Every leader - whatever level they operate at, and whoever they are responsible for leading - must have a vision.
It is that vision that people will buy into & want to follow - so it must be easily accessible. There's little value in an over-engineered, wordy statement that needs to be analysed to be understood. It may sound impressive & cover all the angles - but people will not follow something they do not understand.
Then there is the plausibility of the vision & the credibility of the leader - will people buy that?
I was reminded of these aspects of leadership in a very real way recently. As is customary I went along to visit a group of new entrants to our business in their training room. As I do with all such groups I outlined my very simple vision for the team & how we all play our part in making the team a great place to work & our business a place we can all be proud of. They responded positively & the session came to its natural conclusion.
Little did I know as I left the room that within two weeks I would be required to talk to them again, this time to recover a very delicate situation!
Following some issues with the training they received, it was not possible for them to commence their new role on the planned start date. This created a measure of ill-feeling, uncertainty & a crisis of confidence within the group. In such situations there is only one thing an authentic leader can do - face the music!
I went to see them, apologised for the issues they had been exposed to, and outlined the solution that had been put in place. This potentially difficult message was made so much easier because they could clearly see that the vision I had spoken to them about just a couple of weeks earlier was real & accessible. They could see it in action.
When I had told them that we wouldn't always get it right, but we would always work hard to engage with the team to deliver improvements & learn from our mistakes, they liked the sound of that approach. So when I was able to demonstrate the truth of that approach so soon afterwards, it was possible to draw a strong cultural positive out of a negative situation. Rather than thinking the negative experience was a sign of things to come - they took it as a positive that the reaction they observed was consistent with the vision. This was the real indication of what working in this team would be like.
With engagement & confidence restored, the team made fantastic progress through the remaining training period.
This experience reinforced my belief that a clear accessible vision, communicated clearly by a leader who passionately believes in it, is critical to achieving genuine engagement, trust & loyalty within a team.
