Developing a Shared Vision

What: Visioning is about creating a shared understanding of what is important and why. Knowing your vision can help you to see opportunities and make choices, guide you through challenging times, and inspire and motivate you. It is the difference between "laying brick" and "building a cathedral". The bottom line is - the clearer the team is about what they want to create and how to work toward it, the greater the odds of actually achieving it.

When:This is a good warm-up team exercise, and is helpful for talking about common goals in concrete terms without taking on a full-fledged visioning process.

How: Using a series of questions that start with people's own experience and building to a shared understanding of what the team is committing to.
Visioning works best when you:

• Are relaxed but also energetic
• Are open to new possibilities
• Come from a positive place
• Use the power of your imagination.

1. Think about what it is you want the team to focus on (i.e. their purpose, their goal, their values, their work environment, etc.)


2. Develop 4 or 5 questions to use to help guide their visualization. Questions are focused on what you want the team to clarify (i.e. purpose, goal, values, work environment, etc.). (See attached for sample questions).


3. Explain to the team what they are going to be working on clarifying.


4. Have the team members sitting comfortably and tell them to close their eyes and listen to the questions.


5. When you have completed the visualization, ask the team to write down what they heard, saw, were thinking about as they listened to the questions.


6. Ask the members to talk to the person next to them about what they wrote. (Option: Divide the group in small groups (no more than four people per group).


7. Ask the team to identify what is common among (i.e. words, elements, themes, etc.) and have them share that with the whole team. Flipchart their responses and discuss next steps to making the vision reality.


8. Sample Questions:
   If this team could be, do or have anything, and there were no limitations:
   
   • What would we want to accomplish and create? What possibilities would we pursue? (Pause 10 seconds)
   • What would this program's image be across the organization? What would our image be across the province, the country? (Pause 10 seconds)
   • How would we describe our mission or purpose? Who would we serve? What special duty, function, or task are we uniquely suited to fulfill? (Pause 10 seconds)
   • What types of activities would we be engaged in? What are the right things to do? What would we be committed to? (Pause 10 seconds)
   • What goals or objectives would we set? Which goals would be most important and why? (Pause 10 seconds)
   • How would this program be unique? How would this program's work contribute to clients' lives? (Pause 10 seconds)
   • What values would we work by or stand for? (Pause 10 seconds)
   • If we were living and practicing with our values prominent everyday, what would be happening?
   • What would we be seeing? What would we be thinking? What would we be feeling? (Pause 10 seconds)
   • How would we be working together and treating each other? (Pause 10 seconds)

Remember create the number and type of questions that are relevant to the team and its work.