The best way to improve employee engagement and create a winning corporate culture is to articulate the purpose and mission of the organization in a way that inspires people to be all in. That being said, gaining employee buy-in takes more than a steady check and a strong building. The purpose the business exists must be more compelling than to turn a profit or make more money for the founders. The purpose of the business must be big enough and exciting enough for people to choose to fully participate in the fulfillment of that vision.
Employees who are connected to the bigger vision of the organization, tend to come to work more excited and better ready to participate, than those who do not experience that same connection. Taking this one step further, employees who understand and have clarity about how their role impacts the delivery of the mission and enables the actualization of the overarching vision, report more job fulfillment and more ownership of their role.
When creating the Vision of the organization, you are answering questions such:
What big problem are we solving?
How do we want to be known?
What future do we want to create?
It is important to consider the best possible outcome for the enterprise, to be SPECIFIC & think BIG. Your vision will need to be a vivid idealized description that is written as a simple and memorable phrase that people can remember. Below are three powerful and inspirational visions for Starbucks, Patagonia and Amazon.
To establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles while we grow.
Patagonia – Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.
It’s our goal to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything at Amazon.com.
Once you are complete with brainstorming and collaborating on the Vision, check in with each other and conduct an unbiased assessment of your work.
Ask the following questions:
Does this statement represent the mountaintop the company is striving to get to?
Is it motivating?
Does it clarify the direction the company needs to move to?
Is it short and memorable?
Does the vision inspire and create a vivid image for the reader?
Does it give the employees a larger sense of purpose?
The clearer the vision is, the better team members can understand it, and the more easily they can connect the dots for how they in their role fit into it. When communicating the vision to each and every team member in the organization, it is important to connect the words to the person listening. So, whether the Vision is shared in an ALL HANDS, during one-on-ones, or at lunch and learns, it is imperative that the communication is consistent and continual. The more vivid the vision, the more powerful it is in shaping the future of the organization. A strong, solid and vivid imagery of where the organization is going will inform strategy and innovation, as well as serve as a guide for focused activities that fulfill that vision.
When people are working for an organization that they believe in and the Vision of the enterprise speaks to them personally, employee engagement and performance soar.
About the Author
Magi Graziano, as seen on NBC, is the CEO of KeenAlignment, an award-winning keynote speaker, and author of The Wealth of Talent. Magi is recognized as one of Silicon Valley’s Top 100 Influential Women in Business and known for her courageous authenticity and massively impactful coaching style. Magi brings 20 years of experience to empowerment, collaboration, and alignment with an unwavering focus on helping companies raise both their employee morale and their bottom line.