Defining the vision is the first step to delivering the very first message about your initiative to your change community. This is not to be done without some important and focused discovery first, so you can articulate the high-level answers to What, Why, How, Who and When questions that will be top of mind for the people you serve. Most importantly, you’ll need to paint the picture of the outcome you will collectively achieve so all members of your change community can be visualizing the same result!

Vision statements are often delivered through a presentation format in a group or virtual conference call. The voice inflection and visual aids the highest-level stakeholder might use to accompany the delivery will make the message even more impactful. Be sure to articulate the objective in a one-pager, though, too so you can send it on as a follow-up after the initial vision!

Here’s a snippet to bring readers back to this section of the book. If you haven’t read it yet – there’s lots more to the vision statement than you see here! Click here to find it on Amazon!

“You can Achieve what you can Visualize!”
“As a leader, your words are powerful. To prepare your most powerful vision statement, you’ll want to articulate it in the form of what you expect and believe you will see and feel in the coming
months, quarters, or years. If you can have your organization, community, or team visualizing this outcome with you—think of the power the visualization of collective minds can have to drive the achievement of that vision.

That said, visualization is absolutely powerful, so you want to be sure you’re planting the right seed. The feeling the visionary statement evokes is what really does the work - So you want to be sure that the message is authentic and inspirational for the vast majority of the people it reaches. If your message is meant to be manipulative or withholding some important truths or telling people what they want to hear, but you don’t truly believe it in your core, people will see—and more importantly, feel right through that. Your words may provoke a feeling that is counter to your goal, credibility, and culture.”

Click here for an example vision statement that include the elements we refer to in Symphony, the Art of Managing Change.