Here are my two cents on the vision statements with respect to my college. This is a story of two leaders, each trying to establish their particular vision, one a successful, the other not so much.
The university president that’s in charge of the entire college has published a vision statement that uses a couple simple acronyms like ABC, which corresponds to his particular beliefs about attitude, beliefs and compassion. He developed that into a page long discussion of his core values and the direction he wants to take the college. He is simple, forceful and an effective communicator. His vision statement strikes the right balance between stretching for excellence and reasonable possibilities for success.
Education Planing
The new civilian academic dean, however has been describing his vision statement for the academic goals of the college in ways that are also very personal and lofty, but ineffectively communicated and described in a tone that offers no opportunity for dialogue and discussion. Because his vision is described in much more academic terms it is much less effective in a college made up by mainly of practitioners and not scholars. Although there is a subculture of PhD’s and practitioner scholars, the vast majority of the population does not resonate very well with the Dean’s vision statement. He has had such little success communicating this positively ,that the vision statement has now become a distraction or a source of laughter when he’s not around.
Because the president actually allows debate and discussion on his vision and seems genuinely open to listening, his vision statement seems to be better suited for our climate and culture, whereas the Dean and his vision statement seemed marginalized and an obstacle to where we sense that we want to go. I observe that if the vision statement is bad it has a tendency to influence all subsequent plans and projects. And so, I believe that the vision statement really is fundamental to the success of the organization going forward, but must be carefully crafted and shared.
Creating a Vision Statement – An Educational Case Study
Ken Long, Chief of Research, Tortoise Capital Management [http://www.tortoisecapital.com]
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