Secure commitment
Identifying opportunities and obstacles is crucial, but it’s moot if you stop there.
Even if you’ve already included input from others in your vision-setting process, the key to driving it through your organization is securing commitment.
“Once you’ve set the vision … you’ve got to bring it down to the level of what do I — each individual in the organization — what d
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I do and how do I fit into that long-term vision?” Danner says. “They’re going to have to be communicated with. They’re going to have to understand and share the vision. And if you can combine that vision with great people, you can have success.”
Instead of putting the emphasis on ever-important communication, Danner focuses on the receivers.
“It can’t be just communicating the vision,” he says. “It has to be getting people to understand the vision and why it’s important and what their role in it is. As the leader, you can only set this and communicate as much as you can. You cannot communicate to every employee. So to really drive the vision, you have to have people who are committed to that.”
Start by hiring employees who already buy in to the idea that each person is an important player helping the whole team succeed. Try to identify whether they’re looking out for themselves or their team by watching how they interact with others.
“They have to really value all employees and treat them with respect,” Danner says. “Are they people who want a big office? Then they probably aren’t respecting everybody else. Are they people that, as they come in the building, are holding the door open for the janitor? Well, now they’re respecting everybody. So I look for it in the little ways that people interact with each other when I’m looking for a new employee.”
You also want employees who see their role in the entire company’s success, rather than merely satisfying a job description.
“The whole organization has to pull together so you’ve got to hire people that aren’t just the old style of ‘I’ll tell you what to do and then you’ll know what to do,’” Danner says. “People have to understand they can’t create value if they’re just doing what they’re told to do. If they draw the line right there, then we won’t be successful.”
If employees can think beyond scripted responsibilities, that will translate into their ability to break the broader vision down into individual goals. That means you can focus on setting a high-level vision, long-term strategies and annual priorities for your company to focus on, then rely on employees to set narrower group and individual goals to support those.
Obviously, entrusting employees to set their own goals also requires that you hold them accountable. Danner has his employees meet with their managers at least every six months for progress updates and an opportunity to discuss what support, training and education they need to fit in with the year’s plan.
“It is about trying to put it in a small enough package that everybody can see for themselves how they fit in, so they’re driving that process more than we are telling them exactly, ‘Here’s what your role is,’” he says. “They understand the road map well enough that they can drive their role.”