DO YOUR ASPIRATIONS LACK SUBSTANCE?
We all have goals for our team or organization, broadly referred to here as ‘aspirations’. Twenty years ago, I used to think it would be really difficult to get a group of executives to agree to shared aspirations. As it turns out, this is not too difficult at all. Most aspire to pretty similar things.
The real challenge is that aspiration statements are typically high level, sometimes cliched, and frequently open to wildly different interpretations.
To ensure your aspirations are robust, compelling, and guide the behaviour you want, it can be helpful to ask seven “C” questions. Ideally, allow your people to answer these questions confidentially, on a 0-10 scale, then collate the data. It will likely be illuminating!
- Are our aspirations crystal clear?
- Are our aspirations compelling?
- Do we have the necessary capability to execute them?
- Do we have the necessary capacity to execute them?
- Are you confident we can get there?
- Are you truly committed to them?
- Are you clear on your personal contribution?
When we look at how all of the leaders in our database, in aggregate, have rated their aspirations against these seven key questions, it turns out that we’re all super committed; we’re just not sure exactly what we’re committed to, how we’re going to get there, or what my personal contribution is!
Every day, in organizations all around the world, good people with noble intentions are wasting enormous amounts of time, energy and money, pursuing aspirations they have little chance of achieving.
INSPIRATION FROM OTHERS
“Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.” – Japanese proverb
“Clear purpose and principles give rise to complex and intelligent behavior. Complex rules and regulations give rise to simple and stupid behavior.” – Dee Hock
QUESTIONS TO REFLECT ON
- How well do your aspirations perform against the “7C Test” above?
- Where are the biggest gaps for you to close?
- How can you go about closing those gaps?
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