Communicating Your Vision ^©

Article from his ProActive Leadership Advisory Tips Newsletter

Give the “living” gift of respect and gain the respect of your followers. The physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual integrity of your relationship with yourself and those you are responsible for effectively leading profoundly impacts the worthwhile and cumulative contributions you’ll make to your own life, your family and the people in your work environment. As you examine each of the leadership tips below, ponder the physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual aspects of each as it relates to developing respectful relationships at home and work.

Communicate a Worthwhile Vision. We have all heard of the studies which show that people accomplish more when they fully understand the significance of their individual contribution. It isn’t enough to merely post a family or company vision statement along with a Credo describing the operating values that are to drive the achievement of your visions. Your values have to be lived. Mutual accountability processes must be in place to help all stakeholders in the vision “keep to the course.”

Be Who You Are, No More and No Less. Being one’s self is paramount for a leader. Know who you are and what you represent. People cannot respect someone who won’t take a stand and “blows with the wind”. Develop a reputation for being a person of Intentional Integrity who lives by high standards for conduct and ethics. Then, you will emanate confidence and be positioned to encourage others to follow your example.

Respect Others as Equal Human Beings. Treat your children and file clerks at work with the same warmth and respect as you do the board members of your company. Remember, the position you hold as a leader is not what causes people to follow your lead in a highly willing and motivated way. It is your personal power of attraction that is determined by your expressed character, competence and commitment to think, say and do the right things.

Solicit and Be Open to Other's Ideas. Ask for ideas and input from others. Show them you value it by acknowledging excellent ideas and acting on them. Help others to think strategically in relationship to your common vision. A common pitfall of leaders enamored with their position is capitulating to the “Lone Ranger” mentality; a belief that one should know it all, tightly control projects and take all the credit. This stance is very limiting, does not support new opportunities, and does not promote respect from family members, bosses, colleagues or staff members.

Position Yourself to Hide Nothing. Eliminate the hidden agendas and be open, honest and transparent. By withholding information, trust deteriorates. While the intention may be to protect your spouse, your family or the people at work, it comes off as being patronizing and causes resentment. Share as many facts that are relevant to others as you can and see how willingly they follow you!

Gain People's Commitment. Leaders often get so caught up in communicating what needs to be accomplished that they overlook asking for, and checking the commitment of their family members or staff regarding their participation in the accomplishment. Don’t proceed with the vision, mission or goal until you have courageously asked each stakeholder where they stand and their level of commitment. Some questions I use are:

1. On a scale of 1 low to 10 high, what is your personal commitment to fully contributing to the achievement of our vision?

2. What will your commitment look like in action?

3. What are the things I or others need to do to help you keep your commitment or strengthen it?

Help People Be Right and Successful. In many organizations today, you can hear the phrase, “The customer is always right”. This assumption often undermines your people, especially when they were following the guidelines management set for them. How do you think it makes people feel when their decisions are over ridden? Smart leaders train their people up to make on-the-spot decisions about legitimately “satisfying the customer” and then back them up!

Give People Authority Equal to Their Responsibility. There are voluminous cases of where projects are delegated to staff without appropriate authority to make decisions or utilize their budget allocations without approval. For healthy organizations today to gain and maintain a positively competitive edge, everyone in the organization needs to be empowered as a leader. Managers can’t afford to hold all leadership decisions for themselves. They are neither informed or competent enough to make all that need to be made day in and day out.

One restaurant chain executive told me that they first trained, and then gave every waiter and waitress the full authority to “comp” a given number of meals each month based on making things right with the customer. They reported in short, concise terms the reasons for each “comp”. If they ran out of “comps” during a given month, they could then review their “reports” and get extra “comps” for dealing with future situations that month. Talk about helping people think, say and do the right things in relationship to the customer!

Look for Good Intentions in People. What would change in the way you interact and communicate with family members and the people at work if you presumed their good intentions? What you expect and inspect with respect is what you get. My experience with people when I am focused on this premise is that they more often than not rise above the occasion and creative resolutions occur even in the middle of staff disputes.

Acknowledge and Affirm Others Often. No one likes feeling like a cipher or unnecessary. Most everyone wants to be genuinely valued and appreciated in sincere ways. Focus on what people are doing right and affirm them regarding the specifics of it. Too many times the only feedback that is provided is corrective, not affirmative. People need both “on course” and “off course” feedback to most constantly make their best contributions of character, competence and commitment to achieve the common vision.