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Developing Organizations and Leaders Reading L101RC Defining Organizational Vision Dr. Kevin E. Gentzler

The document defines organizational vision in three parts: 1) A picture of the future, 2) Framed by a values-based purpose, and 3) That creates a path to drive behavior, change, and motivation within the organization. The document examines different theorists' definitions of organizational vision and discusses how an effective vision must consider the organization's culture, mission, and inspire change. Developing a clear vision is presented as an essential role of organizational leaders to successfully develop and lead their organizations.

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371 views

Developing Organizations and Leaders Reading L101RC Defining Organizational Vision Dr. Kevin E. Gentzler

The document defines organizational vision in three parts: 1) A picture of the future, 2) Framed by a values-based purpose, and 3) That creates a path to drive behavior, change, and motivation within the organization. The document examines different theorists' definitions of organizational vision and discusses how an effective vision must consider the organization's culture, mission, and inspire change. Developing a clear vision is presented as an essential role of organizational leaders to successfully develop and lead their organizations.

Uploaded by

winnie adase
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Developing Organizations and Leaders

Reading L101RC

Defining Organizational Vision


Dr. Kevin E. Gentzler

Leaders in organizations are always developing the organization. One important aspect to
successfully developing the organization is the creation of a vision in the mind of the leader that
the organization accepts. This is one of the essential roles of organizational leaders, to develop a
clear and attainable vision. To develop a vision the leader must first understand the term
“organizational vision.” Theorists in the field of leadership and management differ in their
definitions of organizational vision. This paper presents a three-part definition of the term
“organizational vision.” Additionally, the reader will gain an understanding of why vision is vital
to developing the organization and successful accomplishment of the mission.

Part One

There are many definitions of organizational vision. Each theorist, and perhaps every leader,
have their own understanding of organizational vision. Peter Senge 1 proposes a definition of
vision as an image of the future we seek to create. John Kotter presents another thought about
organizational vision. Professor Kotter believes organizational vision is a “concise statement of
where a group or organization and its people are headed.” 2 Still another theorist, Marshall
Sashkin,3 believes organizational vision is “creating an ideal image of the organization and its
culture.” While all three definitions differ, they all contain a similar idea-to focus on the future of
the organization. Because of the centrality of a future focus from these theorists and the
understanding that a vision is not concerned with the past, we can accept the idea as part of our
definition. The phrase “A picture of the future” is the beginning part of our definition of
organizational vision.

Part Two

A leader uses many ideas to influence the development of an organizational vision, but there
are two primary considerations. The first is culture and the second is the mission of the
organization. A leader must consider both. Edgar Schein describes organizational culture as
something derived from the values and beliefs of the organization over time. 4 These values and
beliefs, if they prove useful to the group, become the underlying assumptions within the
organization. If the organizational vision is at odds with the underlying assumptions, and
therefore the culture of the organization, the people in the organization see the inconsistency and
reject the vision. If the vision does not positively influence or enhance the effectiveness of the
organization in accomplishing the mission, or is counterproductive, members of the organization
reject the vision. If the leader does not consider the culture of the organization and the mission,
the vision will not last nor have the intended influence on the audience. This leads us to the
second part of our definition “framed by a values-based purpose” which accounts for both
culture (values-based) and mission (purpose) within the organization.

Part Three

The sections above provide two parts of a three-part definition for organizational vision. The
third part leads the reader to understand why an organizational vision is necessary. One reason for
the vision is for use as an assessment tool. Through the vision, the leader can compare the
performance of the organization to the desired future state to determine if the organization has

L101 Reading C 1 August 2019 (AY 19-20)


achieved the leader’s vision. An equally important reason a vision is necessary is to provide a
path for the organization. When a leader thinks in terms of developing the organization, he
considers the influence of the vision on the activities involved in that developmental effort. The
path for the organization is derived from these activities. There are three primary areas of
organizational life a leader is concerned with when developing an organization. The first is the
desired behavior of the members of the organization. If the behaviors of the members are
inconsistent with the vision, the organization will not achieve the vision. An organizational vision
must drive behavior. Second, implementing change is a major aspect of developing an
organization. Without some change, there is no development. Therefore, an organizational vision
must drive change throughout the organization. Third, organizational members must be motivated
to bring about the vision. The vision must inspire or motivate the members of the organization.
When these three components are put together it reads like this “that creates a path to drive
behavior, change and motivation within the organization.”

Conclusion

When we incorporate all three parts, we see that a vision is “A picture of the future framed by
a values-based purpose that creates a path to drive behavior, change and motivation.” This
definition is comprehensive and encompasses major concepts from the field of leadership studies
and organizational development. It provides leaders a valuable tool to lead developmental efforts
in the organizations they lead.

L101 Reading C 2 August 2019 (AY 19-20)


1
Senge, Peter M. "The Practice of Innovation" Leader to Leader. 9 (Summer 1998): 16-22.
2
Kotter, John P. as cited in Shockley-Zalabek, Pamela S., Morreale, Sherwyn, Hackman, Michael, Building High Trust
Organization: Strategies for Supporting Five Key Dimensions of Trust (San Francisco, Jossey-Bass, 2010) 48-51.
3
Sashkin, Marshall, The Leader’s Companion: Insights on Leadership Through the Ages. Wren, J. Thomas (New York,
Free Press, 1995) 402 - 407.
4
Schein, Edgar H. Organizational Culture and Leadership, 4th Ed. (San Francisco, CA, Josey-Bass, 2010) 25-28.

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