Tips for communicating a vision, not just one portion of it

Tips to help you communicate a vision clearly and effectively:

1. Be a leader. Know what your represent and stand for. Set high standards for conduct and ethics. Set an example for others to follow. Always maintain a high level of professionalism. Be a person that has integrity and is respected by staff members. It will be much easier to effectively communicate a vision to others if you are seen as a leader that truly believes in this vision.
2. Treat others with respect. As a leader, it is your competence and commitment that causes people to follow your lead. Communicate your vision on a daily basis by conducting yourself in a manner outlined in your vision. Show your employees that you believe in the vision by using your actions.
3. Communicate openly, encourage employees to voice their opinions and ideas. Show your appreciation for any feedback or ideas expressed by employee`s, even if it is not implemented or used. Never be critical or belittle an employee for their ideas or opinions.
4. Be open and honest, eliminate any hidden agendas. Trust will quickly deteriorate by withholding information from others. Share facts that are relevant to others.
5. Ask others for their involvement and participation. Do not proceed with the vision , mission or goal until you have asked each person where they stand and their level of commitment. Quite often, leaders get so caught up in communicating what needs to be accomplished that they overlook asking for the commitment of their staff.

A good communication plan will benefit you greatly. Strategic planning can be helpful when developing your communication plan. Here are a few tips that may be helpful as well:

1. Set up a tracking system. A journal, scrapbook, or photographs can be used.


2. Develop a creative look for all your strategic-planning documents and printed materials.


3. Utilize you local area network (LAN) by incorporating two-way communication.


4. Implement activities that are on-going.

Make sure your people are aware of any business related information. There are several way to keep your staff informed and up to date. Some ways include staff newsletters, focus groups, email and weekly staff meetings. When change is needed, communicate changes to your staff. Here are some tips for communicating change:

1. If possible, before you implement change, ask employees for their opinions.


2. When explaining changes, use language people understand.


3. Explain the affect the change may have on staff members.


4. Think about questions that might be asked and how you will answer those questions.


5. Be prepared to answer those questions honestly and immediately.


6. Explain the reason for changes and how these changes will help the company to achieve goals and objectives.


7. After the changes have been implemented, let your staff know how the changes have helped. If the implemented changes have caused problems and issues, communicate with your staff these issues. Encourage employee's to express their opinions or ideas that may bring resolution.

Take time listen to your employees. Encourage your employees to communicate with you openly. Let your staff know that you are there to not only manage but guide them. Communication is crucial to the success of your team. Good communication skills can help in all aspects of life, both personal and professional. Put forth the effort to continually develop and strengthen your communication skills. Encourage your staff to do the same. Keep in mind, to communicate a vision entirely, you must believe in the vision. Use not only words to communicate this, but your daily actions as well.

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