Has Your Team Lost Sight of Your Company Vision?

Have you ever asked your team members what your business stands for in their own words?

If they respond with a shrug or ‘I’m not sure,’ chances are the company vision has only ever existed in your head, or the team has lost sight of your vision.

Preventing Drift

If you want to avoid your team backsliding, build discussion of your vision into your everyday rhythm rather than mentioning it only during your kickoff speech at the beginning of the year.

You also want to make sure that your managers are bought into the vision, as they are the ones who ensure it reaches your frontline workers.

“I think one of the things that works really well is just one-off conversations,” says Andrew Ziehler, owner and CEO of Ziehler Lawn Care, based in Centerville, Ohio. “Sometimes you get with a team member when you’re visiting a location, and they ask a question. It’s a great time to explain something in detail, and it’s a great opportunity to create a little bit deeper buy-in into what you’re doing.”

Ziehler adds you need to stay strong as a leader, even when people are questioning you.

“You might feel that you’re repeating yourself over and over with this stuff, but you should be,” Ziehler says. “You should be that broken record. You should be the consistent, broken record. The message continues to stay the same. That is one of your key jobs as a leader of a company.”

Warning Signs to Watch For

If decisions keep getting passed up to you because employees don’t feel equipped to make the call, or if there’s inconsistency between crews and properties, these can indicate your team doesn’t know the vision or has strayed from it.

“When you start seeing surprises, meaning problems that reach the client before they reach us, that tells me the standard is drifting, and we need to step back in,” says Justin White, owner of K&D Landscaping, Inc., based in Watsonville, California.

Ziehler adds that when the outcomes you’re looking for aren’t materializing, it can signal the company is drifting from your vision.

“If you start to feel your managers aren’t supporting the culture or the team members are not living it, then you know that the managers aren’t pushing it, aren’t being culture stewards for you,” Ziehler says. “I think sometimes it manifests itself in toxicity, essentially turnover. If teams start to feel like they’re all in silos or there’s more drama than normal. All those kinds of things can show warning signs that something’s not right.”

Ziehler encourages talking to your people on a regular basis to learn what they’re thinking and understand if team members are losing sight of or losing confidence in the vision.

“You don’t want to be blindsided by it, and so you do that by being in tune and in touch with your team members,” Ziehler says.

Why Teams Drift

There are various reasons why a team may drift from your original vision, including leadership burnout, employee stress and rapid growth.

“I have seen more companies drift, including ours, because the CEO or company leader has become burnt out and overwhelmed,” White says. “This is where every vision will either be strong or weak.”

Ziehler says that when an employee is stressed and feels behind, they may start to question the goal or lose faith in the overall vision. He says having consistent conversations with team members and supporting them goes a long way.

White adds that when you scale quickly, the direct line between an owner and the newest crew member becomes longer, and the vision can become diluted.

Addressing Drift

When you notice drift occurring in your organization, go back to the fundamentals and get specific on what needs to change.

“I do not believe in vague criticism,” White says. “We name what slipped, tie it back to the standard we hold, and re-coach it directly with the people involved. Then we recognize it loudly when the team gets it back on track, because you reinforce what you want to see more of.”

White notes you should lead with education over correction.

“When someone drifts, teach them back to the standard instead of just calling out the miss,” White says. “Your crews will rise to the bar you consistently set and consistently reinforce.”

Ziehler notes you also need to avoid retaining individuals who don’t get your vision or refuse to follow it.

“Culture is an enormous asset, and you shouldn’t let anything or anyone get in the way of it reaching its full potential,” Ziehler says. “We’ve definitely had challenges over time where some people don’t quite fit, and you can’t let them stay around too long, or they will be culture killers, and that is not what you want.”