Most of us middle to low level managers feel that vision casting is something that those higher on the food chain should be managing. We don’t feel like we have a vision to cast and we couldn’t be more wrong!
Often those of us in this role actually get the vision being cast from our upper level managers AND we understand how it impacts our teams. It is our job to make sure our teams get it. Most of the time our teams don’t understand how what they do has any effect on the bottom line of the organization. They may feel that their contributions can’t have any real impact, however they have a huge impact on the bottom line!
Yesterday at volleyball a parent came up to me to say how thankful she was that I was coaching. My energy really impacted her daughter and she wanted to say thank you for what I was doing. I am an assistant on a 5th/6th team. I am not a coach, I am not directly impacting the program but my leadership is making a difference on that 1 child whose parent will share that impact with other parents. My actions impact the bottom line.
It is our job as leaders to make sure our teams know how their actions impact everyone. It doesn’t matter if their job is to bring the team lunch or interact with the customers directly what they do matters and as leaders it is our job to make sure they know that!
You maybe wondering how bringing the team lunch impacts the client, well anyone whose seen an angry, hungry co-worker knows that feeding them helps! However what if you thought of it this way, the lunch that you are providing to that team allows them to spend more time working out a serious customer facing issue. Because they had lunch together they were able to solve a problem that is costing the company money. The lunch you brought solved that problem!
Leaders, we need to be able to cast that vision for our team and continue to cast it. There is an old saying that vision leaks. It’s like carrying our a heavy bucket of water. Every step we take some water falls out. If we won’t refill the bucket eventually it’s going to be empty. When our teams run out of vision they may start to lack focus and wonder why do they have to bring people lunch!
Sometimes others bump the bucket and cause water to fall out. People say things in the heat of the moment that causes the water to spill out. It is our job to refill that bucket! Reminding our team that what they are doing not only matters but has a positive impact on the organizations bottom line ensures that they see the importance in their jobs!
Today, think about the impact your team as on the organization! You may have to be creative in thinking about it. Write down 3 or 4 ways what your team does makes the organization better and then share those ways with your team!
Leadership Simplified 