This case study illustrates the use of visioning techniques to draw out and deploy a compelling vision through the organisation
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The power of questions
Coming up with the right vision is primarily about asking the right questions. We all have ideas that excite us, dreams that make us feel more alive. But most of us sadly do not spend a lot of time in that space, particularly in the office. And after a while it is easy to forget that we do. So sometimes it can take a bit of time to find the questions that can help people re-cross that threshold. To access corners of their thinking that link to hope and aspiration. And to inspire a belief that they can make this a everyday reality in their work.Unfortunately, it seems that many business visions are developed without accessing that space at all. The results are usually uninspiring, pedestrian, and eminently forgettable.
Conversely, spending time getting back into that space can make all the difference to confidence, commitment, culture and overall performance.
Approaches to generating a vision
In our work, we typically use four main ways of accessing that space:-
Interviews (individual or group) using visioning questions to pull people’s thinking up and into an ideal future
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Visioning flipchart walkrounds where people engage with paradigm shifting questions and build on each others ideas
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Modelling and drawing to access and explore subconscious metaphors, sometimes preceded by guided visualisation
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Walk and talk visioning
The first three of these are explained in more detail in the section titled ‘Other Visioning Examples’. However, this case study focuses on an example of the fourth approach – using a walk and talk method.
Leaving the office behind
It was a bit of a chilly, damp morning, and none of them really had the footwear for what they were about to do. However, tramping over the adjacent country park was going to prove far more conducive to what had to be done than sitting in a warm office.Two of them were stepping up into a new joint role soon to be vacated by its current incumbent: An inspiring and well respected MD who had led the organisation into its recent success and acclaim. They felt ready for this, and really wanted to make their mark to prove worthy of the trust that had been placed in them. But the key question was, what was that mark to be?
The third member of the trio, a consultant, had been invited to help them think through their answer to this.
There is something about walking that really helps these sort of conversations. The metronome pulse of the steps; the acceptance of silence as you think; the constantly changing scenery; the sense of forward motion. Even the idea that once you have the ‘answer’ you still have to walk back, and in that time you can discover a better answer.Moving beyond the obvious
For the first hour, the conversation was fairly analytical. A lot of it was about extrapolating from where they were now. And thinking about what might be needed in their anticipated future. But there was no real energy to it. The conversation was calm, intelligent and reflective. There were some good ideas emerging, but nothing that brought excitement into their voices.
The consultant wasn’t worried, he was used to the need to cover the basics first, and to the time it takes to find the question that catches. There are lots of options for what that question might be, including magic wands, legacies, pride, … But the key is to sense what is going on underneath – to allow the right question to emerge into your unconscious. And in this case the question that emerged was: How will you feel in a few month’s time when you wake up on a working morning, and you think about delivering that vision?
Finding the spark
The other two pondered that question as they walked. The answers were pretty much as expected. But then the consultant followed up with ‘How would you ideally want to feel, if it was your choice about how you could feel?’ That clicked. The answers had more energy to them, and the heads lifted up from the downward reflective gaze. There were flashes of humour, and connection.
Then the consultant asked: “So can we think silently for a while about what difference you might be making that would be making you feel that way?” When they compared notes a few minutes later, the sparks flew, excitement rose, and something transformational took place between them.There was nothing really special about that particular question. But it was right for them at that point. And it opened their thinking together at a new level.
There were clearly further questions required to test their thinking, and to refine it into something that could be shared and tested more widely: Does it meet the needs of the business? How will others engage with it? Can it embrace what you see as your responsibilities? Will it make a difference? How do you feel about it now?
The return walk to the office was full of energy and ideas and enthusiasm. Once in the office, it was possible to note it all down and to begin to refine it into something to take forward. And to think about the best ways to do that.
Expanding ownership for the vision
As far as could be practical, the two MDs wanted their people to experience what they had experienced (but with more appropriate clothing and footwear). They rightly felt that it would inspire far greater ownership if people could self-discover and build on the vision, rather than have it delivered to them.
Accordingly, a two day workshop was convened for the leadership team and the consultant set about designing a process for it. One which would help people arrive at their own interpretations of the vision (by walking together). Which then enabled them to reconcile their interpretations together into something they felt inspired to achieve. And then to build on that in terms of the difference their own teams would make in delivering it.The result was a huge up-swell in energy. The wording of the vision changed slightly to accommodate the new ideas. However, it lost none of its emotional connection for the two MDs. However, it now extended that emotional commitment across the leadership team.
The final step in the workshop was to help the wider leadership team with a similar process for engaging the hearts and minds of their own people as they cascaded it down through the organisation. The result has been an astounding success. The business continued to outperform its contemporaries. Culture and energy thrived. Their vision has in large part been realised (to the benefit of the wider UK). And the two MDs have progressed to new and more challenging roles within this global organisation.
Other Visioning Examples
Walk and talk can be very powerful, but it is not for everyone or for all situations. That said, we have used it to help people develop visions, or to align their own visions to an existing vision, in many different situations.
More commonly, we have used the techniques listed below – together with one specific application of each. Each of these approaches uses unusual elements to inspire and access people’s dreams and aspirations – even where they initially don’t think they have any.
Interview based visioning
Individual interviews with each of the members of the leadership team. The interviews used questions to understand what particular achievements would make the next few years special for them in some way. These were included in a process where the team could adopt and refine the ideas for themselves. And then pull them into a shared vision. This has been the approach taken in developing compelling visions for the regional partnerships of the global software vendor explained in the partnership case study. It is also the most common approach we use in supporting work around the Strategy Engagement Framework.Walkround based visioning
Walkround visioning where people engage with insightful visioning questions on flipcharts, and add their answers below. This can be a new train of thought, or building on someone else’s idea from the flipchart. This work is often preceded by relaxation and guided visualisation exercises to stimulate the thinking beforehand. It is brought together through further workshop sessions to highlight those that are most important to people, and to harmonise them into a complete vision. This has been used with a major retailer to break through into more ambitious and inspiring ways of thinking about their role.Models and metaphors
The use of modelling or drawing to think and communicate in different, and usually more memorable, ways about what is to be achieved. This can be done in a relatively straightforward way – taking the ideas as presented. But it can also be further enhanced by exploring metaphors within the models to access creative insights from the subconscious. This is an important and powerful aspect of Lego Serious Play, one of the modelling techniques). The drawing approach has been used in many clients as an initial icebreaker exercise to open things up. The modelling approach has been used with a project management team in a medical devices company to great effect.To explore this topic further, feel free to contact us. We find our own thinking is continually sharpened and enriched by the questions people ask, and by the discussions that emerge from it.
Author: Mike Clargo | Culturistics