Mission Statements & Vision Statements: Unleashing the power of purpose

Vision Statements and Mission Statements are the inspiring words chosen by successful leaders to clearly and concisely convey the direction of the organization. By crafting a clear mission statement and vision statement, you can powerfully communicate your intentions and motivate your team or organization to realize an attractive and inspiring common vision of the future. “Mission Statements” and “Vision Statements” do two distinctly different jobs. A Mission Statement defines the organization’s purpose and primary objectives. Its prime function is internal – to define the key measure or measures of the organization’s success – and its prime audience is the leadership team and stockholders.

Vision Statements also define the organizations purpose, but this time it is done interms of the organization’s values rather than bottom line measures (values are guiding beliefs about how things should be done.) The vision statement communicates both the purpose and values of the organization. For employees, it gives direction about how they are expected to behave and inspires them to give their best. Shared with customers, it shapes customers’ understanding of why they should work with the organization.

Duane M. Saunders, is the President and Principal Consultant of  ReVision Consulting Group, a company that assists organizations in  realizing their full potential…through strategic management and leadership development. For more information send email to dmsaunders@consultant.com

It All Starts in The Mind…

As I am preparing to start my doctoral studies, I have become increasingly intrigued with what I call Cognitive Reinscription. This is basically the ability to change the way in which we think. Exploring the anatomy of the mind for success is something every individual should consider investing time in. Often likened to that of a super computer, the human mind is a very powerful device, allowing us to go far in life, be successful and realize whatever dreams which we may have. Thus, it is important for any individual to explore the anatomy of the mind in order to open up any possible paths to success in life.

At the very outset, it is important to recognize that the human mind is essentially made up of two main parts, the conscious mind and the subconscious mind. These two parts of the human mind function in conjunction with one another and are by no means separate entities. Achieving success would be a factor dependent on how well these two parts of the brain are used with one another.

To start off, we begin with the conscious mind. This part of the mind is what we use often in our day-to-day functions in places such as in school or at the office. This part of the mind controls cognitive functions such as our thought process, decision making process and analysis of problems. This is also the part which school tends to train, by enhancing our mental framework in more sophisticated ways. This part of the mind is able to reason and differentiate between things that are good or bad as well as being true or false. While this part of the mind is necessary in allowing us to go about daily lives, it is insufficient merely to rely completely on this part of the human mind to achieve success in life.

Subsequently, we move on to the subconscious mind. This part of the mind does not rest, unlike our conscious mind, even working while we are asleep. The subconscious mind covers many functions which we often take for granted, such as when we are breathing during sleep, the way we speak and the way we eat. This part of the mind is unable to differentiate various occurrences that it might come into contact with. Such occurrences include truth from falsity, as well as reality and the imaginary. Whatever information that the subconscious brain comes into contact with is not filtered or analyzed and gets programmed into our conscious mind, which determines the action ultimately carried out by us. This transmission of information form the subconscious to the conscious mind is carried out after a process of repetitions and a series of affirmations.

Given that, our subconscious mind is extremely vulnerable to negative affirmations. Negative messages can often work their way unnoticed into our subconscious where it enters our conscious mind and manifests itself as the result which we do not want to see. Thus, it is important for us to develop positive affirmations. This could take the forming of using positively charged words that appeal to our self-esteem and inner needs. It could also entail surrounding ourselves with positive like-minded people who never consider failure as an option.

What this all means is that whom you surround yourself with will determine the path(s) you take in life, and the mindset you decide to maintain.

Duane Saunders is the President of ReVision Consulting Group, an organization that specializes in helping businesses and their leaders grow and develop to find success in a competitive corporate environment.

~ D.M. Saunders MBA

ReVision Consulting Group

Who wants to be average…?

Who Wants To Be Just Average?

 

Yesterday, I was conducting a routine financial project status & planning call. All of the usual players were in place, but there was one thing that just drove me absolutely crazy. Everyone on today’s call seemed to have this “BLAH” attitude toward the project. One of the Sr. project leads seemed to except a minor project setback as ultimate failure. Instead of focusing on his strengths and the strength of his support team; he just seemed to lay down like a tired hunting dog. His response was… “Well we are shooting Par for the course”! Who wants to be just average? As I tell my sons, “Being average is the top of the bottom”.

I will be the first to admit, as a consultant and member of several project teams things can and do get tiresome. But there is one thing I will not do… and that is accept mediocrity in my work. Each member of a team should understand his/her own unique strengths to enable optimum performance in their area of business. What I am beginning to learn is analogous to the 80/20 rule (with a slight twist). As professionals, and those who are striving to attain a level of leadership, you must put 80 percent of your effort towards developing strengths, and the remaining 20 percent on managing shortcomings. On the other hand, what I detect is that most individuals and companies still approach development and performance management by identifying an individual’s relative weaknesses and then trying to bring them up to speed.

There has never been, nor will there ever be a “perfect 10” leader. One who has masterful skills in all things. However as a leader, if you take the time to focus the majority of your development toward focusing on your strengths. Now I am not saying to ignore your short comings remember 80/20. This means in a 40hr week (who works 40 hrs anymore) 32 hrs should be focused around thing you do very well, and 8 hrs on developing your short comings. Beyond simple identification and development of strengths, here are five critical actions necessary for maximizing the value of your strengths… to bolster your abilities as a leader and help to balance your “tool box”.

Used w/ permission from Tom Stevens
Incorporate strengths in your life. The odds for success and satisfaction in work and life increase dramatically if you can use your strengths every day. Indeed, the Gallup Organization found that the answer to the question, “At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day” (rated on a five-point scale) is one of 12 essential elements correlated with productivity, profitability, employee retention, and customer satisfaction.

It pays to seek a role in an organization, a lifestyle, or situation where you have the opportunity to use your strengths regularly. Likewise, effective organizations learn to recruit, hire, and deploy people in ways so their strengths can be used daily to advance the company’s goals.

Leverage your strengths. To gain influence and enhance leadership, leverage your strengths using consistency, congruence, and coherence. Consistency in using your strengths every day communicates dependability; people know exactly what to expect. Congruence is walking the talk – that the different parts of your life, the things that you communicate, and the way that you communicate them, all appear in agreement. Congruence communicates authenticity. Consistency and congruence become powerful with the addition of coherence – i.e. that the parts of your life hang together and create a story about who you are and what you are accomplishing.

Leveraging you strengths means using them consistently and congruently so your actions over time create a narrative of success – one that communicates meaning.

Know your shadow. The very strengths that propel you to success in one circumstance often get in the way when circumstances change. The brighter the light, the deeper the shadow – the more a particular strength makes you shine, the more it will have a “dark side” that will undermine your success (e.g., a professional who’s great strength is managing details, but who undermines his reports by micromanagement). Especially for mature leaders, it’s not weaknesses that cause problems, rather it’s overused strengths that create barriers to advancement or lead to tragic downfalls.
Accurate self-assessment, good feedback, and a little bit of humility are essential ingredients to avoiding situations where your strengths get in the way.

Transcend your strengths. To lead with strengths without overusing them, and lead successfully in changing circumstances, requires learning to venture successfully outside of your comfort zone. It requires growth and maturity.

Your strength may be patience, but sometimes you need to act boldly. Perhaps your strength is quick analysis, but sometimes you just need to facilitate a process that brings others along and fosters buy-in. Savvy leaders play to their strengths, but they acquire a wide array of skills and qualities that are needed to do the right thing at the right time.

Help others develop their strengths. Is there anything that will make more of a difference in your organization? …or your family, or community? Exceptional leaders empower others to focus, to develop, to embed, to leverage and transcend their strengths. They use language that communicates strengths-based thinking. They help others find places to use their strengths every day. In return their organizations thrive, their own careers are advanced, and their own lives are enriched.

Leadership Development Matters

It’s easy to discount the importance of leadership development, assuming that corporate leaders either they have what it takes or they don’t and if they do they’ll learn as they go. If they don’t…well, if they didn’t have what it took they wouldn’t have been given a leadership role to begin with, right’ ?

Not necessarily. Sometimes all that’s needed is a little leadership development.

There is no such thing as a natural born leader, which is why leadership development is so important. Anyone can have the fundamental requirements necessary for the leadership role. It’s how they develop them that matters. But in today’s climate, the role of leader has taken on a newer meaning. With this new meaning, there is a greater call for a newer strategy as it relates to leadership development.

Leadership development is defined as an effort to enhance a learner’s ability to lead, an endeavor focused on developing the leadership abilities and attitudes of the individuals sitting at the top of the chain of command. Successful leadership development requires a lot more than the ability to give orders. It also requires diplomacy, top of the line people skills, a certain level of ruthlessness and an understanding of how much space there is and there isn’t between the executive suite and the mail room. A good leader doesn’t just lead. He or she leads by example. But is this merely enough? It is quite apparent that there is a break down of leadership. With the latest collapse of the economic markets, predatory lending, and rapid corruption. There must be a way to bring leaders back to a level of accountability, and it starts with solid leadership development.

Leadership development within a company should be addressed at both the individual and group level. Individual leadership development can be undertaken in both a hands-on and a classroom environment, and which method your organization chooses is entirely up to you. Through various exercises the individual learns to identify their strengths and weaknesses, using both to shape and mold their successful leadership style.

Individual leadership development is very important for individuals first entering the field and those who are having a difficult time taking up the reins of command. Additional leadership development offers them the opportunity to hone their skills, smooth over their weaknesses and learn to make the most of their current position rather than finding themselves stuck on the bottom rung of the ladder to success because of a lack of knowledge and personal resources.

Group leadership development is absolutely vital in any company, regardless of industry, because it teaches an executive team how to look, think and act like a team. For a business to run smoothly it’s essential that the executive team be able to operate like a well oiled wheel, cognizant of each other’s patterns, strengths, weaknesses and goals and able to work together to achieve success. Any leadership team that is rapidly ‘slapped’ together and tossed into the ring is going to fail almost instantly. It takes time and practice, and leadership development offers the opportunity for both.

Leadership development through books, activities, conferences and classroom studies is a vital part of any company’s success, which is why there are hundreds of books, seminars, conferences, workshops, boot camps and personal coaches devoted to that very goal. Never underestimate the importance of the team of people holding the reins in an organization, and don’t discount the need to allow those individuals to develop their leadership skills both inside and out of the office.

 

It must be noted… once a person(s) obtains a position of leadership, the journey has just begun. According to The Paradigm of Perpetual Progression™, Leadership and it’s development is an “infinitive process” and is based on five principles

Service – Trust – Credibility – Influence – Vision

 

Each one of these principles are interdependent and are paramount in the leaders arsenal of tools as he or she navigates throughout their career.

Leadership Development Matters!

Duane Saunders is the President of ReVision Consulting, a company that specializes in helping businesses and their leaders grow and develop to find success in a competitive corporate environment.

Redefining The Science of Business & The Art of Leadership Development

Avoiding Micromanagement

“Helping Team Members Excel  On Their Own”

I see it all the time working as a Corporate Consultant… Managers who for some ungodly reason feel the need to “micor-manage” their direct reports. A recent conversation with a very good friend prompted this post.  This post will help you as a reader understand the signs of micro-management, and how to break the deadly cycle and devistating results to moral and overall performance.

You’ve assigned an important task to a talented employee, and given him a deadline. Now, do you let him do his work and simply touch base with him at pre-defined points along the way – or do you keep dropping by his desk and sending e-mails to check his progress?

If it’s the latter, you might be a micromanager. Or, if you’re the harried worker trying to make a deadline with a boss hovering at your shoulder, you might have a micromanager on your hands – someone who just can’t let go of tiny details.

Micromanagers take perfectly positive attributes – an attention to detail and a hands-on attitude – to the extreme. Either because they’re control-obsessed, or because they feel driven to push everyone around them to success, micromanagers risk disempowering their colleagues. They ruin their colleagues’ confidence, hurt their performance, and frustrate them to the point where they quit.

Luckily, though, there are ways to identify these overzealous tendencies in yourself – and get rid of them before they do more damage. And if you work for a micromanager, there are strategies you can use to convince him or her to accept your independence.

First, though, how do you spot the signs of micromanagement? Where is the line between being an involved manager, and an over-involved manager who’s driving his or her team mad?

Signs of micromanagement

What follows are some signs that you might be a micromanager – or have one on your hands. In general, micromanagers:

• Resist delegating;
• Immerse themselves in overseeing the projects of others;
• Start by correcting tiny details instead of looking at the big picture;
• Take back delegated work before it is finished if they find a mistake in it; and
• Discourage others from making decisions without consulting them.

If this is you… don’t fear, there is help!

What’s wrong with micromanaging?

If you are getting results by micromanaging and keeping your nose in everyone’s business, why not carry on?

Micromanagers often affirm the value of their approach with a simple experiment: They give an employee an assignment, and then disappear until the deadline. Is this employee likely to excel when given free rein?

Possibly – if the worker has exceptional confidence in his or her abilities. Under micromanagement, however, most workers become timid and tentative – possibly even paralyzedand even upset. “No matter what I do,” such a worker might think to himself, “It won’t be good enough.” Then one of two things will happen: Either the worker will ask the manager for guidance before the deadline, or he will forge ahead, but come up with an inadequate result.

In either case, the micromanager will interpret the result of his or her  experiment as proof that, without his constant intervention, his people will flounder or fail.

But do these results verify the value of micromanagement – or condemn it? A truly effective manager sets up those around him to succeed. Micromanagers, on the other hand, prevent employees from making – and taking responsibility for – their own decisions. But it’s precisely the process of making decisions, and living with the consequences, that causes people to grow and improve.

Good managers empower their employees to do well by giving opportunities to excel; Bad managers disempower their employees by hoarding those opportunities. And a disempowered employee is an ineffective one – one who requires a lot of time and energy from his supervisor.

It’s that time and energy, multiplied across a whole team of timid, cowed workers, that amounts to a serious and self-defeating drain on a manager’s time. It’s extremely difficult, if not impossible, to keep up with analysis, planning, communication with other teams, and the other “big-picture” tasks of managing, when you are sweating the details of the next sales presentation.

Escaping Micromanagement

So now you’ve identified micro-managerial tendencies and seen why they’re bad. What can you do if you know you’re exhibiting such behaviors – or are being subjected to them by a supervisor?

From the micromanager’s perspective, the best way to build healthier relationships with employees may be the most direct: Talk to them.

It might take several conversations to convince them that you’re serious about change. Getting frank feedback from employees is the hard part. Once you’ve done that, as executive coach Marshall Goldsmith recommends in his book What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, it’s time to apologize and change. This means giving your employees the leeway – and encouragement – to succeed. Focus first on the ones with the most potential, and learn to delegate effectively to them.