Communicating Vision
Communication can be a difficult at times. When people are passionate about something,
they can get a tunnel vision of how they envision their idea being enacted. "The real power of a
vision is unleashed only when most of those involved...have a common understanding of its
goals and direction" (Kotter, 2012, p.87). Knowing how to communicate a vision in the best way
is essential because when people do not understand the visions, goals are not met.
One perspective to consider is the question of whether or not everyone involved is able to
see and recognize the vision while sharing the same language. With such a diverse workforce we
currently work in, some employees may feel more comfortable in languages other than English.
"Communication is the first thing to have a good integration. You can't have a good integration
when you don't have a good communication" (Morrice et al., 2019, p. 687). When something as
grand as a vision change takes place or is enacted, it should be essential to meet people where
they are in regard communication in order to make sure the goals are conveyed in the most
comprehensible way. This means that those in charge of sharing the vision may need to have
materials in several languages or may need to have interpreters provided.
There was something in the book that bothered me about communicating vision.
"Failures to communicate vision are often attributed to either limited intellectual capabilities
among lower-level employees" (Kotter, 2012, p.89). When I read this, I felt like the blame
should not be on the lower-level employees’ intellect, but rather the responsibility should be on
the executives for not providing access to the information and meeting their employees where
they are able to understand the vision change.
Having excellent communication skills are ever changing. There will never be a time
when we are done learning about communicating or how to communicate. "Good
communication is difficult to define because it is situationally contingent" (Graves, 2021, p.
533). As the world is constantly changing, communication approaches need to change with it as
well. A study discussed that college students are not learning adequate communication skills for
the workplace. "Employers believe that colleges are not teaching communication skills
sufficiently and are not preparing students adequately for success in their future workplaces"
(Oliveri & McCulla, 2019, p. 1). This issue is one of the reasons that makes learning and
teaching communication skills essential. We need to be looking for opportunities to learn how to
communicate with other cultures, abilities and languages.
We also need to take into account that there are many forms of communication. When
deciding how we want to communicate vision changes or aspects unrelated to a vision change,
we need to keep in mind that verbally expressing ourselves may not impact the number of people
we need to reach. One scenario that I frequently encounter is the need to use several different
ways of communicating because I am Deaf. Most of the time, I can communicate via lip reading,
but it is not a perfect method. I am also able to speak for myself and do not depend on an
interpreter to voice what I am trying to say. If I were in the workplace and someone’s vision was
being communicated, I would want an interpreter present to provid me the best means of
understanding the change. In my day-to-day work, I may not require an interpreter present, but
employers need to remember that an interpreter is the best way to communicate with me,
especially in particular situations. However, if there was a situation where someone was sharing
their vision in a large group setting, and an interpreter was not provided, I would miss what was
being communicated.
One journal article I read sums communication up well. "Understanding the fact that
transformational leadership depends on authentic communication spoken in an effective and
focused manner to express the appropriate transformational factors is critical" (Momeny &
Gourgues, 2019, p. 231). We need to strive to be authentic when we are communicating our
vision or in regard to anything we are trying to communicate to those we are leading.
References:
Graves, C. G. (2021). Good communication revisited: Evaluative rhetorics and a disciplinary
commonplace.>Western Journal of Communication,>85(4), 527–548.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10570314.2021.1887509>
Kotter, J. P. (2012).>Leading change. Harvard Business Review Press.>
Momeny, L. S., & Gourgues, M. (2019). Communication that develops: Clarity of process on
transformational leadership through study of effective communication of emotional
intelligence.>Christian Education Journal: Research on Educational Ministry,>16(2), 226–
240. https://doi.org/10.1177/0739891319829484>
Morrice, L., Tip, L. K., Collyer, M., & Brown, R. (2019). ‘You can’t have a good integration
when you don’t have a good communication’: English-language learning among resettled
refugees in England.>Journal of Refugee Studies,>34(1), 681–699.
https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/fez023>
Oliveri, M. E., & McCulla, L. (2019). Using the occupational network database to assess and
improve English language communication for the workplace.>ETS Research Report
Series,>2019(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1002/ets2.12265>
IGNORE BELOW
Kotter, J. P. (2012).>Leading change. Harvard Business Review Press.>
(Acts 17:30, New Living Translation)
(Grenny et al., 2013)
