What's your secret to helping clients create a powerful leadership vision?

1 Why a leadership vision matters

A leadership vision is more than just a statement or a slogan. It is a vivid and meaningful picture of what your client wants to accomplish as a leader, how they want to influence others, and what kind of legacy they want to leave behind. This kind of vision can help your client clarify their purpose and direction, align their actions with their values, communicate their expectations and intentions, inspire and engage their followers, overcome challenges and setbacks, and measure their progress and success. Additionally, a leadership vision can help your client differentiate themselves from other leaders, express their unique contribution, and create a personal brand.

2 How to elicit a leadership vision

As a personal coach, one of your key roles is to elicit your client's leadership vision through powerful questions, active listening, and feedback. You can ask them what they are passionate about as a leader, what values drive their leadership, and what strengths make them unique. Additionally, inquire about the goals that excite and challenge them, the problems they want to solve or opportunities they want to seize, the outcomes they want to achieve, and the impacts they want to make. Lastly, ask how they want to be remembered as a leader. As you ask these questions, listen attentively and reflect back what you hear to uncover their underlying motivations, beliefs, and emotions. Provide constructive feedback on how their vision aligns with their reality, potential, and stakeholders' needs.

3 How to articulate a leadership vision

Once you have elicited your client's leadership vision, the next step is to help them articulate it in a clear, concise, and compelling manner. A well-articulated leadership vision can enable your client to share their vision with others and gain their support, embed it in their daily actions and decisions, reinforce it through positive affirmations and visualizations, as well as review and revise it as they grow and evolve as a leader. To help your client articulate their vision, you can use simple and specific language that conveys their message and resonates with their audience. Metaphors, stories, or images that illustrate their vision and evoke emotions can also be used. Positive and aspirational words that express their confidence and optimism, as well as inclusive and collaborative words that invite others to join their vision and co-create it, are also beneficial. Additionally, memorable and catchy phrases that capture the essence of their vision can be used. To further assist your client in articulating their vision, you can provide feedback, role-play with them, or record their speech.

4 How to implement a leadership vision

The final step in helping your client create a powerful leadership vision is to assist them in implementing it in their personal and professional life. This dynamic and practical guide should shape your client's behavior, actions, and results. To help them implement their vision, you can encourage them to set SMART goals that align with it and break them down into manageable steps. Additionally, you can help them identify and leverage their resources, such as skills, knowledge, network, or tools that can support their vision. You can also assist in monitoring and evaluating their progress and achievements, as well as celebrating their wins. Furthermore, it is important to help your client identify and overcome any obstacles that may hinder their vision. Seeking feedback from mentors, peers, or followers may also enhance their vision. Lastly, helping your client adapt and adjust their vision as they learn and grow from their experiences is essential for increasing self-awareness, self-efficacy, and self-leadership.

5 How to keep a leadership vision alive

Creating a powerful leadership vision is not a one-time task, but an ongoing process that requires dedication and renewal. As a personal coach, you can help your client keep their vision alive by reminding them of its importance, encouraging them to refine their vision, challenging them to stretch and expand their vision as they develop new skills, insights, or opportunities, and supporting them to live and lead in line with their vision. It is also important to acknowledge and appreciate their efforts and contributions to their vision. By keeping their vision alive, you can help your client stay motivated, focused, and fulfilled as a leader. Personal coaching is incredibly rewarding when it comes to helping clients discover, articulate, implement, and sustain a vision that reflects their true potential and purpose as a leader.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?