As with most things digitally scribbled in the mind map app on my phone, a word or phrase or idea wasn’t mine to begin with, but it was ear food (podcast, book, or just general life observation) that prompted a thought of my own.
“Clear and compelling vision…” was an entry from the summer.
I think I remember the context. I was on a run, listening to Craig Groeschel’s (yes, I had to google it just now and am still uncertain if I spelled it correctly) Leadership Podcast, and he used that exact phrase when discussing the development of his own leadership team.
It quickly connected to language my counselor used “get really clear on where your energy is flowing.”
And eventually, that phrase meandered its way into some slack conversations, some google doc jotting, and finally, to our team as we pondered what might be in 2022.
I thought you might find it helpful, as the world operates at a slightly slower pace this week, to make some time to craft your own Clear + Compelling Vision for what you want 2022 to look like.
This exercise was done strictly as it relates to the professional parts of our team, but the same exercise can certainly (and maybe should) be done for personal, physical, emotional, spiritual, and the relational components of your being.
It’s a little less goal-ish and a little more intention/mindset/vision-ish. And therefore, at least for me, a little more friendly, encouraging, reminding, reorienting, hopeful, and freeing.
Here’s how our team viewed the blinking cursor of the document…
- Where do you want to invest your time next year?
- What five specific areas of focus do you want to be committed to next year?
- What are you willing to do to get there?
If your work days are anything like mine, sometimes the sun sets, and I think, “well, shit, I didn’t get anything productive done, but I sure was busy.” This exercise helps reframe focus, align priorities, and do work that really moves and matters.
Once the five areas of focus are identified, the three supporting habits / practices under each topic help shape your daly behaviors / investments of time.
In a rolled up summary format, the five key focus areas and three habits for me shook out to be:
- GC Revenue Health: track revenue type, get clear on our story, launch a one to many product
- Create Consistent Content: 5 posts per week, 4 podcasts per month, write Guild Chronicles (to our internal team) weekly.
- Deepen Retention Roots: develop leaders, 90 day team check-ins, build 360 review program
- Deepen Client, Partner, Community Relationships: be with clients, launch Cohort, join executive roundtable
- Margin of Safety: rigor around healthy margin (time and money), establish green zone team time, take space for frontier + freedom vision time
Our team’s visions are starting to roll in, and I’m floored by who they’re becoming.
The pen is in your hands.
What story are you going to write in 2022?
