Pick a destination
Whatever you think of (new British PM) Andy Burnham's politics, his conference speech last week did something many business leaders still avoid. It told people where he wants to go.
He promised a ‘new social contract for the 21st century’ and admitted that the country's finances make delivery a risk. Ambitious, yet honest about the constraints. That is what makes a vision believable, and a vision nobody believes is just a decoration that drains engagement, energy and productivity.
I say this to CEOs all the time. Engagement starts when people know what they are working towards. Without a destination, staff invent their own, and a hundred private visions make for a very slow train. A clear vision answers the question every employee asks every morning: what is all this for?
Then comes the unglamorous part. Build a strategy to get there. Make sure the people around you prioritise the work that serves it, even when something shinier arrives. Especially then. Colleagues can argue about the route all day. The destination has to be settled.
A vision that never influences a decision is a poster. Possibly a nicely designed one, but a poster all the same.
Where are you heading, and would your team give the same answer?
Download my new white paper ‘Making Culture Change Stick’ to find out more about how you can build, change or retain a great place to work at www.colindellis.com/culture-papers
