03 Sep Candles in the Wind: How Stable Vision Drives Organisational Success
When we facilitate leadership and team effectiveness programs, two fundamental questions always arise: Why are we doing this work, and where are we going? These questions are the foundation of stable vision, which drives organisational and team effectiveness, enhances alignment, and boosts employee engagement.
Developing leadership in an organisation constantly buffeted by thoughtless change can be like trying to light a candle in a windstorm—just as the flame flickers into life, it is extinguished.
We consider ourselves lucky if we get to design and facilitate a purpose, vision, and strategy session before we address leadership and team effectiveness. Even if an organisation has a clear purpose, vision, and values, every team within it benefits from revisiting, contextualizing, and personalising the ‘why’ and ‘where’ before addressing the ‘how’.”
An agile organisation adapts quickly through the strategic chain of why, where, and how. That extreme agility requires a particular organisation design, including highly adaptive leadership and teams. More commonly, the idea of the purpose and vision should remain firm while experimentation on “how much” and “how” takes place. The stability of purpose and vision cannot be taken for granted. The daily grind often pushes the core ‘Why’ and ‘Where’ to the background, necessitating regular review and reaffirmation. Strategic drift can be caused by short-term thinking, perverse incentives, power dynamics or a host of other factors. Our free, online WorldsView Conversation Café on 18 September will provide an opportunity to explore these issues in an interactive, hands-on format. Register here for that event.
We often find that even top management hesitates to revisit the ‘last vision’ when developing the ‘next strategy’. “Where are we going” quickly becomes “where are we going now?” in the face of rapid industry changes or anticipated technological shifts.
Experienced strategists appreciate the “friction” costs of frequently (consciously or unconsciously) shifting purpose and vision (why and where). We love helping middle and senior management align and develop the coherence needed. When we get to work with the Purpose, Vision, Strategy, Leadership and Team development process we have hope that sense-making and alignment are optimal in whatever context the client organisation may exist.
A food manufacturer credited their mid-management survival during the pandemic and subsequent animal disease outbreaks to our Nine Conversations in Leadership program. A division of a financial institution credited the retention and accelerated career progression of first line managers to our LeaderShift program. Another financial institution aligned their disparate product divisions to a central strategy over an 18-month bespoke program. Three of South Africa’s tertiary education institutions have trusted us with middle management leadership development programs.
Register here for the interactive, free, 90-minute online WorldsView Café session to be held on 18th September where we will explore strategic vision through the lenses of organisational forms and complexity. Engage in dynamic conversations, peer learning, and small group discussions to uncover practical pathways to creating impactful strategic visions tailored to your unique organisational context.
Seats are limited to 50 participants. Do not miss this chance to critically evaluate and elevate your organisation’s strategic vision. Whether you are looking to refine an existing vision or build a new one, this session offers some of the insights and practical tools you need. Register now to secure your spot in this transformative discussion. This is sample of the WorldsView Academy approach to organisation design and development. Talk to us about strategy, leadership, and team issues in your organisation.
Written by: Craig Yeatman