Note: If you have ever wanted a tutorial in how to write an effective and inspiring vision statement, you might save this post and use it as a blueprint for future work.
While nearly every school, college, and non-profit with which we work has a mission statement, less than 20% actually possess a vision statement. Why? Most likely because it is hard work and the organization has not matured enough to think about setting strategic aims higher than their own culture. However, a vision is incredibly helpful in formulating strategy because it is really about future state, not current state.
Most great schools and colleges possess a “docket of statements”, complimenting each other, using common, accessible language. As we have shared in prior posts, the following definitions are useful:
Mission = What You Do
Vision = Why You Do It
Educational Philosophy - How You Do It
Core Values - Ideas You Live By
In order to create a vision, it may be helpful in visualizing what a solid vision statement looks like in action. Here is an example of a K-8 school, in Seattle, that is progressive and works with gifted learners. We developed their statements over a decade ago and they remain durable today.
Seattle Country Day School - Mission, Vision, Values
Three things might be clear when reviewing their vision:
Their statements are short, easy to remember, and use common, accessible language so that all readers know what they mean. Those parameters were set long before the statements were written.
Their vision statement actually is tied to a problem that is bigger than the sum of the school. The best visions are larger than the organization.
Their statements have parallelism between them. They play nicely with each other, using common words that have shared meaning to their stakeholders.
So, to write an effective vision statement, a school or college might appoint a small, three person authoring committee that will take input from the community and develop drafts of a statement for review and consideration. And, before they start drafting, they set parameters for their work, answering three key questions while engaging the community key stakeholders, such as their board or strategic planning committee:
What parameters should we place on our vision statement? Some examples could include "easy to remember", "short", or "inspiring". Setting parameters is like placing the guardrails on their work.
What three words need to be included in the vision statement? Why? This will help clarify key words that engender powerful meaning in their shared culture.
Finally, what larger problem is the school or college trying to solve? Visions answer the question of "why", not “what”? Why does the school or college exist? It is more than just providing a good education for their students. There are a lot of schools or colleges that do that quite well. But, what is the school or college uniquely qualified to do that no other school in the region or nation can do as well?
Armed with the input from the three questions above, a small authoring team can get to work, developing a series of drafts that will be later reviewed by a large committee, such as the board or steering committee. And, for most organizations, it takes several iterations of drafts before they land with a desired, finished product that will drive the future.
Finally, remember a vision is more than a statement; it sets strategic direction. It should be barely achievable, pushing and inspiring people to work together to accomplish something greater than themselves. A good vision should drive an organization for decades as it chips away at a larger challenge or issue that really matters.
So, if your organization falls into the 80% category of schools or colleges that have failed to write a durable and memorable vision, use this post as an example of how to develop an effective statement for the future.