"Can you tell me what your organization's vision is?" I asked the department manager sitting across from me.
She shifted in her seat. "Um... something about being the best? Innovation? I know it's on the website somewhere."
This was a senior leader. Someone who'd been with the organization for eight years. And she couldn't recall the vision statement that her CEO had spent a weekend crafting and rolled out with great fanfare just two years prior.
That's the vision problem in a nutshell.
Walk into most organizations and you'll find vision statements somewhere—framed in the lobby, buried on the website, tucked into the employee handbook. They use words like "innovate," "empower," "transform." They sound impressive in town halls and board meetings.
But here's what I've learned after years of working with organizations: vision statements and actual visions are two very different things. One is wallpaper. The other is a living, breathing compass that guides decisions, inspires action, and rallies people when times get tough.
Most organizations have the first. Very few have the second.
Why Most Visions Gather Dust
I've watched this pattern play out over and over. Leadership teams spend a weekend offsite, brainstorm a grand statement, roll it out with fanfare, and then wonder why nothing changes. Six months later, it's forgotten. A year later, nobody can even remember what it said.
Here's what goes wrong.
Too Vague to Mean Anything
"Be the best." Best at what? By whose standards? What does that look like on Tuesday afternoon when we're making a tough call about resource allocation?
Vague visions don't guide behavior because nobody knows what they're supposed to do with them. Employees roll their eyes because these statements could apply to literally any organization in any industry.
Created in a Vacuum
When the vision comes solely from the executive suite, it feels disconnected from reality. The people doing the actual work—the ones who interact with customers, solve problems, and understand what's really happening—weren't part of the conversation.
Why would they follow something they had no hand in creating?
No Emotional Connection
Visions that focus only on business outcomes miss what actually motivates people. Revenue targets and market share don't get people out of bed in the morning. Purpose does. Impact does. The feeling that their work matters beyond the bottom line.
If your vision doesn't tap into that deeper why, it won't stick.
Launched and Forgotten
The announcement happens. Maybe there's a video. Perhaps some new posters. Then... nothing. The vision never gets reinforced, never shows up in performance conversations, never influences how decisions actually get made.
It fades into background noise within weeks.
Says One Thing, Does Another
This is the culture killer. Your vision promises innovation, but your culture punishes failure. Your vision talks about empowerment, but every decision requires five levels of approval.
Employees aren't stupid. They see the gap between the words on the wall and what actually happens. And that gap breeds cynicism faster than anything else.
What Actually Works
Now let's talk about organizations where the vision is alive. Where employees can articulate it without hesitation. Where it genuinely influences how people work.
I've seen this. It's possible. And it creates measurable competitive advantage.
Organizations with clear, embraced visions have lower turnover, higher engagement, and better financial performance. The data backs this up consistently. But more importantly, you can feel the difference when you walk through their doors.
So what separates vision statements from actual visions?
It Starts With Why—The Real Why
Before you craft words, get clear on purpose. Not strategy. Not goals. Purpose.
Why does your organization exist beyond making money? What problem are you solving? What change are you trying to create in the world?
This isn't a marketing exercise. It's a fundamental question about identity and impact.
I worked with a healthcare organization that initially had a vision about "delivering excellent care." Every healthcare organization says that. When we dug deeper and asked why that mattered to them specifically, we uncovered something more powerful: they existed to ensure that rural communities had access to the same quality of care as major metropolitan areas.
That was different. That was specific. That gave people something to rally around.
Keep It Short and Make It Stick
If people can't remember your vision, they can't follow it. Aim for something you can say in one breath. Ten to fifteen words maximum.
Compare these:
"To be recognized as the global leader in sustainable energy solutions through continuous innovation and operational excellence."
Versus:
"Accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy."
Which one would you remember? Which one tells you what to do?
Great visions paint a picture. They're vivid, bold, and repeatable. They create a mental image of the future you're building together.
Involve the People Who'll Live It
This is where most organizations go wrong from the start. Vision creation gets treated as an executive team exercise. A weekend retreat. Some brainstorming. Done.
But here's what I've learned: People don't follow visions they had no hand in creating. They just don't.
Co-creation isn't about making everyone happy or getting consensus on every word. It's about involving diverse voices—frontline employees, mid-level managers, different departments—in shaping the direction.
Run workshops. Ask questions. What impact do we want to have? What gets you excited about working here? If we succeed beyond our wildest dreams, what will be different in the world?
Synthesize what you hear. Test drafts. Get feedback. Refine.
When people see their input reflected in the final vision, ownership follows naturally.
Embed It Into Everything
A vision people follow isn't something you announce once. It's something you weave into the fabric of how the organization operates.
Make it a decision filter. When evaluating new initiatives, ask: Does this advance our vision? If not, why are we doing it?
Use it in hiring conversations. Share it in onboarding. Reference it in performance reviews. Make it the through-line that connects strategy to daily work.
Tell stories—real stories—about how teams embodied the vision. What they did, what impact it created, what it taught you. Stories make abstract visions concrete and memorable.
Most importantly, leadership has to model it. Every day. In every decision. If the vision says one thing but leaders behave differently, the vision is dead in the water.
Keep It Alive, But Keep It Stable
Visions should evolve thoughtfully, but they shouldn't change with every new strategic plan. Core purpose should endure even as tactics shift.
Revisit your vision every few years or after major changes. Ask: Does this still reflect who we are and where we're headed? Does it still inspire our people?
But don't confuse evolution with abandonment. Constantly changing visions signals that leadership doesn't know where they're going. And if leadership doesn't know, why would anyone else follow?
What This Looks Like in Practice
I think about the organizations I've worked with that got this right.
One mid-sized company shifted from a generic "innovation leader" vision to something specific: "Make complex data simple so leaders make better decisions faster." Suddenly, product teams had clarity. Marketing knew their story. Sales could articulate value. Employees started referencing it in meetings without being prompted.
Another healthcare system moved from "provide excellent care" to "ensure every patient feels heard, known, and cared for." Simple. Human. Actionable. Nurses could point to specific behaviors that brought that vision to life.
The transformation wasn't about prettier words. It was about clarity, ownership, and consistent reinforcement.
The Leadership Challenge
Creating a vision people actually follow requires courage. You'll need to facilitate difficult conversations and hear hard truths during the input process. You'll have to kill sacred cows when reality doesn't align with words. You'll need to hold yourself and others accountable for living it consistently.
That's uncomfortable work.
But the alternative—a vision that's just wallpaper—is worse. It breeds cynicism. It signals that leadership doesn't take their own words seriously. It wastes the opportunity to unite people around something meaningful.
We're navigating unprecedented change. Workforce challenges. Technology disruption. Economic uncertainty. In this environment, a clear and embraced vision isn't a nice-to-have. It's how organizations survive and thrive.
So here's my challenge to you: Take out your current vision statement. Read it. Then ask five employees at different levels what it means to them and how it influences their work.
If you get blank stares, it's time to address the vision problem.
Start with why. Involve your people. Make it real. Keep it alive.
Because when a vision moves from the wall to the way people actually work, everything changes.
