DPAS Business Development Consultant, Tracy Webb, talks about the importance of having a clear vision for your business so that you and your team can plan for the future.
Most of us look forward to our holidays. We spend time and energy deciding where in the world we want to go and what we want to do when we get there. We make choices and decisions about things such as the type of accommodation we want: Hotel? Villa? Tent? And then choose how we want to be fed (or not) – All-inclusive? Half-board? Self-catering?
I could go on about the other things you may have to decide but you get the picture. These choices affect other decisions you have to make about your holiday. For example, the type of holiday and the destination dictate what clothes you take. Without knowing where you’re going, you don’t know whether to pack your swimwear and sunspecs, or thermals and ski suit!
You have to know where you want to go to be able to get there. In other words, your vision of where you want to go on holiday and what you want to do when you get there needs to be clear. This allows you to book the flights/rail tickets/get the car serviced, book your accommodation and possibly some of the activities you may want to take part in. In effect, you start with the finished picture and work backwards.
Very few of us would dream of trying to go on holiday without having done this. It’s just common sense! With the holiday, it’s the overall picture that drives and influences the actions you take and the decisions you make.
If you aren’t clear on where you want to go, how can you get there?
If you apply this analogy to your business, then the outlook may be completely different. All businesses have a direction of travel – from their current position to where they want to be. However, if you asked most business owners if they have a clear picture of what the destination for their business looks like, most of them would be hazy about it. So, if the business owner only has a hazy view of things, then it makes things hard for other staff working in the business to have a clear view of where the practice is going too. That can make life very difficult for them, to say the least!
Practice owners often complain because they perceive some team members are not performing to their full potential. However, if the owner doesn’t have a clear vision of what their team member needs to be doing, then it’s unlikely they’ll be providing consistent leadership. So, team members may not fully understand what’s expected of them. Is that their fault or the owner’s?
Why do you need a ‘vision’ for the business?
Quite simply, a vision sets the strategic direction of the business. It spells out where you want your business to go. It’s the destination for your business’ journey, if you will. By having a vision for your business you can share it with your employees. It allows you to develop goals, set priorities and allocate your resources in an informed way. If your employees know what your ultimate aims and goals are then they can see more clearly how they and their role fits into things. They understand the purpose of what they do.
If your team understands what’s expected of them, then they’re more likely to perform in the way you expect of them. A vision will help give them direction and purpose in their jobs. It will provide a road map (or Satnav!) to the future of the business. And it will help you to provide the leadership every good team needs. What’s more, they’ll thank you for it.
So, if you haven’t done already, spend some time considering the future of your practice. Decide where you are now and where you want to be. When you’ve done that, you are in a position to create a clear vision and from that, a structured plan for the future that you can share with your team. Once you’ve done that, you may well hear a collective sigh of relief from them as they finally understand what’s expected of them.
Go on, give it a try.
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