So, you have team vision. You talked about why your team exists, what you're building together, what you want to be known for, and how you want to work. You shared it with the team. Everyone nodded enthusiastically.
And then…Monday happened.
Slack messages. Meetings. Deadlines. Fires. The vision gets buried in a document somewhere, and everyone goes back to doing the work exactly as they did before.
💡 The Vault Insight: A vision you communicate once becomes a document. A vision you use repeatedly becomes a decision-making tool.
The goal isn't for your team to memorize your vision; it's for the vision to change how they work.
Use it to prioritize
Your vision should help answer:
Does this move us toward what we said we're building?
There will always be more things your team could do than things they actually have the capacity to do. When priorities compete, bring the vision into the conversation.
Which opportunity gets us closer to the future we're trying to create? Which one doesn't?
Vision shouldn't just help you decide what to do. It should help you decide what not to do.
Use it to give better feedback
Feedback becomes much more useful when it isn't based solely on a manager's personal preference.
It’s not helpful to say, “This isn't quite what I was imagining.”
Connect the feedback to the vision you've already agreed on: “We said we want our customer experience to feel effortless. Where could we simplify this?”
Now you're not asking someone to read your mind. You're pointing both of you toward the same destination.
Use it to connect everyday work to something bigger
Not every task feels meaningful on its own. Sometimes it's a spreadsheet. A process change. A customer call. A tiny piece of a much larger project.
Managers help people see the connection between the work in front of them and the future they're building.
Remind people why the work matters. Call out progress. Celebrate examples of the vision already coming to life.
Use it when you're not in the room
A strong vision gives your team a filter for making decisions without you.
When they're choosing between two options, responding to something unexpected, or deciding where to spend their time, they can ask:
Which choice gets us closer to what we're trying to build?
That's where vision becomes autonomy. You're no longer the only person carrying the picture of where the team is going. Everyone can see it. And everyone can help steer toward it.
Don't ask whether they remember it
The test of a good vision isn't whether your team can recite it. It's whether they use it.
Can you see it in what gets prioritized? Can you hear it in the feedback people give each other? Does it influence what your team says no to? Does it help people make decisions when you're not there?
If not, don't write a new vision. Bring the one you already have back into the work.
What’s one way you could make your team’s vision more visible in the work you’re doing right now?
Hit reply and let me know. I’d love to hear your answer!
—Ashley Walton, CMO & Treadmill Desk Advocate
