Vision, Role, Person, Strengths and Challenge

Vision, Role, Person, Strengths and Challenge – Principles for Communication

I have been fortunate in my life to have spent appreciable time with some great leaders. One common characteristic of these leaders is how they craft communication. Even though the situations might be different, their process was often the same.

If you find yourself needing to craft a strong, succinct message around a difficult topic, you can use the concept of Vision, Role, Person, Challenge to guide you. Doing so will make your message easier to understand, more believable, and more actionable.

I was having a conversation with a director yesterday about 2014 planning. We discussed creating a job description for a critical role in 2014. We discussed interview strategies for this role. We discussed how to get the most out of high-potential and highly-functioning employee who would only be there for a short period of time.

I realized yesterday, my advice for these different situations came back to the same principle: Vision, Role, Person, Challenge. This is a scaffolding for successful communication.

Vision

As a leader you cannot talk about the vision of the organization too much. This is your verbal picture of things to come. When you create a vivid picture. you create strong beliefs, and you tie your group’s daily thought and actions to that vision.

I do not believe that organizational loyalty exists. People have loyalty to each other; however, people do not have loyalty to an organization. As soon as family, personal interest or other significant motivators pull them away from your vision, there is little choice but to separate or at least dream of finding greener pastures.

If there is no vision, there is no anchor. People will randomly come and go. If the vision is strong and well understood, the people thatbelieve the vision will enhance their lives will gravitate toward you. All the sudden you will find yourself surrounded by people with similar goals and beliefs about how the world should be (or will be).

Your vision will often begin with “I believe…” or “There exists…” or “I see…” or “We will…” or a combination of all four. Here is an example:

“I believe there is a faster and safer way to drive from point A to point B. There exists the talent in this organization to create the technology that automates driving at high speed. I see a world where the average commuter travels beyond 150mph and traffic accidents are no longer the leading killer of teenagers. We will make this world a safer and more efficient place.”

I believe that people function better when they think and act beyond just themselves. Religion is an incredible example of this belief.

Once you have stated your vision, the next step is to tie the vision to your member’s roles.

Role

Everyone plays roles: spouse, parent, engineer, technician, etc.. These roles do not define us as people; however, they often do define our interactions with others. Every member plays a role within your organization. That role is important! Otherwise, the member probably would not be there.

Articulate the role well. Define how the role’s actions and responsibilities support the vision. Define how the role interacts with other roles.

Like the vision, the role is beyond any one person even when just one person plays a specific role. When a person fits himself or herself into a role, they have a duty to more than just themselves. Their thoughts and actions should support the team.

Person (Strengths and Challenge)

People are complex. You probably only understand a small fraction about a person through your interactions and observations. Even though you probably cannot define that person, you can use your interactions and observations to relate.

Discuss the person’s strengths and abilities that contribute to their role. What is special about that person? What challenges do you see that person needing to overcome to support the role? Most people want to feel special and challenged at the same time. The brain lives and thrives in this juxtaposition.

Challenge the person to grow. What can you to on Friday that you could not do on Monday? What is your promise to yourself and your organization? What is your personal vision of success? How does your vision relate to the organization’s vision?

If I could wish any knowledge upon managers, I would start with Strengthsfinder 2.0 and Social Styles. At $14, Strengthsfinder carries the single biggest value for individual coaching available today. Social Styles is a bit more expensive, but it is amazingly impactful on team communication.

Apply This to ERP

Imaging being responsible for launching a ERP initiative. ERP is historically very expensive, very disruptive and carries a high risk of failure; however, ERP can deliver big benefits for your organization in terms of efficiency, accuracy and insight. If you believe it is the way to achieve your organization’s vision, you have a responsibility to pursue it.

• Company meeting: much about the vision and some about the roles
• Group meetings: reinforce the vision and much about the roles
• Individual meetings: reinforce the vision, apply the roles, focus on individual strengths and challenges.

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have feedback.