Part of your job as a leader is to motivate others and generate a commitment to your organization\u2019s vision. Leaders must be able to get the word out about the organization\u2019s vision in multiple ways \u2014 and keep the message going. It\u2019s part of why communication is so important for leaders<\/a>.<\/p>\n And communicating the vision is key. What exactly do we mean by vision? Vision<\/em> describes some achievement or future state that the organization wants to accomplish. A vision has to be shared in order to do what it\u2019s meant to do \u2014 which is to inspire, clarify, and focus the work.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re not part of your organization\u2019s senior leadership team, the broad organizational vision probably didn\u2019t come from you. Yet as a manager of other people, part of your job is still to understand and communicate the vision and goals of the business in a way that\u2019s relevant to your group or team members. Be able to answer these key questions to connect the vision of the organization to your own work and that of your team:<\/p>\n As noted in our guidebook Communicating Your Vision<\/em><\/a>, leaders have to communicate the vision in a way that matters to people. You want people in the organization to believe the vision and to pass it on to others. This is particularly essential to increase employee engagement and key for purpose-driven leadership<\/a>.<\/p>\n How do you communicate vision effectively? Try these 8 tips:<\/p>\n When you tell a good story, you give life to a vision. A good storyteller creates trust, captures hearts and minds, and serves as a reminder of the vision. Plus, people find it easier to repeat a story than to talk about a vision statement.<\/p>\n What compelling vision can you describe in the amount of time you have during a typical elevator ride? Every leader needs to be able to communicate the vision in a clear, brief way. Be prepared to talk about it in line at the cafeteria, when you visit the customer service department, and even walking through a parking lot.<\/p>\n The more channels of communication you use, the better the chance of your organization understanding the vision. Use the newest communication technologies, and ensuring your virtual communications are as effective<\/a> as possible, but don\u2019t forget the tangible swag like coffee mugs, T-shirts, luggage tags, or whatever else you can think of that will keep the message in circulation.<\/p>\n Engage others. Personal connections give leaders opportunities to transmit information, receive feedback, build support, and create energy around the vision. Be thoughtful about what approaches you use, and try different\u00a0tactics to influence people<\/a> based on what they’ll find most persuasive.<\/p>\n Identify key players, communicators, stakeholders, and supporters within your organization who will motivate others to buy into the vision. Take a network perspective<\/a> and be strategic in your approach.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t forget to communicate the vision to external parties as well, such as customers, partners, and vendors.<\/p>\n Use visual aids and share plenty of updates to keep everyone aware of the progress you\u2019re making toward your vision. Communicating the vision is like setting the GPS, but don\u2019t just give out maps. Travel alongside, stay out in front, offer directions, and point out guideposts and small wins along the way.<\/p>\n Bolster what you\u2019re saying with your behavior. If people see one thing and hear another, your credibility is shot and your vision is dead. This builds leadership trust<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re not sure you\u2019ve done a great job communicating vision at your organization in the past, consider:<\/p>\n Be excited \u2014 and proud \u2014 to communicate the vision at your company. By doing so, you\u2019re letting colleagues know what a promising future you and your organization have.<\/p>\n Upskill your team\u2019s abilities at communicating the vision with a customized learning journey for your leaders using our research-backed modules. Available leadership topics<\/a> include Communication & Leadership<\/a>, Emotional Intelligence, Influence & Selling Your Ideas, Listening to Understand, Psychological Safety, and more.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Part of a leader’s job is to generate commitment to the organization’s vision. Learn what vision is and our tips for communicating vision so that it matters to employees.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":130,"featured_media":50799,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50798","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","categories-communication","categories-engagement-motivation","categories-influence-power","audience-leaders-managers","region-global","article-type-leading-effectively-articles"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n
8 Tips for Leaders<\/h3>\n
1. Tell a story.<\/h4>\n
2. Perfect your \u201celevator speech.\u201d<\/h4>\n
3. Use multiple forms of media.<\/h4>\n
4. Have one-on-one conversations.<\/h4>\n
5. Draw a crowd internally.<\/h4>\n
6. Share outside the organization too.<\/h4>\n
7. Guide the expedition.<\/h4>\n
8. Back up what you\u2019re talking about.<\/h4>\n
A Closing Thought on Communicating Vision<\/h3>\n
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Ready to Take the Next Step?<\/h2>\n