The third step is to set objectives. Objectives are set in a way that allows progress toward the vision to be measured. The fourth step is determining tasks. Tasks mus...
... middle of paper ...
...ing to make the vision become a reality.
Works Cited
Clark, D. (2010). Leading to Leadership. Retrieved from Big Dog & Little Dog's Performance Juxtaposition: http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leadled.html
Colorado State University-Global Campus. (2014). Module 4 – Vision and Integrity in Leadership and Writing [Blackboard ecourse]. In ORG 300 – Applying Leadership Principles (p.1). Greenwood Village, CO: Author.
Dictionary.com. (n.d.). Vision. Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/vision
Josephson M. (2012). Leadership Insights: 100 of the Best Quotes Ever on Leadership. Retrieved from http://josephsoninstitute.org/business/blog/2012/10/leadership-insights- 100-of-the-best-quotes-ever-on-leadership-selected-by-michael-josephson/
Top Achievement. (n.d.). Creating S.M.A.R.T. Goals. Retrieved from http://www.topaachievement.com/smart.html
Envisioning goals: Focus on the right direction to help the group manage the organization in both long term and short term goals.
Answer: “Visions seen only by the leader” (Kouzes & Posner, 2013, p.100). This is a very common obstacle that is both valid and can be overcome. It’s valid because leadership drives vision and purpose. If the leader has not expressed a vision that all can understand or support, the organization will not be successful. This obstacle can be overcome by other leaders within the unit having the courage to identify this failure and address it.
The Bible clearly states its purpose; God’s word would accomplish on this earth what it was set out to do. (Isaiah 55:11) Therefore, whether an organization or leader likes it or not, vision motivates, directs and unifies. (Dees, p. 159) Leaders are vital to the implementation of a vision. Therefore, it is imperative that the leaders understand the definition of vision. Vision is a potent image of the future state you want to create. “It is forward looking, forward thinking, and forward designing toward the way leaders think the future should unfold. It drives the development of strategies and plans to ensure that the envisioned future is arrived at as soon as possible.” (Vestal, p. 8) Vision can be implemented in an organization through strategic planning. Through the use of vision and mission statements, organizations exist and live. Many great organizations such as the United States Air Force, utilize strategic planning by constantly looking at different strategies to prepare for the future. Strategic planning “requires more than a weekend retreat. It requires considerable requisite preparation. Its tipping point is the establishment of a common culture. Culture drives the strategy, not the other way around” (Novis, et al,
Frequently communicating the vision to members of the organization should be done often and thoughtfully. A company’s leadership team should develop strategies for achieving the vision. One way to communicate the vision is to discuss it daily, and include it as a part of your decision making and problem solving process. Managers should demonstrate the change manifested by the organization, so employees recognize this kind of behavior is present. Communicating the organization’s vision can also address any concerns or difficulties openly and honestly. Robert Tanner agrees that, “many employees and managers will be wary of change and will need to be convinced that this new future is better than their present
After a vision is created, the leader must be able to implement and communicate with their stakeholders. In order for the vision to be communicated and implemented well, the leader must be able to build trust with their organization as suggested by the textbook in chapter 9. Kouzes and Posner also suggested characters of a transformational leader. Transformational leaders must be able to model the way. They must understand their own vales and philosophy. They set an example for others to follow and they follow through on their promises and commitments. (Northhouse
Having and transmitting a successful "shared vision" requires true "buy-in" on the part of the employees and the organization as a whole, and must foster genuine commitment and active enrollment in order to bring that organizational vision to a personal level. For shared vision to become a product of personal vision, each individual must "feel it", and be able to see how this vision can be articulated to promote the long-term interests of the company's success, and position in the larger scheme of things. This road to the end result is usually not mapped out or even guaranteed, and the creative tension this inspires, through personal commitment and dedication, is the fire it produces form it's visionary fuel.
develop a clear vision and a goal through sharing information such as plans, records and thoughts
Establishing goals is a required skill for management. It encompasses the ability to take into consideration systemic
Andy Stanley begins with the origin of a vision. Stanley (1999) contends, “Visions are born in the soul of a man or woman who is consumed with the tension between what is and what could be” (p. 17). According to Stanley, a vision is the ability to see what is possible in light of the present reality. A leader will not a have a vision for an organization if he is content with the status quo. Conversely, it is out of discontent that a vision is birth within a leader’s heart.
Path-goal theory deals with the leader's style to motivate followers, to accomplish set goals (Northouse, 2010). The path-goal theory is simply the implication that a leader works with an individual to establish a goal. The leader does this by individual motivation to achieve the proposed goal, while working through obstacles that may hinder achieving that goal (Whitener, 2007). The basic assumption of path-goal theory is that the following motivates subordinates: the capability to perform the work, their efforts will result in a certain outcome, and the payoff will be worthwhile (Whitener, 2007). The path-goal theory is a pragmatic approach that the leader uses to motivate the followers to achieve the set goals.
Goal Setting. In my organization for goal setting we follow the SMART method. SMART stands for S-Specific, M-Measurable, A-Achievable, R-Realistic and T-Timely.
Before a leader can be successful and before goals can be set, a vision is needed. A vision is something you want to achieve or accomplish, something you want for the future, and it is the most important thing for a successful leader to have. Without a clear vision, leaders will have problems inspiring others, and employees will have a difficult time being motivated due to not knowing what they’re working to achieve. Clark (1997) states that “As a leader, you have to get your followers to trust you and be sold on your vision” (p. 1)...
“A leader has the vision and conviction that a dream can be achieved. He inspires the power and energy to get it done.”— Ralph Lauren. In this world, nothing extraordinary would have happened without clear vision of leaders. Vision and direction are very important so that people who agree to it, can act upon it and deliver on that vision. They help people to prepare themselves in order to fully commit to achieve desired goal. An inspirational leader should always enlist his people in his vision, making it a common vision. In order to achieve this he must have d...
As a leader it is important to have a vision and a goal, but it is even more crucial to have followers who trust in your vision and goals. Trust is developed by displaying positive energy and attitude. Having a goal and a vision helps an organization move into the future. Without a goal or a vision an organization is going nowhere. It is bound to fail. The six steps of goal setting are vision, goals, objective, tasks, timeliness, and follow-up. Creating a mental picture of how the organization will look like in the future is the vision. When an organization has a vision, it is looking for change, growth, and improvement for the future. This vision of the future is challenging the present processes at an organization. This challenge is the first step in the process of great leadership. Leadership starts with a vision. Even Thomas Edison had a vision, a theory that gave us the light bulb. When setting goals, it is important to make sure that they are realistic, attainable, improving the organization, and having as many people involved as possible. Goal difficulty, goal spe...
Name everything from who is involved to what, where, when and why you want to accomplish the goal. Your goal must be clear and well defined. Generalized goals are unhelpful because they don’t provide sufficient direction. Remember, you need the goals to show you the way.