I’ve been doing a lot of research and soul searching lately in regards to being a leader. My passion is leadership. Leadership that engages people to want to take action. This passion to engage my community, family, friends, staff, etc. has lead me down some serious rabbit holes. However, the most common trend that comes up in my leadership is whether or not you have a clear vision and can sell your messaging. Yes, I said sell. Just like marketing. Your community has to want to subscribe or, well….who are you leading? This is tough work. Let’s just call a spade a spade. There is a lot to think about when it comes to leadership and any time you decide to ignite growth or change, things happen. I like to call them storms.
Let’s talk about the implementation dip first and then the fact that you will have some people who are not buying what you are selling. According to Google, the “implementation dip” happens when we have to learn new ways of practice because old ways do not address necessary change. The dip happens because old ways no longer suffice for implementation to occur. The way up and out of the dip is through learning the new ways of practice. Any time change happens, there is usually some kind of storm that happens. The storm may be fused by frustration and some in the community might feel that the leader is doing this to them, that it is outside their consent and control. They may feel threatened by the implications of your vision. The goal is NOT to change them, it is to make them feel validated by helping them understand there is an important role for them continuing to do certain aspects of what they have already been doing. Speak in black and white and tell them what is NOT going to change as well. Michael Hyatt states that there is a way to say things with the implication that, if they don’t want to grow with the vision, then perhaps this may not be the place that is best for them. However, these are not the words he suggests you use. He goes on to nudge leaders to reframe these words instead try saying: “We certainly want to create a future for you, but you have to decide if you want to be a part of that future by growing.” Brilliant right?!
Perhaps, the storm after you implement a call to take action may look like excitement where change is welcome but then massive confusion and overwhelm may cascade because they are not sure how to implement it. That is where having a vision with steps helps. Think about it, anything new requires falling at first. When you learned how to skate, you got out there and you fell. You got up. You moved a few steps forward and fell. Next, you started to get the hang of the gliding and eventually skating became second nature. This happens with change in business too! Appreciate the storm and the skeptics, they will make you stronger.
Moving onto the next storm. This may be the fact that your style may not be the leadership style that some people are looking for. This will happen. Some love the leaders who rule with an iron fist, others like the pushovers, some like the balance between the two, others like the compassionate ones, some love the energy driven, and some like the more calm and assertive style, etc. The one thing that all of these styles of leadership need, no matter how they deliver it, is a clear vision of where they want the community to go, how they will get there, and the transformation that will happen once they take action. So, what if your leadership style isn’t for some people? The truth is, it probably isn’t an exact match for leadership style for every single person you are leading. The ones who aren’t subscribing may not be ready just yet…however, if you have a clear vision and confidently know how your system can help them, they may come around. But, they may not either. Sometimes you are just not for them. That does not mean you give up. It just means you keep going with the most important thing you can have in your back pocket, a plan. Even if you aren’t their “style”. they still need to do their job and so do you. They need to know the expectations, the pathway, the outcome, and the actions they take. Your job should be to support them regardless if they like your “style” or not but also appreciate the skeptics. You will learn from them, even if it is the most frustrating part of your leadership. If you have a clear and inspiring message then you will find that you are for most people because they see what is in it for them and you have given them a system that will help them be successful in their area of focus, not just yours.
Guy Kawasaki speaks of the importance of enrolling your team. He states, “Selling a dream means transforming a vision – that is, an insight that is not yet perceptible to most people – into a cause and getting people to share that cause.”
When I think of developing that clear and inspiring message and being able to deliver it effectively, I instantly think of tapping into marketing experts and their strategies. In a sense, we are trying to sell a message to engage people to want to subscribe to it. This is the key to a productive, enjoyable, action taking culture so this whole marketing schtick may be the strategies that we need to start deploying in the education world. Michael Hyatt, another amazing visionary leader, who uses marketing strategies to drive and inspire his team states that the surest test of your vision and leadership is if you can sell it to four key stakeholders: your immediate team (your admin team), the organizational leadership (the division office, superintendents, trustees, etc), to the rest of your community (the teachers, support staff, students, etc), and across the organization (impact other schools/leaders in your division.). This is a bit of a dance. One one hand you have scripted a clear vision for the future and you are pumped about it because you know it is large enough to inspire others but it scares the hell out of you at the same time. This is because it stirs up enough uncertainty that makes us feel like we just dove into a pool filled with ice, cold water that makes us hold our breath and hope for the best. And yet, we have to sell to the team with full confidence and your ultimate goal is that they subscribe to your messaging. This is necessary and a part of it all.
In fact, I dealt with this massive dance just last week. I have been working on a system that fuels our vision. I did a tone of the front end work and spent a long time writing my vision script. I embarked on delivering it with confidence and a clear system. I felt on top of the world to deliver it because I knew with time, this was going to provide clarity to our team leads to help them start to tackle priorities one at a time. I also prepared for the deep dive into that ice, cold water that was going to happen. Some may not like this at first. It is a change and that brings storms. I dove anyway…and I held my breath…and most of them dove right in with me. They were excited to finally have a system that could help them tackle a priority that they have been wanting to conquer for a long time, however, this required some deep work and thought. That is where the ice cold water hits, when it is hard. The delivery has been successful so far but with it has come a lot of aftershocks and conversations that have been very effective. Our teams are deep in the thick of it, working on implementing it and yes, there have been some ice cold hits to the face when it comes to prioritizing and finding clarity, but they are immersed and subscribed and so am I. Yes there are some unsuscribers too. Not a lot, but still they are not sure of my style or my message. Appreciate the skeptics because they have a different lens and it matters. They need a voice and have a new light to shine on the plan too. Through their questioning, they have helped me find clarity and now when I have these hard conversations, I know what I want to say with confidence because of my vision script work. However, don’t let me fool you, it still stings with that ice,cold water when it happens. But it is worth it.
You will find it necessary to leave what is comfortable and familiar in order to embrace the discomfort. Andy Stanley says that “you will do this all while being haunted by the fear that this thing you are investing so much of yourself in may not work out at all.” That is just part of the marketing role that plays out in leadership. It is all part of creating and selling a compelling vision and it is essential.
Let’s get to the selling of your vision and how marketing plays the lead role. Your vision is always a first draft that is capable of revisioning and editing. In fact, this notion is what drove me to creating my own system for creating frameworks to tackle priorities. It sets the leader into figuring out a pathway to tackling a top priority by listening to patterns and trends of pain points of the community, but then invites collaboration, input and validation from the community that enrolls them in the journey that you are taking together. Marketing does this same thing, your product has to make your subscribers feel aligned, compelled, and have a sense of ownership. There also has to be an outcome. What is in it for them if they subscribe and implement this vision? What will they overcome? It is future pacing them so they can see how positive change or implementation could be. It is almost like a sales page in a sense! Perhaps it may even look like a longer version of an elevator pitch. Get to the point and keep your messaging mini. However, do not push too fast or too hard. This will backfire. Do small chunks at a time with lots of support, time for implementation, and clear expectations along the way.
Feedback after implementing and delivering your vision is another cold shot of water to the face. Prepare for it because it will come. However, feedback is too important to skip or rush. Everyone has a story behind the eyes looking back at you. Remember this and that they may see things different than you do and you need that too. Stop, listen, hear them and then think about it. If you are not careful you will slip into the ‘greasy salesperson mode’ where you immediately shift into being right and forcing a sell onto them. We all know that will shut them down even further. This is a key opportunity to refine your vision and include them. Hyatt states, “Selling your vision involves showing others what their current picture lacks and motivating them to help you supply what is missing.”
Get to know your community and who each one is. Hyatt has done a lot of work on delivering and marketing your vision and he states a few ideas below to help us leaders get on the right track when it comes to pitching our own vision. It wasn’t until I started to really front load my vision script that I started to get the results I was looking for. Think, how is your vision script going to help them achieve their goals? This is a question that you must have an answer to or you are not ready to pitch your vision. Commit to your vision and the success of it. Think through your presentation so that you are confident and know the holes that you may need to fill. Literally, rehearse it. It will be game changer for you. Know what may go wrong, what questions may come up, and think about everything that may put you in the hot seat. When you are pitching your vision or expectations know your crowd and pay attention to the engagement cues. Respond to them instead of forging ahead. Include them and engage them throughout your pitch. Give them time to process the change and speak in black and white. Don’t make them guess what you are after. Speak in short term vs. long term actions or expectation. When you get to the end of the meeting, you may need to ask for a decision. Then listen. Resist the temptation to fill the space with words. Oh boy, was I ever this person at one point in time!! Silence terrified me!
Once your vision is delivered, know that you will repeat it over and over again. You, as a leader, will sustain the growth and vitality of your culture by constantly watering and supporting so that it will grow and thrive. Respect the work that has already been done and keep what works. Don’t throw the past work away. Be vulnerable and respectful – remember that dance of the highs of success and the cold water plunge of discomfort. Resistance and success is part of any vision. Respect that but have a plan in place to refine and push through.
Want more?
Check out my website! You can also download my free leadership formula template.
References:
Hyatt, Michael. The Vision Driven Leader. Baker Publishing Group, 2020, pp. 135-55.
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