Turning Vision into Success: A Leader’s Playbook
As a business leader, you’ve probably heard this mantra more than you’d care to remember: "You have to start with a vision." It’s a staple of boardroom conversations and strategy sessions. But let’s be honest—how often does a vision really make an impact on your team’s actions or outcomes?
The truth is, having a vision is only the beginning. The real difference-maker is a management team’s ability to articulate that vision effectively in a way that other people can see in their mind what the outcome looks like. It’s not just you, it’s your whole management team - they’re the ones who will drive it forward throughout the organization.
In this blog, we’ll explore why articulating a clear and tangible vision matters, especially by and with your management team, and how you can ensure that your vision is vivid and actionable for everyone in your company.
Why Your Management Team Needs a Collective and Vivid Vision
When it comes to achieving your business goals, clarity and alignment within the management team are critical. Vivid, tangible visions enable your managers not just to understand what success looks like but to champion it with their own teams. Good leaders don’t just state a vision—they inspire with detail, making the future feel real.
But how can you tell if your vision is clear enough? Here are two practical ways to test its clarity:
One - Can People Outside Your Management Team Describe the Vision Accurately Back to You?
Start by developing your vision statement with your management team and then ask a few of their direct reports to describe it back to you in their own words. This exercise reveals whether your articulation is vivid enough to resonate.
For example, let’s compare two examples of a vision statement to maintain quality of products in a company as that is expanding:
Statement A: Even though we are expanding there will be no reduction in quality.
Statement B: Even though we are expanding, the accuracy of our documents and data we provide our clients will remains the same, and our clients will not perceive any change in quality.
If you were a manager trying to convey these to your team, which one would you find easier to explain? Most people would pick the second one because it is more specific and vivid.
The same principle applies to your vision: you and your management team should be able to describe it in ways that inspire clarity and confidence in your direct reports.
Statement B is also measurable, which will get us to our next test of clarity.
Two - Can Your Vision Be Measured?
A truly actionable vision is measurable. Without measurable elements, your management team won’t know if they’re on the right track—or if they’re succeeding at all.
Let’s revisit Statement B: “Even though we are expanding, the accuracy of our documents and data we provide our clients will remains the same, and our clients will not perceive any change in quality.”
How can this be measured? For our client, we used the following metrics:
Percentage of document with repeat errors (tracked by a system).
Percentage of data entry errors and percentage of missing documents (measured manually).
Percentage of customers who perceive document and data quality as good (through a client survey).
These metrics provided clear benchmarks for tracking progress and building momentum within the company. Importantly, they allowed managers to celebrate wins and identify areas for improvement. For a management team, this kind of measurable clarity builds alignment and accountability.
As a challenge, try to do that with Statement A.
Making It Work for Your Management Team
Here’s how you can ensure your management team not only understands your vision but also takes ownership of it:
Test Clarity Through Feedback: Ask a few of your managers’ direct reports to describe your vision back to you. If their descriptions differ widely, refine your messaging. Keep refining until there is alignment.
Make It Measurable: As a management team, identify metrics for key elements of your vision. Measurable goals provide a shared framework for tracking success and tackling challenges.
Paint the Picture Together: Don’t just hand down a vision. Involve some of your key direct reports in defining what success of your vision looks like at their level. This collaborative approach ensures the vision resonates and creates stronger buy-in.
The Bottom Line: Success Starts with a Vivid Vision
For your management team to lead effectively, they need more than just being handed an abstract vision from the proverbial mountain top—they need one that they were involved in creating and that’s vivid, actionable, and measurable. When you take the time to articulate your vision in a way that’s easy to understand and track, you empower your managers to inspire their teams and achieve meaningful progress.
So, as you work with your management team to tackle your next challenge, ask yourself: Can they see what I see, and can I see what they see? And can we measure it together? If the answer is yes, yes, and yes you’re well on your way to building a future your whole organization can rally behind.