A vision statement is a guide for your team’s goals, aspirations, and intentions. It provides direction and insights into:
- Where the team is headed in the future
- A clear picture of being in a better place
- What success and what winning looks like for the team
Writing a vision statement is a powerful and effective way to create shared purpose, provide direction, and promote accountability among your team members. Below is a step-by-step guide that will help you formulate an effective team vision and provide a tangible document for the team to return to and seek direction from.
How to Write a Team Vision Statement
Consider these four steps when crafting a team vision statement:
1. Gather qualitative or quantitative input from all team members.
According to Gallup, most business leaders neglect to include workforce members when shaping team vision. This lack of inclusion actually works against the purpose of the vision because, while the hope is that everyone will eventually embrace the vision, it is rarely the case when leaders try to do this quickly and in isolation.
Therefore, gathering qualitative and quantitative input from all team members is critical. This data should center on values, purpose, and performance.
How
Qualitative Data
Initiate regular team and one-on-one conversations with team members. These discussions will help identify overarching themes that the prospective vision statement may want to illuminate.
Here are the questions that will get you started:
- What purpose does your role serve? How might this contribute to the team’s overall success?
- Where do you see our team in five years?
- What areas must we prioritize or focus on?
- What types of wins have we achieved this past year? How do these wins fulfill our team and organizational purpose and goals?
- What do we represent or stand for?
- What are some values that are important to you?
Quantitative Data
Encourage team members to tap into tangible performance data to help answer the questions above. Acquiring concrete data will help:
- Support and add credibility to the vision statement.
- Provide team members with a better understanding of the organization’s current challenges, and opportunities, and thus help form a vision closely aligned with the organization’s needs and overall strategic goals.
2. Connect data to current initiatives.
A vision statement looks toward the future, and this future must have a link to the organization’s present state and where it is today. This connection of present and future is critical to driving alignment and ensuring the success of the team’s vision. CMOE describes this as “opening” the gap between current state and the future state. After the vision has been created, the team can then formulate an action plan to close the gap and achieve the vision or strategic intent.
How
Have team members reflect on what they discussed in step #1. Ask them to complete two steps:
- Write down some discussion points that deeply resonated with them in step #1.
- Explain how these discussion points connect to specific team and organizational initiatives.
3. Determine aspirations and goals.
A proper vision statement encompasses an aspirational and a long-term goal. Ask the team to reflect on the discussion points in step #2 to craft an aspirational goal along with ideas, tactics, and initiatives that will enable the team to achieve the overall vision.
How
Assign team members two questions:
From our discussions, please write down what you believe to be our team’s aspiration and long-term goals.
Aspiration
- Example: Be in the top 5 manufacturing suppliers of choice in our industry.
Long-Term Goal
- Example: Create a production technique that sources raw materials ethically and produces higher-quality products.
4. Craft a vision statement.
Now’s the time to take the elements discussed in step #3 and transform them into a vision statement.
How
Have all team members share their aspirations and goals during a team meeting. Take this time to discuss them and identify commonalities. You can even use this opportunity to combine aspirations and goals as appropriate.
Craft a vision statement without worrying about the length just yet. Step back and evaluate. Give the team time to reflect (e.g., one week) upon the vision statement options.
After the given time, have the team vote on a vision statement and edit your statement together to make it concise.
Team Vision Statement Examples
A vision statement depends on the team’s industry and needs, but these examples provide insight on how to craft a simple statement. You’ll notice each one indicates the long-term aspirations each team would like to accomplish.
- To be the world’s most loved, most efficient, and most profitable airline. – Southwest
- To be the leader and partner of choice in managing care in a value-based system, we must continuously create clinical value for our patients and payors that translates to economic value for all of us. – Fersenius Medical
- A customer focused green energy provider connecting responsibly produced energy for local and regional markets. – Solar Energy Assets
- Our vision is to be the regions first choice for integrated technology solutions while maximizing shareholder value – OfficeTech Solutions
What Is the Difference between a Vision Statement and a Mission Statement?
A vision statement provides teams with direction. It offers teams a picture of the ideal future result they would like to accomplish.
A vision statement can be thought of as the future based statement or outcome of achieving the mission statement. Whereas a mission statement leans more on present-day initiatives and describes the purpose of the team (or company), its core business, and defines why the business exists.
Why Is It Critical to Have a Team Vision Statement?
A team vision statement is essential for the following reasons:
1. Aligns teams: A vision statement is a highly effective tool to keep your team on track toward their objectives and collective purpose. These components foster morale as well as inspire and motivate team members to give discretionary effort do their best.
2. Guides strategy and execution: Challenges are inevitable in the workplace. A solid vision statement helps co-workers stay focused on an end-goal and chart a strategy to achieve that goal.
3. Attracts and retains talent: A clear and resonating vision statement provides purpose to the work that people do, which helps to attract and retain skilled team members. Research illustrates that team members who say their company’s vision and values align with their own are:
- More likely to recommend their organization as a positive employer
- Less likely to leave their organization or consider a career change
- Are more committed and purposeful about the work they do
Leverage Customized Teamwork Solutions with CMOE
Learning how to write a team vision statement is essential for successful leadership, high-performance teamwork, and improved business results. CMOE dedicates itself to providing leaders with effective teamwork strategies via its Team Development Products & Services to help leaders overcome team management challenges. Contact us for more information.
