Turn Your Vision into Action
May 11, 2023 | By David M. Wagner
“How are we going to get there?”
Last week, we explored how to answer the question, “Where are we going?,” with a compelling vision. Starting with a meaningful vision sets a clear target for you, your team, and your stakeholders to accomplish together.
Once you have a clear target for you, your team, and your stakeholders to accomplish together, you’re ready to get into how to get there.
A roadmap (or “strategic plan” or “implementation” or just “strategy”) charts the course to reach your destination.
Key Roadmap Components
To drive action, effective roadmaps answer these seven questions:
Where are we now? Describe where you are today as an organization, and the consequences of staying put. What will happen to the mission, to your constituents, to your team?
Where are we going? This is the heart of your vision. Lay out a tangible, compelling future for your team, your constituents, and your stakeholders. What impact will you have on your mission, together?
What will guide our actions? Emphasize the values that are core to your organization’s identity. When the exact steps to take are in doubt, your values will clarify what’s important and what’s right for your team.
What will we accomplish? Start with mission outcomes you will bring about (e.g., “50 high school seniors from low-income families successfully matriculate to college”). Then identify the supporting goals that will contribute to each outcome (e.g., “Establish a college scholarship program for low-income students”).
What steps will we take? This is where the “rubber meets the road.” Specify at least one action-oriented objective to realize each goal (e.g., “Raise $100,000 annually in donations for the college scholarship program”).
When will we complete each step? Include deadlines for each objective (e.g., “…by fiscal year 2024”).
Who will execute each step? Assign accountable and responsible parties for each objective.
Three Reasons Roadmaps Don’t Work
In my experience, there are three primary reasons roadmaps fail to drive action and end up collecting dust on a shelf.
They emphasize continuity over change. Is yours a roadmap to a new destination, or just a reflection what your team is already doing? Embracing change is difficult. But telling everyone to “just keep driving” is like having a roadmap to nowhere.
They overlook supporting functions. Everyone on your team should see themselves in the roadmap, or they won’t have a reason to get on board. Don’t omit the critical administrative and other support functions that make your mission possible.
They left doers out of the planning. Your team probably knows best how they can support the goals in your roadmap. And even if they need guidance, getting them to buy-in before assigning objectives to them is more likely to result in meaningful action.
Being a strategic leader starts with communicating a vision and then charting the course for your team. If you need help planning an especially daunting path, schedule a free consultation to get started.