Creating a Vision That Others Will Buy Into

Eureka! You’ve had a vision for success for your business or team and you’re ready to share it. Now what? You’ve got to spell it out for your team and get them as excited about the prospect of carrying it out as you are. Without their buy in, your vision is just a dream. Here’s how you can get your team involved and make this vision a reality.

Spell it out clearly

You had the vision, others didn’t. You remember the soaring emotions you felt when you had it, they probably won’t connect with that experience. What you need to do is spell out clearly what the vision is and why you believe it will be successful. Tell it with passion and make your team or co-workers feel part of it. Your experience wasn’t theirs. Make it theirs by articulating what the vision is and clearly define it.

Talk about the short and long term applications for success

Clearly defining the vision is the “what” of the equation. Now your people need to see the “why.” Why is the vision so important? Explain why turning this vision into an action plan will benefit the organization both in the short and long term. Be specific. Don’t talk about “gut feelings” or something that is non-tangible. Spell out in as great a detail as possible what the benefits are. This is a great exercise for you to do before you try to rally your people’s support. If you find that you can’t articulate why implementing your vision will benefit the organization when you’re alone, you won’t be able to do it in front of others. In that case, your vision, while inspiring to you, may not be compelling enough for others.

Tell your people what’s in it for them

You’re asking for your team’s buy in, so you need to tell them of the pay off. Specifically, how it will benefit them. This requires that you know what they need before you explain the vision. If you’re not clear about their needs, ask them before you share your vision. Then you can truly show whether your vision will meet their wants and needs and is right for them.

Make your people feel needed

One of the biggest elements of job satisfaction is for workers to feel needed. Empower your people. Tell and show them that though the vision was yours to start with, you can’t do it without them. By telling what you need from them and how they can help, your vision may become a shared vision. When the vision is shared, you are more likely to get the buy in you need.

Tie it back to your Mission Statement

Is the vision about your entire organization? Then compare it to the company mission statement. Will it help the organization achieve its mission and goals? If so, articulate that. Every once in a while people need to reconnect with what they’re in the business of doing. Looking at a mission statement will do that. Showing how your vision will help meet that statement will help you sell it to your people. If your vision statement is about a team versus the organization, ask yourself if it will help the team achieve its objectives and how. If it passes this test, make sure you effectively articulate this to your people.

A vision may have come from you, but if it’s not about the “we” in your organization, chances are you won’t get much cooperation. If you believe in the vision and you know it’s right for the organization, put it out there with passion. But make sure it has enough room for everyone involved to share the credit when it succeeds.