3 - Visioning

Where there is no vision, the people perish. - Proverbs 29:18

Getting To the Future

Your thinking skills can be considered directional skills because they set the direction for
your organization. They provide vision, purpose, and goal definition. These are you eyes to
the future, allowing you to recognize the need for change, when to make it, how to implement
it, and how to manage it. You find vision by reaching for any available reason to change,
grow, and improve - find something that is not broken and make it better. Just as you perform
preventive maintenance on your car, you must perform preventive maintenance on your
organization. Do NOT believe in the old adage, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," the people who
do, go broke! Treat every project as a change effort. Treat every job as a new learning
experience.

Good organizations convey a strong vision of where they will be in the future. As a leader,
you have to get your team to trust you and be sold on your vision. Using the leadership tools
described in this guide and being honest and fair in all you do will provide you with the ammo
you need to gain their trust. To sell them on your vision, you need to possess energy and
display a positive attitude that is contagious. People want a strong vision of where they are
going. No one wants to be stuck in a dead-end company going nowhere...or a company
headed in the wrong direction. They want to be involved with a winner! And your team is the
ones who will get you to that goal. You cannot do it alone!

When setting goals, keep these points in mind:

• Goals should be realistic and attainable.

• The goals should improve the organization (moral, monetary, etc.).

• Your employees should be involved in the goal-setting process.

• A program should be developed to achieve each goal.

There are four characteristics (U.S. Army, 1973) of goal setting:

• Goal Difficulty - Increasing you employee's goal difficulty increases their

challenge and enhances the amount of effort expended to achieve them. The
more difficult goals lead to increased performance if they seem feasible. If
they seem too high, employees will give up the first time they fail to
achieve them.

• Goal Specificity - When given specific goals, employees tend to perform

higher. Telling them to do their best or giving no guidance increases
ambiguity about what is expected. Employees need a set goal or model in
order to display the correct behavior.

• Feedback - Providing feedback enhances the effects of goal setting.

Performance feedback keeps their behavior directed on the right target and
encourages them to work harder to achieve the goal.

• Participation - Employees, who participate in the process, generally set

higher goals than if the goals were set for them. It also affects their belief
that the goals are obtainable and increases their motivation to achieve them.

The Six Steps of Goal Setting

Although finding a vision can be quite a creative challenge, the process of getting that vision
implemented can be quite easy if you follow the steps:

1. Vision - 2. Goals - 3. Objectives - 4. Tasks - 5. Time Line - 6. Follow-up

Step 1 – Create Vision

The first step in setting goals and priorities is to personally develop what the organization
should look like at some future point, that is, establish a vision. As a junior leader, such as a
supervisor or manager, you will mainly be concerned with a department, section, or small
group of people. While the senior leaders set the vision for the entire organization, you set the
vision for your team. And that vision needs to support the organization's goals.

The mission of the organization is crucial in determining your vision. Your vision needs to
coincide with the "big picture." The term "vision" suggests a mental picture of what the future
organization will look like. The concept also implies a later time horizon. This time horizon
tends to be mid to long term in nature, focusing on as much as 10, 20, or even 50 years in the
future for visions affecting the entire organization. Your visions should be on much shorter
time horizons, such as 6 months to a year.

The concept of a vision has become a popular term within academic, government, defense,
and corporate circles. This has spawned many different definitions of vision. But, the vision
you want, should be a picture of where you want your department to be at a future date. For
example, try to picture what your department would look like if it was perfect, or what the
most efficient way to produce your product would look like, or perhaps if your budget was
reduced by 10 percent, how you could still achieve the same quality product.
 Vilfredo Pareto, a 19th century economist, theorized that most effects come from
relatively few causes; that is, 80% of the effects come from 20% of the possible
causes. For example, 20% of the inventory items in the supply chain of an
organization accounts for 80% of the inventory value.

Many people fall into the time wasting trap of trying to fix the 80% of the causes that only
account for 20% of the problems. They believe that since that since that 80% encompasses so
much, they are really getting something accomplished. Your visions need to picture the 20%
that will have the greatest effect on your organization. Although it is nice to have small
victories now and then by going after part of that easy 80%, focus on the few things that will
have the greatest impact...that is what a good leader does.
Once you have your vision, it needs to be framed in general, un-measurable terms and
communicated to your team. Your team then develops the ends (objectives), ways (concepts),
and means (resources) to achieve the vision.

Step 2 – Set Goal

The second step involves establishing goals, with the active participation of the team. Goals
are stated in terms that cannot be measurable, but they are more focused than a vision. For
example, "The organization must reduce transportation costs." This establishes the framework
of the your vision.

Step 3 – Set Objectives

Objectives are developed from the goals, again with the active participation of your team.
Definable objectives provide a way of measuring the evaluating movement toward vision
achievement. This is the strategy of turning visions into reality. It is the crossover mechanism
between your forecast of the future and the envisioned, desired future. Objectives are stated in
precise, measurable terms such as "By the end of the next quarter, the shipping department
will use one parcel service for shipping items under 100 pounds and one motor carrier for
shipping items over a hundred pounds." The aim is to get general ownership by the entire
team.

Step 4 – Assign Tasks

The fourth step is to determine tasks what tasks must be done to achieve the objectives and
who must do them. Tasks are concrete, measurable events that must occur. An example might
be, "The transportation coordinator will obtain detailed shipping rates from at least 10 motor
carriers."

Step 5 – Set Time-Line

Now it is time to establish a priority for the tasks. Since time is precious and many tasks must
be accomplished before another can begin, establishing priorities helps your team to
determine the order in which the tasks must be accomplished and by what date. For example,
"The shipping rates will be obtained by May 9."

Step 6 – Follow-up
The final step is to follow-up by checking to see if the team is doing what is required. This
kind of leadership involvement validates to the followers that the stated priorities are worthy
of action. It also demonstrates a leader’s commitment to see the matter through to a successful
conclusion.
Supervising
Some might be asking, “Why is supervision under ‘Visioning’?” This is because they go
hand-in-hand. Visions do not get accomplished by themselves -- you must ensure they
happen. And supervision without a vision is pointless – you need some guiding principles to
direct your supervision.

Supervision is keeping a grasp on the situation and ensuring that plans and policies are
implemented properly. It includes giving instructions and inspecting the accomplishment of a
task.

There is a narrow band of adequate supervision. On one side of the band is over-supervision;
and on the other side is under-supervision. Over-supervision can stifle initiative, breed
resentment, and lower morale and motivation. Under-supervision leads to miscommunication,
lack of coordination, and the perception by subordinates that the leader does not care. All
employees benefit from appropriate supervision by seniors with more knowledge and
experience who tend to see the situation more objectively.

Evaluating is part of supervising. It is defined as judging the worth, quality, or significance of

people, ideas, or things. It includes looking at the ways people are accomplishing a task. It
means giving feedback on how well something is being accomplished. People need feedback
so that they can judge their performance. Without it, they will keep performing tasks wrongly,
or stop performing the steps that makes their work great.

Use checklists to list tasks that need to be accomplished. Almost all of us have poor memories
when it comes to remembering a list of details. List tasks by priorities. For example, "A"
priorities must be done today, "B" priorities must be done by tomorrow, and "C" priorities
need to be followed up with in a few days.

Always double check on important projects by following through -- strange things can happen
if you are not aware of them. Paperwork gets lost, plans are changed, and people forget. If you
have a system of checks and double checks, then you will discover mistakes, have time to
correct them, and minimize any disruptions. Following through may seem to be a waste of
your time and energy, but in the end, it pays off. You will spend less time and energy
correcting mistakes and omissions made long ago.

Inspiring Your Employees

Getting people to accomplish something is much easier if they have the inspiration to do so.
Inspire means "to breathe life into." And in order to perform that, we have to have some life
ourselves. Three main actions will aid you in accomplishing this.

Be passionate. When a leader displays a great enthusiasm over a project, a trickle-down effect
occurs – the employees become enthusiasts too! You must be committed to the work you are
doing. If you do not communicate excitement, how can you expect your team to get excited?
Your employees need to be involved in the decision making process. People who are involved
in the decision making process participate much more enthusiastically than those who just
carry out their boss's order. Help them contribute and tell them you value their opinions.
Listen to them and incorporate their ideas when it makes sense to so.

Know what your organization is about! General Creighton W. Abrams said, "the
Army is not made up of people. The Army is people. Every decision we make is a
people issue." Your organization is the same...it may make a product or sell a
service, but it is still people! A leader's primary responsibility is to develop
people and enable them to reach their full potential. Your people may come from
diverse backgrounds, but they all have goals they want to accomplish. Create
"people environment" where they truly can be all they can be.