Creating a Leadership Vision
Presenter: Sue Cromwell
sec137@psu.edu
September 10, 2015
HOW WILL THE WORLD/WORKPLACE LOOK
DIFFERENT AS A RESULT OF YOUR
PARTICIPATION IN EMERGING LEADERS?
THE IMPORTANCE OF VISION
“I am personally convinced that one person can
be a change catalyst, a “transformer” in any
situation, any organization. Such an individual is
yeast that can leaven an entire loaf. It requires
vision, initiative, patience, respect, persistence,
courage, and faith to be a transforming leader.”
- Steven R. Covey
THE IMPORTANCE OF VISION
• Key Components:
― Content: the information presented affects the
employee’s or team’s perception of the
organization.
― Communication: the articulation of a vision, how
the information is communicated, affects the
employee’s or team’s perception of one’s
leadership effectiveness.
DEVELOPING A VISION
• The Foresight Process
STEP 1: UNDERSTAND THE PAST
STEP 2: ANALYZE THE PRESENT
STEP 3: CREATE THE FUTURE
“Understanding the past leans toward the symbolic,
analyzing the present leans toward the factual, creating the
future leans toward the emotional. There are many creative
processes that help leaders envision these worthy futures.
The most important rule to follow during this phase is simple
to articulate but difficult to practice:
conceptsmith first, and
wordsmith second.”
(Clarke and Crossland, 2002)
CONCEPTSMITH FIRST
WORDSMITH SECOND
CCL’s Five Building Blocks for a Vision
•
•
•
•
•
The big idea
The values
The story
The growth factor
The change factor
(Permission to excerpt from Creating a Vision©2010 granted by the Center for Creative Leadership)
WORDSMITH SECOND
• Zappos:
– So here is the vision: One day, 30% of all retail transactions
in the US will be online. People will buy from the company
with the best service and the best selection. Zappos will be
that online store.
• Amazon: “Our vision is to be Earth’s most customer centric
company; to build a place where people can come to find and
discover anything they might want to buy online.”
• Mayo Clinic: “To hope and contribute to health and wellbeing by providing the best care to every patient through
integrated clinical practice, education, and research.”
STEP 4: SELECT THE COURSE
STEP 4: SELECT THE COURSE
• Setting priorities
• Setting short- and long-term goals
• Goal is now focusing on what is most
important
• Mechanisms for accountability
STEP 5: UNITE THE ORGANIZATION
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, by Another Believer (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons, 2013.
Step 5: Unite the Organization
• What did he do to help individuals understand the past?
• What strategy or data did he use to help people
understand the current state?
• How did he help people envision the future and identify
the concepts and the words?
• What course did he lay out? What were the priorities?
• How did he unite and help people see the vision so they
were all moving in the same direction?
• What about the speaker’s vision remains impactful
today?
Today’s Summary
 It is important for a leader to establish a vision.
 A leader should understand the past and analyze the present.
 Open and creative thought will help to create the future.
 The five building blocks can be used to write a vision
statement.
 Use short- and long-term goals to select the course.
 There is a power in uniting the organization toward the vision.
Questions and Thank You