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Mapping. During the follow-up meeting, begin creating the shared vision
of the project. Choose a comfortable location for the meeting. Keep
the meeting informal. Make sure that the climate is safe, friendly, and
collegial.
Fine-Tuning the Vision. You may want to take a break at this point. When
team members come back from the break, you should expect that
there has been some discussion about the statements that were
generated earlier. Now ask the team to consider which of the
statements should be adopted for the project. For example, if it was
suggested that it would be great if every customer accepted and used
the project product, ask the group if they agree that this would be an
ideal goal for the team. “It can never happen,” is not a good reason to
drop a statement. A vision should be challenging as well as attainable.
The statements that remain will make up the core of the vision. When
you complete this activity, you will have a list of 15 to 20 idealistic
goals for the project.
This process will take several hours if done by the entire team. You
may want to divide a large project group into smaller units to develop
the specific strategies. This strategy development can be done as part
of the general project planning. Assigning individual team members to
be responsible for implementing each strategy will add accountability.
Put the vision, the strategies, and the name of the responsible team
member in writing and make sure that everyone has a copy. As the
project leader tracks project target dates, the specific strategies
should also be monitored. To put it another way, if the project team is
not using the strategies that will achieve the vision, the manager
needs to take some action.
Vision as a Motivational Tool. The vision can be used by the project leader
and team members to motivate the team when difficult aspects of the
project arise. It serves as a psychological contract between the
organization, the team members, and the project manager. Team
members may tell each other to “remember what we are trying to
achieve here!” and “think about the potential outcomes!” The team
may need to be reminded that they are capable of achieving the vision
if they use the strategies they developed. The vision also provides
direction. During the slow periods of the project, when some of the
work may become tedious, the vision can be used to clarify the
objectives—it shows where the team is headed, and reminds them of
what they agreed to do. A shared vision can also give the project team
a competitive edge in a very competitive world. ■