Leaders are supposed to be the keepers of the vision. We expect our leaders to not only have a vision of where we want and need to go, but also to be able to hold that vision up for us to see. This doesn’t just mean the big vision with a capital “V”, it also means the goals that we have to meet.

But what happens when things get in the way? As leaders we have to make sure that we are able to quickly and effectively get ourselves and everyone else back on track.

Things Got In My Way

Today my organization is launching sweeping changes that will effect everyone in the organization and my team has been involved in the planning, managing and implementation of this project. Everything has been building up to the launch that takes place today. But I’ve had two straight weeks of things getting in the way. Some were planned, some not so planned.

Two weeks ago all of our remote employees had to travel to the home office city for a week of conference like meetings. With only two weeks before our big launch, our team had to split our time between participating in the meetings and doing work to prepare for today’s launch. I don’t know about you, but when I have to travel away from my home office, my productivity suffers because I lose my familiar way of doing things. Couple that with a couple hundred extra people around and it’s hard to stay as focused as I can when I’m alone in my own office.

When we planned today’s launch date we knew about these meetings being two weeks out, in fact it gave us the perfect opportunity to train folks on the upcoming changes. We felt confident that having a week between the meetings and the launch would give us a week to finish anything up and make any adjustments that came up after meeting with the masses.

BUT, for me things just kept getting in the way. While traveling home at the end of the week, I picked up a nasty cold. Not only was I still trying to get back in the swing of things after being away for a week, but I also felt miserable. In fact, two of the days last week I spent all day in bed sleeping, not able to think at all about what work still needed to be done. When I was able to work, my head wasn’t clear enough to focus on everything I needed to focus on.

If leaders are supposed to be the keepers of the goals and visions, how do we keep, not only ourselves but, everyone focused on where we need to go when things get in the way?

Plan Ahead

The first thing is to have taken the time early on to practice vision reflection. When we take the time to reflect on our vision or goals, we’re able to clearly define where it is we need to go. Having a clearly defined vision or set of goals up front should be able to withstand things getting in the way.

Share With Others

Having a defined vision or goals is a great first step, but I’m a big believer in planning for what happens if the leader is hit by a bus. The organization needs to continue should something happen to the leader, even something as simple as a really bad cold. So not only do we need to clearly define where we want to go, but others need to share the vision and goals. When others are part of working towards the vision or making goals happen and something gets in the way for the leader forward progress can continue.

Get Back Up To Speed

When things get in the way, the leader needs to do everything possible to remove the barriers. Clearly if we’re talking about being bedridden the best thing we can do is get better. Then when we are able we need to hit the ground running by getting as much information as we can on the status of things. While the natural tendency would be to rush into action, after quickly gathering the needed information, the wise leader will take the time to reflect on where we’ve been, where we are and where we still need to go.

Leader’s Reflection: Sometimes, no matter how well we plan, things get in the way of our progress. Leaders need to prepare for such disruptions by clearly defining the vision or goals and making sure others have a clear understanding of where we need to go. Once barriers are removed, leaders need to quickly assess where things stand and decide how to move forward.

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1. Take the Time to Reflect – Or Else
2. A Giving of Thanks
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This is Part 4 in a series of articles that introduce the main ideas about Reflection Leadership.

Since we know that leadership is about leading others, when we talk about leadership we tend to focus on others: how do we develop them, how do we motivate them, etc. But effective leadership needs to be about more than just personnel work. Leaders are expected (and frankly should be required) to have a vision. This is true of leaders in all levels of the organization. The size and scope of the leader’s vision should be relative to the position of leadership that they hold. Those leading entire organizations should have a vision that includes the whole organization. Those leading teams should have a vision that is relative to the work of the team that is in congruence with the organizational vision.

In the context that I’m using it, vision is not some ethereal dream. When I think about it in this context, vision is about recognizing a future state (point B if you will) and figuring out how to get there from our current state (point A). These are really two different things, recognizing the future state and the figuring out how to get there. Effective leaders need to be able to do the first part but it takes more than just recognizing the future state. Effective leaders also have to be able to articulate that future state in such a way that everyone can clearly see the end goal. If I cannot clearly articulate where I want us to be heading, everyone will be confused and may end up working at cross purposes.

Once I have clearly articulated the future state, to be an effective leader I need to help everyone understand what I think needs to be done to get us there. Truly effective leaders will understand the need not to micromanage the details of getting from point A to point B. If the vision is clearly articulated and guidance has been given on how to get there, it is important to let those closest to the action figure out how to do the work needed.

Practicing Vision Reflection

Vision Reflection is what can help us to be able to create, share, and work towards a vision. Being able to stop and reflect is essential to vision work. If we are caught up in the day-to-day grind, we will never be able to see past the trees to be able to recognize the forest we are in. Vision Reflection allows us to clearly see where we are so that we can decide where we need to go next. Visions should never be created on a whim so taking time to reflect allows us to make sure that the vision of where we want to go is sound.

Once our vision has been created, Vision Reflection can be used as an ongoing process to help us as we articulate and clarify the vision for others. Also, it gives us the opportunity to constantly monitor our progress against the vision. As we take the time to reflect on our vision work we are able to see any changes that are needed because of new information and circumstances.

Vision Reflection allows us to understand both the why we are doing what we are doing and the how we are going to do it. By recognizing and articulating the future state that we want to achieve we are able to address the why we are doing what we are. When folks are able to understand the why we are doing something and it can be articulated in such a way that they can accept and share responsibility for it, it makes the how we do it less confrontational and stressful.

As leaders, one of our greatest responsibilities to our followers is having a clear vision of where we want to go. Practicing Vision Reflection helps us to take the time to not only develop and clarify our vision, but also to share that vision with those that will be doing to bulk of the work. By making this reflection a continual process, it gives us the ability to monitor our progress against our vision and allows us to make adjustments and corrections should the need arise.

What challenges do you have understanding and articulating your vision?

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