What is Leadership without a Vision?

    In my last blog, Leading with Communication, I talked about communicating effectively in your business. I also mentioned how to be a servant leader and a good listener. I hope you read and enjoyed it, but this week we will discuss developing communication strategies and creating a vision using those strategies. 

What is a vision? “A vision is your big picture of the way things ought to be. It is your billboard image of what you are working towards. (Kansas, University of.)

    Do you remember what you dreamed of becoming when you were younger? I remember always telling my grandfather that I wanted to be a lawyer. Later in high school, I wanted to become an electrical engineer. I am not sure how I veered away from those dreams. However, I do recall always wanting to help do something better. I know it sounds cliche, but I think we all have a vision of helping people; we have to figure out how to do that and in what capacity. I did not become a lawyer, and I am far away from engineering, but I did find out how to help people in my way. I became a radio personality. I know what you are thinking, how does that help people. Early in my career, I discovered that I wanted to do more than play music and talk about the radio’s songs. I wanted to talk to people, hear their opinions, and offer help in solving their problems. The more I did this job, the more I fell in love. I have worked in the radio business for seven years now, and I almost think I have things figured out. 

What was my strategy for leading the community to heal their immediate issues? First, there are three questions to be answered to create an executive leadership plan. (Shelton, Sonya.)

        1. What could your organization accomplish that you would really want to commit to?

Our goal was and still is to create change. What is the change? The change would be to produce community activism, strengthen community programs, produce local businesses, and allow existing businesses to advertise at a reasonable rate and educate on the importance of better health, education, and financial stability. Our plan also includes workplace etiquette, such as resumes, cover letters, and interview attire.

        2. What would make everyone in the organization proud if they accomplished it?

The accomplishment would be personal to each individual. I love to see people prosper; I want to help them be the best person they can be. Small communities would thrive, which creates more jobs, money, and better people. 

        3. What would the vision look and feel?

The vision would look and feel like motivation to the community. Sometimes all someone needs is a push; we are the push they need. I work with co-workers to create a plan of how to be the motivation. We research existing programs to find out what they need to run or strengthen their outreach. The plan takes time to develop. We would often find ourselves repeating, but the information would be worth repeating. We dedicate ourselves and the radio station to the people. As we always say, “This is OUR radio station.”

“The word “leader” implies direction.” (Shelton, Sonya) 

How are we on the path to accomplishing such a big goal at such a small station? We implemented seven beliefs to our employees: 

• Set organizational direction and purpose
• Inspire loyalty through all employees’ involvement; the project is for more than just the personalities and DJ’s; the salespeople and promotional managers had to be inspired to sell our vision. 
• Display and reflect the unique strengths, culture, values, beliefs, and direction of the organization
• Inspire enthusiasm, confidence, commitment, and excitement in company members
• Help employees believe that they are part of something bigger than themselves and their daily work
• Be regularly communicated and shared, not just through monthly announcements and reminders at the company meeting; it must filter all communication at every level of the organization every day
• Serve as the reason for why courses of action are chosen, people are hired, and markets are selected
• Challenge people to outdo themselves, to stretch and reach

(Heathfield, Susan M.)

    Why should you communicate your vision to others? No one will follow your leadership until they can clearly understand the path they are supposed to take. For instance, if you want to take a cross country road trip with your friends, how do you convince them to take off work for two weeks to travel the country with you? First, they must have the same interests, there must be some personal gain for them, and they must know the plan, so they don’t feel lost. Think of creating your vision as convincing your friends. 

   

    My vision took many meetings to accomplish. I had to have several sessions to get everyone on the same track; I remember meeting with my manager, the sales team, the other DJs, and the owner. Each week we hold a meeting to decide how to reach the next goal. The decisions include what businesses are we going to pursue advertising, will there be giveaways, who will be the guest, will there be a theme for the week or specific days? In the beginning stages, we would name days of the week like Money Mondays, Healthy Tuesdays, Education Wednesdays, etc., until we had a set plan. The plan may have taken months to develop. We had to contact everyone we knew to help; doctors, lawyers, financial advisors, and teachers. Once the vision began to move forward, more people became involved. It started with our station telling the community what they needed. Once they realized this was the push they needed, they began to get others involved. In just a short few months, we have noticed the phone calls are not just on-air,but when we are in our offices planning the next day, listeners will call to say how much they appreciate our work for their community. 

    Develop your ideas, write them down, talk them over with other leaders, get your team involved; these are only the first steps to creating a vision with leadership strategies. Once you learn to become a leader, you produce the vision, and you lead. Do not be afraid to change or adapt to your employees to help your dream succeed. You will also learn more about your vision as you plan it; you will also learn from leading people. Communicate your plan frequently and consistently, be confident, and go!  

    

-Jaleesa Diggins

Works Cited

Heathfield, Susan M. “You Can't Be a Real Leader Who People Want to Follow Without Vision.” The Balance Careers, www.thebalancecareers.com/leadership-vision-1918616. 

Shelton, Sonya. How Executive Leaders Create a Clear Shared Vision. 25 July 2017, executiveleader.com/executive-leaders-create-clear-shared-vision/. 

Kansas, University of. “Section 2. Developing and Communicating a Vision.” Chapter 14. Core Functions in Leadership | Section 2. Developing and Communicating a Vision | Main Section | Community Tool Box, 2014, ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/leadership/leadership-functions/develop-and-communicate-vision/main.