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Imagine Your Mission Accomplished

Guest post by: Michael Hume

Article Overview: Here's a simple visioning exercise I've used successfully with many coaching clients who've wanted to pump-up their inspirational leadership. Try it as a starting point, and if it doesn't help you define (or refine) your sense of purpose, seek some coaching and make it more of a guided journey.

Imagine Your Mission Accomplished

Visualization Is Key To A Great Sense Of Purpose Having a strong sense of purpose is absolutely crucial for an "inspirational leader." If you aspire to that title, you need to know your personal "why" - the reason you're doing what you do, and the reason you're asking your team to do what they do. You have to have a significant desire to lead, confidence that your personal "mission" is worthy and that it fits you, and the ability to clearly articulate your sense of purpose. And in case you don't know it yet, your mission can't be all about what's in it for you... you have to be in it for others, or you fail the test for a serious inspirational leader.

Many, if not most, of my coaching clients have wanted to build their ability to inspire their teams. "They do what they're told, mostly," goes the common quote, "but I know their hearts aren't in it. It could be so great for the whole team if they'd just buy in and get with the program!"

Leaders are often frustrated that their team members "just don't get it" - but I'd say that's often the leader's fault. Have you articulated your mission and vision to your team? Have you given them a clear sense of purpose around the mission, beyond just "money" or "having a job?" Usually, when the leader has failed to articulate the vision, it's because she's failed to gain a firm grasp on the mission herself.

Here's a simple visioning exercise I've used successfully with many coaching clients who've wanted to pump-up their inspirational leadership. Try it as a starting point, and if it doesn't help you define (or refine) your sense of purpose, seek some coaching and make it more of a guided journey.

First, set the exercise up in a way that signals to yourself that you're serious about mission clarity. Find a time and place that's conducive to the exercise: you should block out at least one undisturbed hour, and try to put yourself in a relaxing (if not inspiring) setting. I recommend someplace outdoors, but quiet. The fewer people there, the more you'll be free from distractions. A soothing ambient sound, like that of running water, is actually a nice touch (but far from necessary). If an outdoor location won't work for you, you could make it your home office or family room, as long as you keep all the electronics off. A favorite beverage is also a nice touch, but I wouldn't bring snacks... again, if it's about the food, it's too distracting to be effective. Finally, make sure you bring stuff to write with and upon - if you keep a journal, that's perfect.

To complete the set-up, close your eyes and do some slow, deep breathing for a minute or two. Again, the idea is to clear your mind from the day-to-day stuff that distracts you, and to signal to your mind and body that you're going to be doing something special and different from the daily routine. Try not to think about anything while you're doing this... just "reboot." One colleague described it this way: "You can't keep thoughts from entering your mind, but when they do, try just to imagine them as logs floating on a river, and let them float by you and away."

Pretty new-age woo-woo stuff, huh? Exactly. The "weirdness" of an exercise like this is part of what makes it so powerful... and it's why you shouldn't be doing it at the office or over lunch! Of course, I've had clients who just weren't ready for an exercise like this; it was just TOO weird for them. If you want, without much effort, you can ridicule the idea just as effectively as they did, and then it can't help you. But the overwhelming majority of leaders who've tried this sort of exercise will tell you it's good and powerful stuff.

To begin the exercise, read some "set-up thoughts" like the ones I'm about to offer, just to mentally set the stage. Here are some possibilities: What am I doing a year from now? Two years from now? What am I thinking and feeling in that future? How about my team... what are they doing that's different from what they do today? How does a new inspiration look and feel on me, and on my team members? What are we celebrating? What obstacles will we have overcome to earn that celebration? What do I have to do tomorrow, next week, and every day for the next month to make this happen?

Once you've set the stage with these thought-starters (or similar ones of your own design), close your eyes, breathe deeply, and let your imagination run on these things for ten to twenty minutes. Literally give yourself that "time off," and (as I like to describe it) watch the movie of your own not-too-distant future. During that time, stay focused on the movie! The more seriously you approach this exercise, the more effective and powerful it will be.

You will likely surprise yourself with the ideas that present themselves to you during this time, and with the clarity of action that comes to you.

After a few minutes, as soon as something inspiring has clearly formed in your mind, spend another closed-eyed minute or two with the vision and then open your eyes (and your journal). Don't skip this last bit: write out the vision, with as much detail as you can. It can be chronological, bullet-points, a story, symbols... whatever would be helpful to you in expressing and adding clarity to your vision. Everyone's mind works a little differently; for me, a life-long writer, the story-type vision works well. But for you, it might be any number of expressions. I've known more than one person who had fun with their vision by making it into a mathematical "formula," or chemical "compound." Scientists. Gotta love 'em.

That's it for the visioning exercise... so now, what do you do with it? Go back and re-read what you've written down, once or twice a day, and when you have time you should add to it or refine it. In my case, I usually need to edit it down to a shorter, punchier message. The idea is to get clarity, and to make your vision as clear and explainable as possible. You want to be able to quickly articulate it to your stakeholders, and have them be able to remember it... so simple is good.

A vision like this can be helpful in almost any endeavor, from launching a new product line to starting a new business, from building your wealth to renewing your personal health and vitality. Think about how you might want to clarify more than one "mission" for yourself: maybe one for work, one for the family, and one for your personal health...?

In your career as a leader, you'll need to do this periodically. Conditions in business today are dynamic - almost fluid - in terms of how rapidly and significantly things change. A great vision can help you navigate whatever rough seas you come into, but it has to be flexible enough to be refined and adapted when necessary. Your team needs to know where you're all headed, why, and that course changes will be inevitable and necessary. But one thing, at least, is certain: if you haven't taken the time and energy to truly gain clarity on your personal "why," you are captain of a rudderless ship... and the crew will continue to be jumpy.

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Article Tags: health wealth and happiness, inspirational leadership, personal responsibility, successful entrepreneurs



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