Developing a vision may be fairly straightforward but getting others to buy into it may be more challenging. Siobhan Soraghan offers some insights on the link between the styles of leaders who develop and sell the vision, and its implementation.

Vision and strategy

A vision is a life-like description of the desired future state of an organisation. Effective implementation of the vision requires the formulation of a robust strategy, ie how the desired state will be achieved. The vision needs to go beyond incremental operational improvement and be about how to create superior economic performance. The strategy is a feasible plan that states what needs to change and what should be left alone in the organisation, in order to achieve the vision. Visioning and strategy formulation are an intelligent, iterative process – you may discover in your strategy formulation that there are insurmountable obstacles to implementing your vision, or you might find that you have unique untapped resources that could give you strategic advantage. You adapt your strategy and perhaps even your vision accordingly.

The visioning process

Who generates the vision depends on the relative roles and dynamics between the board, the chief executive officer (CEO) and the management team. It can be decided by the board, by the CEO, or generated by a collective management team process led by the CEO. Ultimately, however, the CEO needs to own it and the Board needs to endorse it.

Styles of engagement and communication

Ultimately the whole executive needs to be behind the strategy. This is more likely if the management team members have all been involved in the process. To what degree the potential synergy of the team is harnessed in this process depends on the style of the CEO. It also depends upon the maturity and competence of the management team. Let’s look at two archetypes.

A charismatic leader will tend to generate and hold the vision themselves, gaining buy-in through force of personality, clarity and personal conviction. Strategy formulation serves the delivery of this vision. Such a leader tends to avoid conflict by directing strategy, using their positional power to move things on. The upside is simplicity and speed, possibly won at the cost of robustness, and of buy-in from members of the team who may not be convinced of its virtue. This could have knock-on effects for selling, planning and follow-through in the respective parts of the organisation. And if the leader lacks clarity, followers may pursue in good faith their own strategies which may conflict. So although the charismatic leader does not require a mature team, success relies on their charisma, clarity and cleverness.

A democratic leader harnesses the synergy of the team in generating the vision and the strategy through a collaborative process. The upside is buy-in, rigour and the greater likelihood of clear translation of strategy further down through the organisation. The downside can be that the vision is less radical and less galvanising. Furthermore such a style requires maturity in both the leader and the team, and can take more time. Without sufficient maturity, the leader may take the reins back when inevitable conflict arises. This would give a mixed message about power, and fail to achieve healthy resolution. A mature leader can develop a team with greater capacity for dialogue. Strategies of greater quality result which then can become a valuable source of competitive advantage.

Leaders are rarely just one or the other of the above archetypes, although they may have a preference in either direction. Their approach to strategy formulation will also be influenced by their perception of the capabilities of the team. Here are some possibilities.

Leader as entrepreneur (e.g. Richard Branson, Stelios Haji-Ioannau, Anita Roddick, and Alan Sugar): they often have a vision about which they are passionate and to which they are closely attached. They are likely to be comfortable making strategic decisions with some independence; they may listen to views, but ultimately they tell folk what will happen. Usually a naturally charismatic leader, they are afforded loyalty and power by those who choose to follow them. This is common in owner-managed firms and small businesses. It rarer in large corporates where the management team is composed of intelligent people with strong egos of their own. As a business grows, such a leader may need to adapt their style to be more inclusive as the capabilities of their team build. Some leaders succeed at this adaptation, some don’t, and become a constraint. Others impose their strong character on the organisation and attract those employees willing to comply.

Leader with a “right-hand-man”: such partnerships are less obvious to the outside world as the sidekick is often in the shadows. Examples include Microsoft’s Gates and COO Ballmer, Volvo’s Gyllenhammer and COO Frisinger, Oracle’s Ellison and COO Lane. The CEO-sidekick dyad hatches the vision and typically the high-level strategy. This is common where the leader is conscious of their own weaknesses, and/or in a fast growing small business. They may be motivated to hire in or choose a complementary ally from the management team. The ally is often trusted implicitly and can become very powerful, particularly at times when the chief executive feels vulnerable.

Leader with cabal: where the leader trusts and shares with a subset of the whole team, possibly three or four. The upside is that it allows some balance of power and perspective (better with four than three) and in large management teams this is much easier than whole-group engagement. If it is just three, the third will probably not feel they have not enough power to challenge both the CEO and their colleague. An informal cabal also sets up a two-tier senior team, where those in the inner sanctum tacitly have significantly more power than the rest. True buy-in across the team might not be achieved, and might go unnoticed.

Collaborative leader: the leader has matured and developed the confidence and skill of conducting democratic dialogue. This kind of leader is willing to take the whole team on a journey of maturation, through the ‘form, storm, norm, and perform’ stages. They know this journey will take time, will on occasion be very tough, but trust that the fruits at the perform stage will be a higher quality strategy with the likelihood that it will be communicated with conviction, and implemented with commitment throughout the organisation.

Cultural context

Whichever approach is employed in strategy formulation, those involved need a deep understanding of how the culture is in some ways helping, and in others hindering, current organisational performance. At the surface level there are observable manifestations of the culture, eg stories that are told about heroes, villains, successes and tragedies; symbols of status; structures and processes; written missions; and stated values. At the deepest level are found the true values and beliefs that drive behaviours (the cultural paradigm). Contradictions often exist between espoused and actual core beliefs and values, explaining why performance in most organisations is suboptimal. Achieving more congruence minimises unnecessary friction. Understanding the contradictions can elucidate the cultural changes required to support a new vision that emphasises some of the core beliefs or values more than before, or indeed introduce new ones.

Communicating and selling the vision

For the vision to be implemented effectively, it must be owned by and communicated with complete conviction by the CEO. Communicating the vision effectively requires simplicity, relevance, inspiration and involvement. Simplicity in that everyone in the business can understand it. Relevance in that everyone gets why it matters and sees how it affects them. Inspiration in that it has a direction of travel that is attractive and meaningful to people. And involvement in that employees feel they are participants rather than pawns. A way to achieve this is to elicit views and contributions when building a picture of the culture, while inviting ideas on how turn what’s important for achieving the vision into actual behaviours.

Leaders must clearly communicate the vision and sell the strategy. Whether they manage the executive team or a shop floor team they must:

• translate the vision appropriately for their team – pitching it at the right level, bringing it to life . People need to see how their work and personal contribution fits into the overall big picture of how to achieve the vision. And they need to understand how the values support the vision, and vice versa. Stories can be a great tool in this translation, especially where the vision takes people into new territory. Stories can show the way and build confidence;
• involve people in developing smart, feasible plans to achieve it – this ensures they understand exactly what it is they have to do differently and why;
• allow people the time required to support any strategic changes in addition to their normal delivery priorities/commitments, e.g. researching customer perceptions, developing and embedding new procedures and systems, investigating internal resources that may bestow strategic advantage, etc; and
• hold people accountable – not teams or groups, but individuals, even if they delegate to someone else.

‘The strategy should link directly to the vision and deal bravely with ‘wicked’ issues critical to success of the vision, ie those issues that cross boundaries and deal with ambiguities’ ‘People need to see how their work and contribution fits into the overall big picture of how to achieve the vision’

Being a visionary leader

Being a visionary leader in an organisation means more than simply understanding, believing and communicating the vision. It demands being wholly committed such that one’s own priorities and behaviours (despite one’s preferences and habits) are aligned to support the vision. People give more credence to a leader’s deeds than their words. If incongruence is obvious, the leader will lose credibility and possibly people’s trust. Cynicism can easily take hold.

The leader at any level in the organisation, therefore, has to be conscious of his or her responsibility to choose to live the vision at all times. For some it is an easy choice, if their attitudes and style are naturally more aligned with the values implied in the vision. Tools they have at their disposal for communicating and embedding the vision include:

• real stories with the leader as the main protagonist, sharing positive learning and exemplifying desired behaviours
• appropriate reward systems that reinforce desired behaviours
• organisational processes and systems that encourage rather than thwart desired behaviours
• and less tangible cultural features such as rituals and routines that meet the needs of employees in their efforts to deliver the vision (e.g. providing opportunities for grassroots development and/or leisure activities)

For others, they may have more work to do. If the stretch is too great, then it can be healthier for both the leader and the organisation if the individual moves to another organisation where there is a better fit.

Moving towards a more strategic approach

When the organisation has traditionally moved forward incrementally and been reactive to opportunities, to become more strategic can demand an uncomfortable transformation. It requires a different way of thinking: longer term, broader scope, systemic thinking; imagining possible futures and following trains of potential consequences. This might not be a natural skill of senior leaders used to managing operations. In a steady state environment an evolutionary approach to strategy may suffice. However, tougher market conditions and heightened competition may force a more radical approach. A management team used to evolution may struggle to move fast enough without the CEO’s sense of urgency and appetite for risk, and without fresh blood or external help.

Comfort zones and external support

The strategy should link directly to the vision and deal bravely with ‘wicked’ issues critical to success of the vision, ie those issues that cross boundaries and deal with ambiguities. It is more than just about how to improve operationally. It is not uncommon for the senior team to be tempted to rely on its own knowledge and skills, and to avoid the uncomfortable dialogue necessary to support step change. External support can be invaluable for accelerating and facilitating the journey into such delicate territory, while concurrently developing both the leader and the team.

Typical resources include:

Strategy/marketing consultancy: expert research and advice on strategic options;

Process facilitation: development of a step-wise process to ensure a) the researched data is assimilated by the team and b) ensure contribution by all team members; sometimes used annually to catalyse and support an existing process.

Executive coaching – at this level coaches typically have business acumen and qualifications as well as extensive coaching experience and skills, and offer input on strategic thinking tools as well as depth of insight into the executive’s character pertinent to the successful achievement of their goals

Wise suppliers of such services understand and are sensitive to the significant discomfort management teams can experience when they are faced with the likely need for significant change. They have the empathy and toughness to support and challenge, the wit to avoid collusion with the fear of leaving the comfort zone, and the ambition to stretch the team (and the organisation) to fulfil its potential. Ultimately, consultants are like the stabilisers on a bicycle – a temporary steadying yet invigorating influence while the team and the leader develop what they need to be self-sufficient.

Dealing with success

Interestingly, many visionary leaders fail to prepare for the inevitable trap that awaits them once they achieve their much desired success – the tendency to become intoxicated with hubris and ignore dissent. Such over-confidence and rebuff of cautionary advice from colleagues can lead to their demise and with that the corruption of the vision. The annals of corporate history are littered with such accounts – e.g. Jan Carlson of SAS, Gyllenhammer of Volvo, and more recently Fred Goodwin of RBS.

In summary

The visionary leader in today’s world passionately communicates an inspiring future that is beyond incremental change. In line with their personal style they involve their team in building a depth of intelligence about their organisation’s culture, its market and it’s stakeholders. They engage in healthy team dialogue, knowing that mature teams generate robust strategies, and that active participation positively impacts how the vision will be communicated throughout the organisation. They ensure their own behaviour is congruent with the values in the vision, appreciating how critical this is to the credibility both of the vision and of them as leader. They tell genuine personal stories to inspire and encourage implementation. They set up processes and rituals to reward and facilitate appropriate behaviours. And when success arrives, they avoid hubris by continuing to entertain dissenters and by seeking counsel from those who help their feet stay on the ground. They and the organisation survive and thrive.