Monthly Archives: October 2016

I’m writing this from the fall academic and student affairs leadership conference. Over the past couple of days I’ve had numerous opportunities to hear about leaders who are anticipating change, championing improvements, and sharing their vision for the future.

This year’s theme centered around our commitment to eliminating educational disparities experienced by our students. We began with a talk from Ron Anderson, Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs. He talked openly about his role as a white male coming from a position of privilege and power. By modeling self-awareness and openness to learn, he inspired each of us to think about what we can do from whatever position we might be in.

The final dinner included awards for groups and leaders who demonstrate excellence in programming, collaboration, and innovation. Hearing stories about people who work every day to serve our students with passion and creativity gave me new ideas about what is possible. Several award winners talked about their discomfort with being in the limelight and spoke about the teamwork that made the accomplishments possible. It made me realize that these events are only partly about the winners. They’re also about providing the rest of us with a clear picture of the vision.

As a leader, what ways have you found to recognize people who embody your organization’s goals? How can you acknowledge their work and inspire others?

Dee Anne Bonebright

Creating or rewriting a vision statement can be an interesting and revealing process for an organization, with the reward of a tangible product at the end.  Purposefully taking the time to think about the future,  what your organization could look like in 5, 10 or more years, and dreaming of both achievable and more challenging goals can spur employees to really think about the company’s values, their own values, and how to reflect them  through their work lives.

However, that view of the future could look very different to an executive or mid-level leader than your frontline staff, team leaders and individual contributors.

Below are vision statement examples from a few well-known non-profits.  Can you think of some differences in understanding and perception of these, how they might be internalized, then explained to people outside of your organization, based on your employees’ various roles?

Creative Commons: Our vision is nothing less than realizing the full potential of the Internet — universal access to research and education, full participation in culture — to drive a new era of development, growth, and productivity.

Goodwill: Every person has the opportunity to achieve his/her fullest potential and participate in and contribute to all aspects of life.

Habitat for Humanity: A world where everyone has a decent place to live.

(Source: https://topnonprofits.com/examples/vision-statements/)

Taking the time to think about your vision statement’s view from all the angles and all the distances can go a long ways in increasing understanding and support from all your organization’s employees.

Cindy Schneider

Cindy supports the Talent Management Division’s work in the HR Division at the Minnesota State system office.  She will complete her degree in Technical Communication & Professional writing this December.