4 Valuable Steps to Realize Your Vision for More Success

You might think I’m really reaching as I take the following tack.  But…hear me out!  I’m sure you will benefit from the logic of the metaphor I’m using to make my point.

Just to name a few—there’s Cape Cod; the Cape of Good Hope; Cabo San Lucas; Cape Morris Jesup.  All these land masses have the same major characteristic.  They are an extension of land jutting out into water.  In effect, they lead the larger land masses behind them right up to the water’s edge.

The connection to my ultimate point is leaders of any organization are like these jutting masses of land called capes.  Leaders, like capes, are charged with leading the masses behind them up to the water’s edge.

For my purposes, the water’s edge is a metaphor for leadership vision.  Vision…that inspirational “thing” the organizational leader has to help her or his followers commit to and ultimately achieve.

Here can be the pivotal problem for too many leaders.  They don’t understand what it takes to develop a vision that inspires others to pursue it. 

It’s understandable there is this struggle for many leaders.  Let’s face it…a vision toward which an organization should aspire can seem very nebulous.  People generally don’t respond well to nebulous things…they need clarity!

There is a solution to this challenge.  It takes converting the word, cape, into an acronym:  C.A.P.E.

Following the four-step process outlined through the C.A.P.E. acronym will result in clarity of vision and inspiration for all concerned to achieve it.

CREATE

First the leader must have the inspiration to create a vision for the organization’s future. 

The vision needs to be captured in writing.  It should portray the way the organization will look three to five years into the future. 

The vision is the picture of the interim destination of the organization.  The vision statement should be very succinct—maybe two to five sentences at most.

The vision is not the strategic plan for the organization.  It is the interim destination that will be reached through developing and following a related strategic plan.

ARTICULATE

Next the leader must articulate the vision, so all concerned can understand it and its relevance to their futures. 

The challenge in fulfilling this aspect of vision is to resist telling people what the vision is.  The emphasis needs to be on “touching” the people with the vision.  By that I mean, they must feel the vision not just see it.

Putting that another way, you can’t tell people to be motivated to achieve the organization’s vision.  They need to be touched through the inspirational articulation of the vision by the leader. 

When touched in this way, the vision becomes theirs as well as that of the organization.

POSSESS

This next step—possess—helps (among other things) in meeting the requirements for the articulation step of the acronym.

If the vision is to be realized, the leader must passionately possess the responsibility to get everybody in the organization onboard and sailing on the same heading. 

No vision can be realized unless there is a leader who is possessed with reaching it.  Consider the Cape of Good Hope to reinforce that point.

This is a picture I shot a few years ago when standing at that magnificent point of the African Continent.

Look at the passion in the meeting of the shore of the Cape with the Atlantic Ocean.  This is exactly the kind of passion a leader must possess in defending and ultimately achieving the organization’s vision.

EXECUTE

The final letter in the acronym is “E” for execute. 

None of the rest of the words in the C.A.P.E acronym will serve to reach the vision unless somebody does something. 

Yes, the people in the organization must do their part.  They must act on the tactics and action steps contained in the strategic plan for achieving the vision.

However, the leader must execute on a totally different level.  S/he must persistently, relentlessly, passionately, enthusiastically repeat the four steps in the acronym until the vision is realized!

There you have it…4 valuable steps to realize your vision for more success.  You could say acting on those four steps requires you to become a “caped crusader.” 

Come on!  Humor me!  Ya’ gotta’ admit the pun makes a valid point and one I hope helps you remember what it takes to be a visionary leader. ☺

How does the acronym, C.A.P.E., help you in developing a vision for your business or your life?

Please share your thoughts by commenting below.  

And…please forward this information to others by following the social media share link at the top or bottom of this post. 

Thank you.