Everyone wants to belong to something bigger than themselves—it gives us purpose, motivation and the boost to get out of bed on days when we just want to hit the snooze button. When you’re aligned with the convictions and vision of the organization that you trade your days for, then you’ll feel inspired to give it your all. And everyone needs a vision pulling them forward.  

In research by UK company Rungway, it was revealed that 52% of employees surveyed couldn’t state the vision of their organization and 49% couldn’t even list the values. Does that mean these companies don’t have visions? Or does that mean the visions haven’t been effectively communicated?

Well, either way, there’s a problem because compelling organizational visions attract and retain top talent, foster innovation and inspire productivity. And leaders, your organization can be that very place—one that creates a dynamic culture of high-producing individuals working together toward a common goal. You just need a vision. In this article, we’ll share why vision casting is so important in life and leadership and the three key components needed when building your vision. (Plus, we believe in it so much that we give our Vision Tool away for free—because everyone should have access to build a compelling vision.)

3 Key Components for Vision Casting

In our Vision Tool, we walk you through a series of questions in each of the key areas to help you really dig into what you believe, where your organization is currently at and where you want your organization to go—but for now, we’ll summarize each of the three key components.

1. Belong. We kick off our Vision Tool by helping you clarify what it is you want your team members to belong to. But in order to discern that, you must first define your convictions and get clear on your purpose. Your convictions are those deeply rooted values or beliefs that you won’t budge on. They embody what you truly believe and they are the things you are willing to fight for. They must remain consistent regardless of management changes, technology advancements and market ups and downs. You don’t and won’t compromise on them. And your organizational purpose is your reason for existence in the business world. It not only captures your convictions but it’s why you do what you do. 

2. Become. Next, we tell a story, your organization’s story. You create the ideal version of your company’s future and you make sure it’s something you feel excited to be a part of. With your envisioned future in mind, you get specific. You focus on the key areas of your company’s future: your organization’s brand, business systems, Leadership Team, products, customer service, partnerships, strategic relationships, NPS score, etc. Then you get clear on each of the key areas you outlined. You describe exactly what you envision for each area. It should feel exciting and you should believe it’s possible. Don’t allow negative narratives to hinder you from declaring the envisioned future that you see.

3. Build. Lastly, you figure out what you need to get to work on. In this section of the Vision Tool, you identify your compelling ambitions. These aren’t simply short-term goals; they are long-term commitments. And they may feel daunting. But they must have enough magnetic pull power to unite your team. Your compelling ambitions are accomplished by your team rallying together over the long-haul, believing that together with shared and focused efforts, they can reach this long-term, audacious goal—that others doubted they could reach. But as the leader, you know they can. You believe it’s possible and with your leadership and vision-casting, you’ll see it come to fruition.

A Gallup report revealed that only 22% of US employees would say that their leaders have a clear direction for their organization. As a leader, you can directly influence that statistic. Our Vision Tool works—and we encourage you to give it a try. You can cast such a compelling vision for your organization that your people want to belong, want to help it become its envisioned future and want to rally together to build that future. If you get stuck or need some more guidance along the way, we’re here to help.