I would like to invite you to reflect on the importance of having a clear vision of purpose for the success of our professional projects in situations the require change.
Reflecting on vision, some images are worth more than millions of words. I remember being deeply impacted by some images that communicated their message so well that no additional explanation was necessary. I guess this experience resonate with you.
Reflecting about change, our work environment is more complex every day requiring our minute-to-minute involvement. Therefore, a mindful approach of each task becomes essential. There are a huge number of new technologies, tools, resources, and information available in our routines pushing us to update and change quite frequently.
According to Ellen Langer “When we are mindless our behavior is rule and routine governed; when we are mindful, rules and routines may guide our behavior rather than predetermine it.”
How can we keep mindful in our accelerated routines to experience a dynamic change process in a healthy and productive way?
Change, although essential to evolution, is not always easy by the human being, because there is a certain comfort in maintaining the status quo. In moments of organizational change, therefore, it is crucial for each of us to have a clear vision of the future that the change will lead us and what is the value of the journey to be traveled.
In this context, the success of any corporate project depends on the ability of the leadership in communicating the vision of the future that is expected for the group involved in the execution of the project. As mentioned by David K. Hurst, leadership must “replace maps, models, and formal language with visions and images.”
It is not an easy task for the leadership of mature organizations to play this role, however, the organization that is treading a path of change and transformation needs to regain its goals, its original mission that has usually been obscured over the years by its means.
People are able to make changes as long as they feel motivated by a clear vision of the future that implies a better life for them, their families, friends, and communities.
In any change project, leadership needs to tell a story that engages people and makes them feel part of the story and motivated to make a difference.
Even if the challenge seems to be too bold, if the vision and narrative are clear and authentic, it is possible to engage each associate and ensure that the individual contributions will happen to let the collective outcome appear.
Langer, Ellen, “Mindful Learning” Current Directions in Psychological Science” (2000).
Hurst, David K., “The New Ecology of Leadership: Business Mastery in a Chaotic World” ,Columbia University Press (2012).
Post illustration – photo credit – rustyruth1959 on VisualHunt / CC BY-NC-ND