Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.

Warren Bennis

We are used to seeing vision statements for organisations – they articulate where the business wants to be in its marketplace or service sector. Clear vision statements help everyone in the organisation understand how their job contributes to the overall goals.

Have you ever thought about your vision for the people who work for you?

At the end of the annual appraisal, or performance review, we usually come up with an action plan and probably have some SMART* objectives to work on in the coming year. The next step would be to develop a vision statement for each member of staff, by listening to their ambitions and letting them know how valuable they are by telling them where you see their potential.

This exploration of possibilities and demonstration of your commitment is a wonderful motivator. We all need to feel that we are achieving something and have something to aim for. Too often managers don’t let people know their value and wonder why people lack enthusiasm for their work.

Expectation is a powerful tool in your toolkit, as we’ll discover in the next blog…