Values-Driven
Vision
By Christina Drouin
What
is your dream for your school? What do you see when you
look out onto the horizon, say five years from now? Do you
see a school markedly different than today? With even more
brilliant teachers and enhanced learning facilities? Or do
you see a stronger and even more diverse global learning
community beginning to have international impact? Has your
vision taken into account the external forces – political;
economic; social; technological; market size and behavior;
constituent behavior and needs; potential new market
entrants; direct competitors’ performance, strategies,
capabilities, and intentions – over which you have no
control, but which can have a clear and serious impact on
your school, and therefore, your future vision? To be a
strategic vision, your look ahead must take into account
these factors. And more.
As a vision is a picture
of the future cast in the present, it can only be created
when the school community connects the dots between the
environment in which 1) it presently operates, 2)
scenarios of possible future environments, and 3) its
desired future environment based on its values and core
competencies. The resulting vision – an image or
description of the school community it aspires to become
in the future – is the answer to the question "If
we could have the school of our dreams and the impact we
most desire, what would our school look like in the year
2007?"
Of primary importance in
working toward a future vision is the right focus. Vision
is what or where your school intends to be – its hoped
for destination - not what it will be doing in 2007. What’s
more, vision should indicate in what significant ways your
school
intends to be different
than it is today. As the school community works through
the process of developing a shared vision it will find the
big answers to the big questions centered on the critical
issues facing it. These answers are essential to building
a strong sustainable community.
Fundamental
Distinction Between Mission and Vision and the Purpose of
Values
One of the most common
questions we find when planning in schools today is: We
have a mission. Do we still need a vision? The answer is a
resounding yes! They are two sides of the same coin.
While a mission statement
tells why your school exists, a vision statement tells you
where you are going. It paints a compelling word picture
of a desired future state. It can make anyone who reads
it, hears it or lives it want to support, work for, give
to, or in some other way be part of your school. When
taken to its highest level of effectiveness, a vision
statement leads an organization to itself become
visionary.
But perhaps even more
important than both vision and mission in anchoring any
future plans are the school’s core values. Imbedded in
the heart of the organization, core values tell you what’s
important to its soul.
Mission. Vision. Values.
All necessary. And while they work together in the
orchestration of a school community, each serves a
separate purpose. Mission gives day-to-day relevance to
work. Vision inspires stretching beyond what may seem
possible. And core values knit together a community of
soul mates, as guardians of all that it holds dear.
Good strategic planning
always grounds vision in mission. Both emerge from core
values. Visions, like dreams, will change as they are
fulfilled. Mission occasionally changes to become
congruent with a new vision. Core values rarely if ever
change. Everything else, from goals and objectives to
policies and procedures come and go over time.
The goal of any visioning
process is to arrive at a shared vision. One that the
community has worked together to create. Questions such as
"What do you want to be true of the graduates of your
institution during and after their school
experience?" and "What do you want to be able to
say about students’ and faculty/staff knowledge,
attitudes, skills, behavior, status or condition?"
become launch pads for dreams. By completing the sentences
"Graduates of my school will…" and "As a
faculty/staff member I will…" individuals begin to
paint a picture of future success and their roles in it.
When built on inclusivity, shared responsibility and
accountability, the fulfillment of that future becomes the
dream of the school community as a whole and of every
member individually.
A good vision statement:
- Emerges from core
values
- Is grounded in mission
- Paints a word picture
of a desired future state
- Is compelling
- Is memorable
- Is understandable
- Inspires action
In truth, we have found
that the very best vision statement does more than
inspire, it actually gives people goosebumps!
Ultimately then,
Mission + Core Values + Bold Dreams
=
Vision
So, what is
your vision of the future? It is shared by your faculty,
students, parents, alumni? A vision can be realized within
three to five years of the completion of a strategic plan.
Where will your school be in the year 2007?
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