This document summarizes a senior research project presentation on how effective leaders communicate their organizational vision. The presentation examines literature on how leaders convey their vision for a company's future to promote success. It discusses that leaders must first invest time developing their vision and then tailor their communication based on their audience. Visions also need to evolve over time as conditions change. While an effective vision and communication can increase the chances of success, they do not guarantee it, as external factors can still impact outcomes. Leaders are advised to focus on developing their vision, communicating it well to different audiences, allowing it to adapt over time, and learning from failures.

1. Jeff Warren
Senior Research Project Presentation
Fall-II-2015-OLCU-487-OL1
Professor Ian Grimbaldeston
Brandman University

2.  Leaders in today’s workplace face many challenges
and situations that create turmoil within their
organizations. One of their greatest challenges is
creating a solid vision for their company.
 How do successful leaders convey their thoughts
and ideas that make up their vision of an
organization’s future to others to help ensure or
promote organizational success?

3.  Purpose - To examine literature regarding the
approach that effective leaders use to best
communicate their visions of an organization’s
future to others
• RQ1-How best do leaders communicate to others that their
vision of a company’s future is worthy of that
organization’s resources and efforts?
• RQ2- What impact on organizational success does effective
vision communication have?

4.  Leaders should first invest time and effort developing
their vision prior to communicating it
• Foundation for communicating a vision
 Executing the vision communication depending on the
audience
• Convince others to follow your plan
 Visions must evolve as conditions dictate
• Understanding Micro and Macro Situational Awareness
 Success is Difficult without a Good Vision
• Want org success? Then you need a good vision
 Not all Successes are Achievable
• even with good vision and comm., success is not guaranteed

5.  Getting people to follow a vision is challenging
 Vision communication is quite different from
convincing others to accomplish short-term goals
 Effectively Communicating a vision is a skill
 A good vision can greatly increase the chances of
org success
 A well executed vision and comm. Does not
guarantee org success

6.  Leaders Should…
• Invest in the Vision’s Development
 Time, research, thought, foresight,
 understanding current micro and macro situations
• Execute the Vision’s Communication Effectively
 Know your audience, understand their motivations
 know your strengths and weaknesses as a
communicator
 Use two-way communication

7.  Leaders Should…
• Successful Visions Usually Evolve
 Situations change- technology, competitors, laws,
business environment
 Remain flexible and constantly reevaluate the vision
• Understand that Failure is not necessarily Due to the
Vision’s Failure
 Sometimes circumstances are unforeseeable,
unplannable
 Successful leaders learn from failures too

8.  Appelbaum, S., Carrière, D., Chaker, M., Benmoussa, K., Elghawanmeh, B., & Shash, S. (2009). Rx
for excessive turnover: lessons in communicating a vision (part 1). Industrial & Commercial Training,
41(5), 238-247. doi:10.1108/00197850910974785
 Berson, Y., Halevy, N., Shamir, B., & Erez, M. (2015). Leading from different psychological
distances: A construal-level perspective on vision communication, goal setting, and follower
motivation. The Leadership Quarterly, (2), 143. doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2014.07.011
 Carton, A., Murphy, C., & Clark, J. (2015). A (blurry) vision of the future: how leader rhetoric about
ultimate goals influences performance. Academy Of Management Journal, 1015(1), 10-36.
doi:10.5465/amj.2012.0101
 Farrell, M. (2015). Long Term Vision Creates Perspective. Journal Of Library Administration, 55(2),
121-130.
 Kotter, J. (2001). What leaders really do. Harvard Business Review, (11), 85.
 Kotter, J., & Schlesinger, L. (1979). Choosing strategies for change. Harvard Business Review
 Kohles, J., Bligh, M., & Carsten, M.. (2012). A follower-centric approach to the vision integration
process. The Leadership Quarterly, 23476-487. doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2011.12.002
 Manning, T. (2012). Managing change in hard times. Industrial & Commercial Training,44(5), 259.
doi:10.1108/00197851211244997
 Mayfield, J., Mayfield, M., & Sharbrough, W. C. (2015). Strategic Vision and Values in Top Leaders’
Communications: Motivating Language at a Higher Level. Journal Of Business Communication,
52(1), 97-121. doi:10.1177/2329488414560282