Daniel Robin & Associates

Making Workplaces Work Better

Keyword:  SHARED VISION

According to Peter Senge's Fifth Discipline, shared vision is a vehicle for building shared meaning.  Share vision presume that every organization has a destiny, a "deep purpose that expresses the organization's reason for existence."   That purpose may never be fully known, just as an individual may continuously gain clarity about their "calling" -- like taking steps through a dark forest a night, a candle lights only the next few steps.

Clues to an organization's deeper purpose can be found in the founders' aspirations and the reasons why the industry came into being. 

Ideally, to be truly shared visions, they must emerge from many people that hold similar understandings of the organization's purpose.  Much of this core purpose and potential for shared vision are obscured by the day to day, by the prevailing organizational culture, and the barriers to communication or other structural challenges.

By asking the questions and learning to listen carefully to the answers, the sense of shared vision grows.  The key is to design in a process in which people at every level of the organization, in every role, can speak openly about what really matters to them and really be heard.  As this happens, a creative tension emerges between the espoused theory and the pictures of what's wanted, justaposed with current reality.

Articles:

• Vision, Mission and Goals in the Healthy Workplace (027)

We hear a lot about the importance of having shared vision, written objectives, and a clear sense of purpose. Aren't these all basically the same thing? . This article describes the differences, common mistakes to avoid, and how each can be used as a powerful decision-making tool to build effectiveness.

• Building a Workplace Based on Agreements (016)

Successful workplace cultures are based on agreements. Here's some suggestions on how to get "from here to there."

• The Art and Practice of Agreement (026)

How to build a workplace based on clear and complete, voluntary agreements

Relevant Skills or Courseware: 

• Separating interpretations from observable facts
• Rapport and listening skills
• Personal mission making process

Short presentation available?  Yes; Length: 1-2 hrs.

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