Vision and Its Impact on Effective Communication

In recent years,  many big corporations and small-to-medium sized enterprises (SMEs)  have had to learn how to work all over again. Remote work has permanently become part of our lives, and we're not just talking about showing up at a shared office a few or several kilometers away. We're talking about a situation where the majority of employees work remotely directly for employers overseas. The best example of this is the IT industry, which has been and still is a pioneer of digital changes. Despite this, we still face many problems – product mismatches with final expectations, lack of knowledge about changes, HR issues, team conflicts, or even sudden employee departures. Why does this happen, and how can we address it in a straightforward way?

It might seem that everyone knows how crucial effective communication is. Unfortunately, mere knowledge is not enough, and it often turns out that we overdo it, resulting in the opposite effect of what we expect. I have the impression that we often apply the principle of 'overcommunication,' meaning conveying too much information, thinking it will solve our problems. Unfortunately, this often has the opposite effect, as the information circulating within the company and team is simply ignored. Why? Because there's just too much of it and important things simply get lost in the noise of information in chats or replies to all.

To fix this, we need to start with one essential thing. Every organization, regardless of its scale and complexity, should focus primarily on effectively conveying its vision.

Vision is something crucial, something that should come from the management and be scalable at every level of the organization. We're not just talking about lofty slogans like "a computer on every desk." That's not a real vision. It's something unattainable, something we can't even imagine. The vision should be understandable, readable, and achievable, and should clearly show what the organization aims for. A defined vision provides a clear picture of what we as an organization want to achieve and the direction we should head in. The lack of a clear and effective vision will lead us to a situation where we don't have much chance of setting the right priorities and shaping the overall organization's strategy (let alone simple business goals for teams and individual employees), which the organization should focus on every day.

But how do we effectively communicate the company's vision to help achieve daily team goals when a dispersed team may be thousands of kilometers apart and sometimes even several hours away from each other?

The vision, at every level of the organization, must be realistic and bring value to the business. A good leader must not only understand it, and accept it, but also believe in it. Only then can it be promoted in such a way that people want to follow it. In the case of dispersed teams, achieving goals should largely stem from that vision and be communicated, stating what value it brings. We should repeat it often and focus on properly sharing it throughout the organization.

This is hugely important because very often many members of remote teams don't understand where the organization is heading and what the long-term goal of their daily work is. The lack of this knowledge doesn't help in effective daily action, let alone in building long-term relationships and collaboration. Very often, in such cases, teams or individuals demand more and more communication, and superiors inundate them with a multitude of messages instead of starting with one simple thing – the vision and how it translates into their daily work and goals. If employees don't receive it often, they often make up a lot of things themselves, which in the end can lead to catastrophic consequences. A good leader should focus on effectively communicating the vision and the accompanying changes. We cannot fear changes; they are natural and normal. What's important, however, is to effectively prepare for the change and inform everyone why the change is important for the organization and what it entails.

Imagine how you would feel if you learned about a critical change in the organization today - not from your leader but from social media, the press, or in passing on a chat app. Would you feel safe and stable? Such a situation endangers not only the smooth operation of the team, but even of the entire organization, and directly invites all sorts of conflicts or crises.

This mainly results from a lack of understanding of the change and a lack of vision communication, because practically, change is always associated with a vision. Unfortunately, informational chaos and a multitude of different messages on many channels can only add to our problems.

A good leader must focus on vision communication and motivating not only teams but also individuals. Support should apply to both broad strategy and small, medium and even the smallest goals.

So how do we effectively convey the vision? A good leader must first understand it, accept it, and believe in it. Only then does the vision become realistic and authentic for them. Additionally, the vision must be clear, achievable, and address the most important question – why? The vision should be nurtured not only by the so-called top management but also at lower levels of the organization. A vision that the team feels and believes in makes it work much better. We must show that it's not just the distant vision of our CEO or management far across the ocean; it's our vision, and we're all working towards the same important goal. You need to show the path to achieve that vision and goal. A good leader should follow the approach of SMART goals, which means specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. People must also feel that your vision provides them with stability and a challenging future.

A leader needs to support the team and employees in achieving goals and effectively implementing them. It's important for both small, medium, and large goals to directly come from our vision every day, bringing us closer every day to its realization.

A good leader should also remain calm in difficult and critical situations, making the right decisions that affect the stability and continuity of the team and the entire organization's operation. Good and effective communication with remote and dispersed teams is crucial.

If you sometimes wonder how to improve your team's performance and work, start by telling them what and why you're doing as an organization. Start with the vision. Start properly spreading it in your organization and checking if everyone knows what it is and why it's so important to the team. It's worth taking the time for meetings in a larger group, where we can openly talk to our employees, explain to them where we're heading as a company, and be open to questions. This will significantly improve communication.

Let's start with big things; let's start with the vision. It's much better for communication than another set of messages on chat and dozens of emails that often serve no good purpose.