Five Building Blocks

Earlier in this guidebook we note that the content of your vision establishes an image of your organization: Is it strong? Headed in a good direction? A good place to work? Involved in something that is important?

A close look at our research reveals that a compelling vision includes five content elements:

• the big idea
• the values
• the story
• the growth factor
• the change factor

These five elements are not just important for the overall organizational vision, which is typically set by the senior leadership team. They are just as relevant for team leaders, project managers, group directors, and even individual contributors. Here's why: Success in today's organizations requires some level of shared direction, alignment, and commitment among people in the organization. The more complex or broad-based the work, the more reliant we are on collaborative processes of leadership.