If I were to ask you to rate your ability to inspire a shared vision with your team, what would you say? In their seminal book The Leadership Challenge,1 James Kouzes and Barry Posner tell us that inspiring a shared vision is one of the 5 critical competencies for leaders. Their work is based on research involving thousands of people in all sectors, including health care. Yet when I ask nursing leaders and managers to rate their skills in this area, they invariably give themselves low scores. And in my coaching and consulting engagements, this same hallenge presents itself again and again.
Readers of The Coaching Forum are asking about this, too, so let’s tackle this. While specific challenges require individual attention that is beyond the reach of this column, some aspects of inspiring an engaging vision are universal. For example, there are ways to assess your group’s readiness for an invigorated vision. Readiness is a key ingredient of success for any change initiative, and a revitalized vision may represent a significant change for your team. Addressing readiness increases your likelihood of eliciting a vision that is alive, fresh, and championed by others…Read The Full Article
