Communicate forward thinking vision and strategy with confidence to inspire and engage others

Senior leaders and managers of an organisation are responsible for developing the organisational vision and strategy. The vision is what you want the organisation to become in the future and the strategy is the plan that is used to direct the organisation towards the vision.

As well as creating the vision and strategy, leaders must be able to confidently communicate them with others to inspire and engage.

Some managers may not have been involved in the development of the organisational vision and strategy (for example, if they were recruited after it was already in place). However, they must still be able to understand and communicate them effectively, so it is very beneficial if organisational values are aligned with their own.

Own strengths in motivational speaking

To be able to engage and inspire others, managers need skills in motivational speaking. Therefore, it is essential that managers take the time to assess their own strengths in this area. As well as using self-reflection, getting feedback from others (including co-workers, managers and service users) may unlock insights that you were previously unaware of.

This will identify the areas of motivational speaking that you perform well and the areas that may need improvement. You can then look at how to develop your weaker areas either through formal training or experience.

Self-study options could include looking in-depth at some of the motivational leadership theories that you reviewed earlier, such as Golman’s Emotional Intelligence and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

In management and staff meetings

Effectively communicating your organisation’s vision and strategy to your co-workers is essential for ensuring that they understand the reasons why decisions have been made. Speaking with passion, energy and genuine belief will help team members to ‘buy in‘ to the organisation’s ideas and will improve staff morale and performance.

You should ensure that communication is two-way by inviting questions and feedback. This ensures that team members feel valued and respected and that their personal views are taken seriously.

Kouzes and Posner’s Leadership Challenge identified that great leaders are great role models, are able to inspire others, are innovative, encourage participation and keep spirits high. These are the ideals that you should try to embody when communicating vision and strategy to co-workers.

Meetings with those in receipt of care, their carers and relevant others

Similarly, vision and strategy should be communicated effectively with other stakeholders, including service users and their families. This can inspire confidence in the services that your organisation provides and demonstrates transparency and a willingness to work in partnership.

This can be carried out during one-on-one sessions as well as group sessions, such as focus groups.

Internal/external activities and events

There may be opportunities for you to communicate the values, vision and strategy of your organisation with the wider community and this should be carried out with the same passion and energy that you used when communicating with your co-workers and service users.

For example, you may be invited into sixth-form colleges to talk about working in the care industry (which may be part of a wider recruitment drive) or to present your organisation’s services to the local authority.

As well as external events, you may also be involved with internal activities, such as team-building exercises or award ceremonies that can help you to reinforce your organisation’s goals. Professional development and support activities, such as appraisal, supervision and performance reviews can also be opportunities to communicate organisational ideals.