In change management, a company’s management uses leadership to implement the change to processes, policies, etc with the desired result of acceptance and compliance by the employees. We know that this can be a challenge but a company that takes the time to create a story to tell where they plan on being in the future and how, in general, they will get there will have better prepared employees. That story, that picture for the future, is the company’s vision.
To create a vision, management must know the status of the business as it is today. From there they take their business plan and create a scenario of what the business will look like in 5-10 years. Some may find that their scenario is pretty general and stable. Other companies, who may be initiating new policies or procedures, may find that their scenario is only good for the short term. But either way, knowing where they imagine themselves to be during that time frame is the goal.
Next, management writes something about where the company will be (leader in making widgets for example) using what they feel are the quality tools at hand (ISO, Six Sigma, workflows, process diagrams, written job descriptions, etc) to ensure that (defects are at a certain level or minimized, productivity increases to a certain level) and that management will provide positive tools (coaching) to reach these goals with 100% employee involvement.
So, in summary, the vision has:
- Where the company will be
- How the company will get there
- What management will do to get these results
- Everyone will be on board to reach those goals
Have the vision statement ready and introduce it to the employees in a manner that will give them time to take in what is being presented to them and to ask questions. Answer the questions but always leave no doubt that management has chosen this path and that everyone is expected to be involved with the process and attaining the results.
This will open up issues with change management and allow you to start addressing them in an orderly fashion using leadership and coaching skills.
Having a unified vision and vision statement is a rewarding task giving purpose and meaning to what the company does. But it can be a challenge to write one that captures the points above in an engaging way that allows for the inclusion of new policies, procedures, and maybe quality controls and limits to the amount of negative push back from employees.
If you have some change management or leadership issues, consider making sure that there is a vision statement in place to be used as the future framework for management decisions. Have questions or need help in getting these issues situated? Contact Holt Marketing & Management Services to discuss your situation and how Holt can help you!
