The Steady Leader: on Mini Visions
I am still working on the final edits to my manuscript for my first book, The Steady Leader. This morning, I covered a section on getting the right people into the right positions on your team:
I’m a sports guy, so allow me a moment for a sports-related analogy. The head coach of an NFL football team is responsible for vision, both for the team and for individuals. The team might break up into focus areas so they can improve as individuals, but they also come back together as a team. In practices, coaches spend half the time developing players at an individual level; the other half of the time, they’re working on improving the team's operations as a whole. That’s because the team can't be its best without each player being their best, and each player can't be their best without a team scheme that puts them in position to perform.
That means the coach has a vision for the quarterback, as well as a vision for what the team’s going to do with this quarterback at the lead. This coach isn’t going to put his wide receiver in an offensive tackle position. He’s going to put his players in the right positions, where they’re meant to play, to ensure the success of the team.
Same goes for your business—you need the right people in the right places—A-players in A roles, B-players in B roles, C-players in C roles, and so on. A, B, and C can stand for different expertise or for different types of jobs in general. An A-player in a C role will be frustrated, and this person won’t last long. Therefore, you have to have a vision of what the position itself is supposed to provide, along with a vision for the individual who takes on that role.
I feel strongly that the best vision you can build for your business is first made up of what I like to call “mini visions.” Recall that vision refers to what right looks like in the end. You need to have visions for every part of your business – each person on the team, how the team operates and succeeds together, your products or services – and they all nest up nicely into your overarching vision for your entire company. Author Cameron Herald refers to this overarching vision as “Vivid Vision” and writes about how this vision provides leaders with a “remarkable tool for aligning your business around a shared vision for the future.”
It's important to note that I am challenging YOU, as the leader, to draw up the “mini vision” for each person on your team. Not everybody is capable of creating a vision for themselves professionally, especially one that aligns seamlessly with your Vivid Vision for the company’s future. Some people lack the experience or even the creativity to imagine what they could become. Or, perhaps they have limiting beliefs that constrict the vision they allow themselves to dream up. As their leader, it is your responsibility to help create that vision for each person on your team. Give them a vision that is bold and executable. Share it with them. Help them draw up a plan to be able to make that vision a reality in the not-too-distant future. Motivation and inspiration are the fulfilling dividends you will see produced from these efforts.
As you look at your business today, ask yourself, what are the mini visions I need to establish for each person, each product, each project in my business? Communicate those mini visions to the relevant stakeholders in your business and make progress toward turning those visions into reality.
Written by Schuyler Williamson
REALTOR. Leader. Veteran. Business Owner. Investor.
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God Bless!
~ Schuyler Williamson