Introduction
A leader’s communication style can potentially affect how motivated, efficient, creative, or secure team members feel. The ability to communicate efficiently could be viewed as one of the essential competencies for individuals who manage and direct groups and those who constitute their part. This competence facilitates communicating and creating a shared vision, without which focusing and consequently achieving outlined objectives could be complicated. Effective communication and leadership vision appear to be interrelated concepts that serve as a basis for ensuring that the atmosphere at a working place enhances morale and that an overreaching understanding of a team’s mission is established.
Personal Concept of Vision
The significance of vision in leadership is accentuated by the idea that without it managing a team efficiently would not be possible. From my perspective, vision is a mental framework that consists of desired outcomes, objectives, and strategies to achieve them. The concept seems to be a cornerstone of any team as it explains and provides sense to performed tasks; without a clear vision, team members could feel alienated from their activities.
A considerable amount of leadership literature and gathered data revolves around the concept of vision. It is suggested that studies in leadership have consistently shown vision as a significant element determining leadership performance (Wanasika & Krahnke, 2016). Leaders benefit from developing their visions and need to be encouraged to actively transmit them, empowering team members to act accordingly to achieve the communicated collective mission (Mohd Adnan & Valliappan, 2019).
Ndalamba et al. (2018) highlight that vision enables individuals to share problems and prevent potential negative impacts. Furthermore, Watts et al. (2018) link vision and sense-making, since the latter refers to an idyllic theoretical future and how to render it possible. The sense is an intrinsic element in the professional sphere no less than in others, as it allows team members to enjoy and connect to a task and find meaning in one’s responsibilities. In the domain of education, research has shown that the presence of shared vision decreases teachers’ intent to leave (Qadach et al., 2019). This observation could be potentially extended to other domains, supporting a shared vision’s capacity to motivate.
Effective Communication and Vision
Communication effectiveness is among the core competencies needed in the workplace. According to Covey (1991), effective communication serves the purpose of inspiring people to adopt a vision, a task achieved by a persuasive and inspiring manner of expressing oneself. Secondly, effective communication requires clarity and simplicity, which are indispensable in ensuring that a team has the same vision. The competence also suggests that a leader is able to communicate emerging problems so that the effectuation of a particular mission is not obstructed by the inability to clarify it (Covey, 1991).
Lastly, effective communication helps leaders ensure that team members stay focused, and the established vision is not distorted in the course of achieving a mission. Therefore, competence is a powerful instrument that assists in communicating, establishing, and maintaining a vision.
The position of leaders is an exigent one – the authority that accompanies it is supposed to be based on a number of professional competences and personal qualities. The ability to communicate clearly and motivate is one of the characteristics that distinguish influential leaders. Consequently, effective communication is at the core of creating and translating a vision into reality. Encouraging, directing, and correcting are leaders’ functions that necessitate conciseness, transparency, kindness, and respect.
References
Covey, S. R. (1991). Principle-centered leadership. Summit Books.
Mohd Adnan, S. N. S., & Valliappan, R. (2019). Communicating shared vision & leadership styles towards enhancing performance. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 1-16.
Ndalamba, K. K., Caldwell, C., & Anderson, V. (2018). Leadership vision as a moral duty. Journal of Management Development, 37(3), 309–319.
Qadach, M., Schechter, C., & Da’as, R. (2019). Instructional leadership and teacher’s intent to leave: The mediating role of collective teacher efficacy and shared vision. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 1-18.
Wanasika, I., & Krahnke, K. (2016). Leadership and vision. Leadership Today, 75–88.
Watts, L. L., Steele, L. M., & Mumford, M. D. (2018). Making sense of pragmatic and charismatic leadership stories: Effects on vision formation. The Leadership Quarterly, 1-17.