What are the top strategies for developing a digital vision that inspires your team?

What will bring forth passion in your internal teams and resonate externally with your customers? As a team member; make me believe and I will want to help you grow. As a consumer; make me believe and I will want to engage with your brand and buy from you. Your vision should tell me the why, the strategy that underpines it should tell me the how and what is needed. It is only then that success is delivered back through revenue, retention, and loyalty.

You can ignite your team's passion by weaving a digital vision that connects their work to a bigger story. Emphasize the "why" behind tasks, highlighting the meaningful contributions to the company's mission. Ensure an open dialogue, valuing diverse perspectives. Encourage a culture of continuous learning, empowering each team member to evolve with the digital landscape. Let the vision be fueled with authenticity, showing that success is a collective journey driven by shared values and aspirations.

Embrace the paradox of progress. In our relentless pursuit of the future, we must recognise the delicate balance between innovation and humanity. A digital vision or transformation should harmonise the potential of technology with the enduring essence of human connection. Your vision should reflect the symbiosis of digital and human evolution, uniting your team in a higher purpose which resonates with the very essence of what it means to be human in the digital age.

A clear vision provides the direction and Northstar for digital transformation. It helps set the purpose, speed and journey the organization plans to embark upon. While building a vision statement it should be: 1.Simple to communicate 2.Remain close to core values of the organization 3. Drive tangible value to stakeholders The structure to define the vision can vary organization to organization. Broadly internal consensus helps but involving an external partner can help in bringing a unbiased bouncing board. Inspiration can come from early adopters and innovators that validate intial hypothesis.

It is important for a leader to connect the 'why' of Digital Vision to the business strategy and bring in a forward-looking perspective for your team.

𝗔𝗻𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺'𝘀 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗱𝘂𝗮𝗹𝘀, 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸. If it is digital or phigital! So, if you try to align your vision with teams growth, shall boost your speed also will keep your team dedicated!

The team members bring in different perspectives, which contributes to the proposal being more comprehensive and helps in nurturing the diversity of thought within the team members, which brings the buy-in and co-ownership of the Digital Vision. Undertaking the visioning exercise in a collaborative way makes every team member proponent of the new vision and over a period of time, becomes easier to embed it in the organization.

A study by Queens University of Charlotte found that 3 out of 4 people felt that workplace collaboration was "very important" and yet 39% of surveyed employees felt that people in their organisation didn't collaborate enough. Lack of communication and collaboration can prevent team-wide buy-in which will be necessary in the long run.

🤝 The Power of Collective Wisdom: Involve Your Team in Your Digital Vision A digital vision isn't a decree from the C-suite; it's a collective dream. Involve your team in shaping this vision. Why? Because they bring a wealth of insights, expertise, and creativity to the table. They know the challenges, the customers, and the nuances of your business. When team members contribute to the vision, they're more likely to own it, be committed to it, and be accountable for its success. It's about co-creating a future everyone is invested in.

The same reasons you collaborate with your team on a project should be the same way you collaborate to define your teams digital vision. Everyone has strengths and perspectives that are unique to their position. For instance: Take a customer service representative (CSR) who deals with customer calls all day. Their perspective of what your customer's need from a digital experience would be way more personal than someone on your executive team. CSRs deal with customer issues all day long, so you'd be crazy not to get their feedback on a project involving your customer's digital experience. Everyone deserves a seat at the table, and more often then not, the quiet one in the room has the best answer ;)

In order to use SMART goals for your digital vision you will need to be able to quantify what you want to achieve. Your overall aim may not be directly quantifiable but it's effects should be. You should also use leading indicators to track performance. These will help you to prove progress and keep key stakeholders bought-in.

🎯 SMARTen Up Your Digital Vision: Specificity is Key A vision without clarity is like a ship without a compass. Make your digital vision SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. This framework helps you articulate what you aim to achieve, how you'll track progress, and when you expect to reach your goals. It keeps your team focused and aligned, steering clear of distractions and scope creep. A SMART vision is your roadmap to digital transformation

Everything in your organization can be measured. Same goes for you digital vision. If you don't have a way of measuring the success of your digital vision, then you really just have a digital presence that has no intentionality. Create metrics. Create goals. Create celebrations. It's all important....all of it :)

Measuring progress is critical. Organisations often chase shiny digital use cases without assessing value at stake prior to implementation or measuring impact after implementation.

In recent years, a handful of companies and business leaders have started pointing out the flaws of the traditional SMART goal-setting approach and replacing it with the FAST acronym. FAST stands for Frequently discussed, Ambitious, measured by Specific metrics/milestones, and Transparent for everyone in the organisation to see. It's an evolution more than a revolution - clearly we still need to set specific, measurable and relevant goals - but it puts emphasis on some key aspects which were missing from SMART: - Revisiting goals frequently, to ensure agility - Sharing goals transparently, to avoid working in silos - Being ambitious instead of focusing on "achievable" goals (and only giving bonuses if 100% of the goal is achieved).

A clearly communicated vision which your whole organisation can buy into is often referred to as a "north star". A north star guides action and ensure complete clarity about why your initiative is important. You can test how well you have communicated your north star by asking your team to articulate it to you. Everyone should be able to understand the aim and what success will look like, even if they aren't involved in the finer details of the implementation.

Let's just be honest with this one.... if your stakeholders, leaders, and managers don't understand the value of your digital vision....there is no way they will be willing to budget for it. The clearer the vision the bigger the budget...hopefully haha

In my experience, this is where many digital leaders tend to struggle the most. They have such deep expertise in their field, that they find it difficult to simplify and get frustrated with the lack of digital knowledge among the rest of the organisation, particularly senior leadership. Instead, it's important to find ways to make the message relatable to your audience, speaking a language they can understand and emphasizing the benefits in a way that aligns with their goals and priorities.

📣 Say it Loud, Say it Clear: Communication is Key Once your digital vision is set, it's time to shout it from the rooftops. But remember, clarity is crucial. Use simple language, avoid jargon, and employ storytelling to make your vision relatable. Utilize multiple channels—presentations, newsletters, videos, podcasts, and social media—to reach your team where they are. Regularly celebrate milestones to keep the vision alive and to show that progress is being made

Compelling change stories narrated by employees across the organisation - leaders through frontline - are critical to convey digital vision and build conviction across the workforce. They must appeal to the heart, be authentic, and build a burning platform for change.

🔄 The Only Constant is Change: Adapt Your Vision Your digital vision isn't a static document gathering dust in a drawer; it's a living, breathing entity. As you roll it out, you'll encounter new opportunities and challenges that may require tweaks to the original plan. Be agile. Adapt your vision as needed and communicate those changes transparently. Keep it relevant but also keep it ambitious. After all, a vision is meant to inspire. Feel free to share your thoughts and experienceswith me!

While the what and how aspects might change, the why of the vision seldom does. Embracing change and accepting changing goal posts isn’t easy. This requires a different way of working. Adaptable mindsets. Resilient culture. It’s important for leaders to role model change, over-communicate the “why” when mid course pivots are made, establish support mechanisms enabling employees / customers to navigate the change, and revamp processes and incentives to drive adoption of the new ways of working.

Crafting an inspiring digital vision involves aligning it with company goals. Communicate a clear, compelling narrative, outlining benefits for both the team and the organization. Foster a culture of innovation, encouraging new ideas and experimentation. Embrace transparency, sharing successes and challenges openly. Lead by example, showcasing enthusiasm for the vision. Prioritize ongoing learning, ensuring the team is equipped with necessary skills. Lastly, celebrate achievements and milestones, reinforcing the collective journey toward the digital future. This holistic approach motivates and aligns the team with the digital vision, fostering inspiration and dedication.

It is imperative for leaders to design the digital vision in the context of the operating model of the business - is it a centralized business, federated or franchise-led, since the KPIs and decision-making process are closely anchored to the organization models.

Creating an inspiring digital vision involves aligning purpose, innovation, and teamwork. Start by articulating a clear, compelling vision, focusing on long-term goals. Foster a culture of innovation, encouraging employees to explore new ideas and technologies. Emphasize the impact, connecting the digital transformation directly to organizational success. Provide continuous learning opportunities to empower your team with relevant skills. Lead by example, showcasing enthusiasm and commitment to the digital vision. Foster collaboration, ensuring all voices are heard, valuing diverse perspectives. Celebrate achievements, reinforcing the progress toward the shared digital future.

While the mission is an external message to your customers, the vision is an internal message that is given to the employees to engage them to bring life to the mission of your company. Your digital vision has to be connected to both your brand and customer objectives, be authentic, and motivate your employees to take action. It is always a good practice to come up with a couple of options and test them among the key stakeholders across the company to make sure it is brand-rooted, authentic, motivating, and encouraging your employees to bring it to life.

I want to grasp each team member's 5-year vision and assign tasks that resonate with their aspirations. While focusing on the company's objectives is vital, it's equally crucial to recognize individual team members' goals. Aligning the company's mission with the personal ambitions of our talent is important.

A commitment from leadership is crucial for the adoption of your digital vision. Leaders should be the champions of that vision. Here are 6 ways to get your leadership team on board: 1. Use data to show benefits like revenue growth and cost savings. 2. Demonstrate how the vision offers an edge over competitors. 3. Involve them from the start for alignment with business goals. 4. Implement pilot projects to show early successes. 5. Offer workshops on digital trends. 6. Use real-world examples to persuade.