SHARED VISION IN ORGANIZATIONS

 


Original article published in catalan on 12/31/2023

Today, the last day of the year, we often review what the year has been like and also think about and project how we would like the new year starting tomorrow to be. This projection would be like a vision (short term, one year) of our wishes, challenges, dreams, and hopes. It is an individual vision if we formulate it ourselves, or shared if it is formulated by others: family, friends, colleagues...

So, to close the year and think about the next one, I thought it might be a good time to share some interesting ideas about shared vision in organizations as presented by Peter Senge (2005) in his book The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization.

These are:

  • “Personal visions are images we carry in our heads and hearts, while shared vision consists of images that people in an organization hold that reinforce the sense of a common bond.
  • A vision is not shared unless it connects with the personal visions of the people in the organization.
  • It is important to remember that the visions of people in leadership positions are still personal visions. Holding leadership positions does not automatically make personal visions the organization's vision.
  • Shared visions take time to emerge and grow as a byproduct of interactions between individual visions.
  • Shared visions require ongoing conversations where people not only feel free to express their dreams but also need to learn to listen to others' dreams.
  • We must allow for multiple visions, listening to tune in to the refined direction that transcends and unifies individual visions.
  • A vision that is not consistent with the values of what people live daily will not only fail to inspire genuine enthusiasm but will also encourage cynicism.
  • It is important to define visions of what we want rather than what we want to avoid. Negative visions are so because energy could be focused on building something new rather than on preventing something we want to avoid; they also carry a subtle message of impotence; and are short-term, so the organization is motivated while there is a threat to avoid.
  • The most effective people are those who can sustain their vision without losing clarity about the current reality.
  • A vision becomes a force when people truly believe they can shape the future.
  • When people in an organization start to learn that they create reality through their policies and actions, they gain new and more fertile ground for visions.”

I conclude this year’s reflections on the blog wishing to continue building shared visions with those with whom we share formal and informal spaces for conversation, debate, and reflection; shared visions at the organizational level; shared visions with the ecosystem of various agents in the territory and sector; shared visions in the third sector; and shared visions in the realm of social policies. With the hope that all of these contribute to advancing towards a true social transformation in 2024.

Senge, P. M. (2005). The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization. Granica Editions SA.

 


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