In this article, I’ll clarify why leadership vision matters and how you can use visioning to quickly, almost immediately, improve performance. You likely haven’t heard this before.

I will soon compete in my first Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tournament. I’m a little nervous.

The chances are high that I’ll be facing off against a 20-year-old kid. He probably believes he’s physically unbreakable. He likely will have spent the night prior on YouTube getting wound up watching MMA fights. He’s probably all hopped up on adrenaline and Red Bull. He’s probably going to be nuts.

I’m 45. It takes me a while to tell a new doctor my injury and surgery history. I’ll spend the night prior trying to get my kids in bed and then back in bed. Hopefully, I’ll get enough sleep. I’m more worried about making weight then messing with my chemistry.

Or….

I’ll still be facing that kid. But I’ve already imagined how I’ll start the match. Many times. I know the intensity I want to bring. I know the pace I want to set. I plan to be in charge from the beginning. And I want him to know that too.

I’m watching my own highlight video in my mind. I can see how I’ll enter, how I’ll get my grips, how I’ll take him down and establish control. I can see how I’ll move to submit him. I know what I’ll do if that submission doesn’t work.

What You Imagine Matters

How does your organization see it’s future? How does your team see this quarter? How do you see today?

Both scenarios above are true. I have no idea how my match will go.

But only one approach increases my likelihood of success.

I can’t guarantee the results. But I can improve my odds.

The power of visioning

We all use the power of our imagination to envision the future. Most of us waste that power on worry.

Athletes use visioning all the time to improve their performance. But the best have learned to be focused and disciplined about how they use it.

Good leaders use visioning as well. The best lead their teams to develop a shared vision.

But visioning well is more than just imagining what “success” looks like.

Two parts of vision

There are two parts of visioning: What you imagine and what you actually look at.

Every good athlete knows that they need to stay in control of their mental game.

They also need to pay attention to what they are paying attention to. Specifically, what they are looking at. New neuroscience research is exploring a phenomenon called the “quiet eye technique.” It demonstrates that what you look at and when— dramatically impacts athletic performance.

This is also true for leaders. What leaders allow themselves to pay attention to and when – impacts their ability to perform.

How to use imagination effectively

Keeping your goal in mind – not your problems or shiny objects: Most leaders understand that you can only build what you can see. You can only lead to a goal you can imagine.

However, many don’t realize what they are paying attention to. This generally breaks into two groups:

• Those who focus on urgencies, issues and
• Those who constantly chase the newest idea, solution or opportunity.

Leaders who get sucked into firefighting or chasing shiny objects lose the plot.  Their team will too. They are also susceptible to losing vision.

Leaders need for their vision and the process of getting there to be crystal clear. They need to see it. They need to remind themselves of it regularly. So they can get back on track. So they can recognize when their team is getting off track.

Operational envisioning: To lift up, I may need to envision pushing down.

When positioning for a heavy lift, like a deadlift, I can lift far more weight and increase my safety if I don’t envision lifting. Instead, I imagine pushing my feet through the floor.

That simple mental image will both improve my posture and increase how much I can lift.

The reason is simple: If I focus on lifting – my brain will naturally try to recruit my upper body. My upper body is not as strong or as stable as my lower body.

If I focus on pushing through the floor – my brain will naturally recruit my lower body. My lower body is stronger and more stable.

Many leaders assume that they just need to buckle down and work harder to accomplish a large goal. That’s the leader trying to lift the organization with their “upper body.”

Instead, they need to learn to push down ability and responsibility into their team and organization. That is the leader using the organization’s real powerhouse – its “lower body.”

The benefits of visioning

Visioning isn’t prophecy. I don’t have to be right.

If my tournament doesn’t work out exactly the way I envisioned; I’ll still benefit:

• Confidence: I’ll go into the match with higher confidence. My opponent will feel that. Confidence also translates into more fluid movement and less fumbling.

• Speed: By speed, I don’t mean a flurry of activity. What I mean is not stalling or being hesitant. Making no decision is usually more damaging for an organization than making a poor decision and then recovering quickly.

• Focus: If I go into a situation open to any possibility or opportunity, I will reduce my chances of recognizing any possibility or opportunity. By being clear about what options I’ll prioritize and use, I’m more likely to see opportunities to use them.

• Nimble thinking: By taking the time to imagine in a particular way, I become better at it. The better I am at imagining, the more mentally nimble and adaptive I am. Leaders and their teams need to become nimble – if one effort fails, immediately move to recover or move to option b. Nimble thinking allows you to translate the energy from a problem into power that drives a solution.

• Guidance for groups: When a team has a vision and everyone understands their role – the overall management needs go down. They don’t all need to be directed constantly. And when things seem to go wrong, it is easier for individuals to self-manage back to the vision without specific guidance.

Practical Use of Vision

• Organizational Vision: This is the classic result of a “Mission, Vision and Values” retreat. The big picture of what are we trying to build and accomplish.

When done well, it can be enormously empowering and focusing. But it doesn’t work on its own…

• Focus Visioning: Envision what you need to accomplish in the next season of your organization’s life. This should move you toward the larger vision.

Your Focus Goals usually have a time frame between 3 to 12 months. It doesn’t matter. Could be longer or shorter. But it is a very clear sense of what your efforts will be concentrated on for a discrete amount of time.

In larger teams or organizations, there will likely be a number of these Focus Visions. Different teams will have different areas that they need to focus on. Maybe even for varied amounts of time. But all Focus Visions are informed by the larger vision.

• The Leader’s Weekly and Daily Vision: Every leader should be clear on what this week or this day (or month or quarter) should look like.
  • What will I accomplish?
  • What will be my challenges?
  • How will I avoid or overcome those?
  • How do I need to approach today, this week, etc. to advance toward my goals?

A day left to chance is a day that is usually lost. Don’t confuse occasional serendipity for intentional progress.

• Scenario Visioning: Envision your meetings, employee conversations, negotiations, presentations, etc.

Take time to be clear, to yourself, on what you intend to accomplish in each scenario and how you’ll do this. Imagine how others are likely to respond. If what you imagine isn’t favorable, imagine what you should do to improve the likelihood of the results you want.

Meetings aren’t naturally productive. Sales rarely make themselves. Negotiations favor the prepared. Presentations regularly fail.

What you envision may not be what you experience. But you’ll be far more intentional, engaged and innovative if you’ve envisioned it working well. If it is a difficult conversation – like an unhappy customer, an employee you need to confront or a conflict with a colleague, envisioning how you’ll achieve a satisfactory outcome will dramatically improve your chances of experiencing one.

Take good care,

Christian

PS If you’d like to talk to me about how you can use visioning to quickly, almost immediately, improve performance, contact me at 907 522-7200 or christian@vantageconsulting.org.