What’s the point of having a vision? (And how to create one.)

Looking for some support? If now is the time to consider coaching (or a CEO peer circle) reach out here.

"I feel trapped"

Sitting across from my client, the CEO of a well-known startup, I watched her eyes fill with tears. “No one ever tells you your company can feel like a prison,” she whispered, “I feel trapped.” 

As I listened to my client describe her last year, it became clear that the day-to-day of startup life had 100% of her attention: raising money, replacing a key senior leader, traveling to meet critical clients. Working in startups, there are so many daily fires to tend to that it’s easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. This is true in adult life generally. Navigating parenthood, marriage, aging parents, or other adult challenges, it is easy to lose the thread on what it is we’re doing and where it is we want to go.

Life has a gravitational pull of its own. 

As a two-time founder, two-time parent, and coach to 100+ CEOs, I have come to believe something that would have been laughable to me a decade ago: that a clear vision of where I am going is the most helpful antidote to the lostness I often experience in the mayhem of daily life. 

This belief guided the direction I invited my client to explore in our session. I suggested, “Maybe you want to keep running this company, maybe you don’t. But before we jump to that question, it may be helpful for us to explore a larger question. What if you took some time to revisit where you really want to be going? Can we take some space to explore what it is you want and where you want to be headed?” 

Her faced relaxed. Then lit up. She said she was up for it. 

Losing a sense of vision is painful. Tapping back into the bigger picture can give us hope to continue.

The power of a clear vision

Visions provide a source of gravity separate from the pull of the day-to-day. A vision with a strong gravitational pull is a source of alignment with others on our team and an antidote to fear.

A clear vision also makes us and the people we lead more resilient. I have found that when I live my life without a clear vision, any bump in daily life can be a tremendous source of fear. I am calibrated against the status quo, so any disruption to that status quo threatens to leave me in a worse state. 

By contrast, if we provide ourselves or our teams with a clear vision for a better future state, we can calibrate against that. A clear vision provides freedom from the status quo, a sense of *Here is not where I really wanted to be anyway!*

False starts and bumps in the road are an expected part of any long voyage. This awareness is wired into our human experience. We do not fear things we expect in the way we fear the unexpected. This is why the stoics teach us to plan for difficulty; we receive challenges better if we have anticipated them. Thus, when we calibrate our minds to the expectation that we are on a long journey from where we are today to where we want to be in the future, we find ourselves and our teams more resilient along the way. 

I appreciate that you are here. If you were forwarded this email and it resonates, you can subscribe here.

How to build a vision

I clearly remember being at a company offsite about seven years ago, sitting next to a pool in Palm Springs, participating in a session on our company vision. I remember cringing inside when I saw this session on the agenda for the day. 

I knew my team was hungry for a clearer understanding of our shared future. I had no idea how to provide one.

I did not understand then what I know now, that: 

- A vision does not need to be a crystal-clear plan for the future

- I do not need to pretend to have a crystal ball to help a team align around a vision

- A vision done well is iterative 

- I can make the process about what I or we desire rather than what *ought to be* 

If you, too, feel stuck at times, here are a few thoughts to help you create a compelling vision for yourself or your team. 

1. Get out of the day-to-day

If you asked me to explore my life vision sitting in my living room with my kids running around and dinner on the stove, I would tell you to take a hike. The same is likely true for you in the midst of your own daily life or the midst of your daily stresses running an organization. 

Get yourself or your team out of the daily grind to do this kind of work. Go somewhere that feels spacious, different from your daily setting, and grounding. Take time. Time to transition out of the day-to-day, time to enter a different kind of space, and time to rest if needed. Then begin.

2. Forget finding the right medium

There are so many ways to articulate or imagine your vision.  When it comes to what tools and mediums you use, do whatever feels best to you. What helps you get in touch with what you want to express? You can write in a journal, create a vision board, or sketch. You can clip photos from a magazine, write a short story or a poem, or have your team write in chalk on the driveway of your rental house. You can brainstorm on a whiteboard or make a slide deck. Whatever works for you! The process of slowing down to focus on your vision is the goal—not necessarily the resulting artifact. 

3. Invite all of your parts in

For those of us who are type-A, high-achieving, it can feel tempting to make visioning a goal-setting exercise or to let the work come only from our intellects. 

Resist this temptation.

Bring your body, your emotional self, and however you hold your deeper or spiritual self in also, bring your whole self into the work. 

As you imagine the future, how do you want to feel? 

As you consider different versions of the future, what does your body tell you about that idea? Do you feel energized? Tense? Tired just thinking about it? Trust this part of your intelligence as much as your intellect. 

Move as you do the work. Walk. Wander. Change spaces. Your ideas about the future will be different walking through a desert landscape than they will sitting in a cozy living room. Try both. 

4. Let your longing do the work

This may be my favorite piece of advice about vision work. As children, we are often taught to quiet our longings. Walking into a store, our parents might tell us, “We are only buying groceries; do not ask for anything else!” I find myself repeating these exact words to my own kids. 

But our ability to tap into our own longings is a sacred gift we must reclaim. 

Take space to consider and write down that which you long for. If you are leading a team, invite them to do the same. 

What would really light me up in my life if it were true 5 years from now? What would light us up as a team? What would need to be true for this to be a place we are excited to build together for the next 10 years? 

5. Great artists steal 

Look around. This is a time to be jealous, envious, and greedy. What do others have or seem to have that you desire? 

The seem-to-haves might be the most powerful part of this question. Carl Jung taught that to understand our “shadow,” we must examine our jealousy of others. This helps us connect with the parts of ourselves we ignore, where our deepest longings lie. 

What people do you see who seem to have things you so deeply want that they are almost hard to consider? 

• Wealth?
• Freedom?
• Time? 
• Love?
• Connection? 
• Purpose?

What do you most long for? 

6. Let the process be iterative

There is no arrival here. We are not looking for a clear map from today to your death. Or for your organization, we are not looking for a step-by-step guide from here to mission accomplished!* You are going to learn and change along the way; that’s okay. You are also going to learn more about where you are headed, what you long for, what is possible, and what is needed. Make space for that. 

Whatever artifacts you end up with, such as a sketch, a vision board, a written document, etc., let it be a living artifact. 

Closing

Wherever you find yourself today, right in this moment, there is a clearer future waiting for you. Give yourself the gift of exploration. Lean into your longing. I promise you will thank me.

Looking for some support? If now is the time to consider coaching (or a CEO peer circle) reach out here.

If I can help you along the way, please reach out. You and the people you lead deserve a vision for the future that lights you up, helps you feel aligned with those around you, brings clarity, and offers resilience. And you do not have to find your way alone.

With love from LA,

-Matt