Turning Vision into Action

Over the last couple months I have repeatedly seen a series of IBM TV commercials on that convey the message, “We must stop ‘ideating’ and start implementing.” One commercial shows an executive going to a corporate meeting dressed up as a superhero, Innovation Man. The “I” on his chest stands for Ideating, Innovating and so one, however, he forgets to include the word Implementing. In many cases like this organizations focus so much on creating new visions that they lose focus on how to actually put their vision into action. In general, there are five key components to turning vision into action.

The first component to turning vision into action is to challenge current practices and to take risks. This first step is usually one of the hardest. Too often organizational members become comfortable in their environment and they soon begin to resist change. Creating an environment that allows members to take on risks in order to explore new opportunities opens up chances to take on even more actions. People who are willing to challenge the process are usually willing to learn new things. Therefore, it should be these people that leader’s turn to when they seek to inspire other members into acting.

The second component is to create a collective vision. A collective vision includes the thoughts and opinions of all members. By having a collective vision individual members feel as if they have a greater sense of involvement and they feel more responsible for ensuring the vision is carried out. This invokes a positive attitude, increases members willingness to listen, and promotes a team oriented environment for collective and collaborative action.

The third component is to enable other members to turn their vision into action. The most important factor to ensure this component is successful addresses strengthening members. By giving strength to other members they become more capable of acting on their own. Increasing employees’ competence and confidence are just a few of the ways that a leader can strengthen organizational members. Additionally, allowing members to have the power to get power motivates them to work harder and to see rewards for their outstanding performance.

The forth component is ensuring organizational leader’s model the actions you wish the members to do. By ensuring your leaders are capable of modeling the action it will increase the likelihood that others will follow. An increased sense of trust and understanding will lead to more collective and collaborative actions.

The fifth component is to encourage the heart. In general, there are four simple methods to encourage people. The first method is to show genuine interest. Talking and asking sincere questions gets organizational members moving. The second method is to acknowledge what’s important to the members. Affirming and validating what is important to members increases their confidence and self-esteem. The third method is to recognize achievement. This is basically another form of acknowledgement that motivates individuals to continue their efforts. The fourth method is to ask for advice or to confide in the members. This form of flattery also increases a person’s confidence and sense of capability.

All in all, taking a vision and implementing it is not easy. Unlike the IBM commercials that make fun of companies who create vision but never act on them, organizations must find a way to make the shift from dream to reality. By developing this capability and fostering an action-ready environment an organization can be more effective in implementing innovative ideas.


References

1) Challenging the Process. College of Saint Benedict. Accessed on 11/13/07, https://www.csbsju.edu/sald/club_resources/psctp.aspx
2) Inspiring a Shared Vision. College of Saint Benedict. Accessed on 11/13/07,
https://www.csbsju.edu/sald/club_resources/psisv.aspx
3) Brown, S., Cahill, S., Hensley, G., Offutt, N., Starr, J. (4/13/05) Accessed on 11/13/07, http://www.71originaltitans.com/Boone-Leadership.pdf
4) Naeve, A. Communicative Modeling as way to Facilitate Professional Collaboration. Royal Institute of Technology. (4/19/07). Accessed on 11/13/07, http://www.ectel07.org
5) Cheong, D. 8 Simple Things you can do to Encourage Others. (7/12/06) Accessed on 11/13/07, http://www.davecheong.com
6) Calderon, R. The Five Fundamental Principles and Ten Commitments of Exemplary Leadership. University of Southern California.