Leading a
team comes with challenges. But, leading a remote team doubles those challenges
and can be quite a demanding task. With your team members physically away, you
could find it hard to keep them all on the same page and coordinate their
performance successfully. This is why you need to build solid grounds for them
to stand on and work from. A great team vision statement might just be the
thing you need.
If you
want your team to have something to inspire them and guide them, you should
write a remote team vision statement. Luckily, we're here to help. Below,
you'll find the tips and guidance points to help you write a killer remote team vision statement.
Let’s take a closer look.
A team vision statement is:
-
a short sentence that
summarizes and describes the purpose and the role of the team in accomplishing
the company’s goals.
We could say that a team vision statement actually defines:
-
what is the team supposed to
do
-
why are they doing it
-
what are they trying to
achieve
The purpose of writing a team vision statement is to give
your team something to believe in. It’ll help them see the bigger picture and
understand their role in making something happen.
So, a team vision statement is there to guide, inspire, and motivate the team members.
Every team should have an inspiring team vision statement.
But, remote teams may need it more than others.
This is because remote teams face numerous challenges:
-
lack of internal communication
-
misunderstandings
-
isolation and feeling of
loneliness
-
lack of mentorship
Remote teams can easily fall off track, and individual
members will be struggling on their own to figure things out. They need extra
support and leadership that you should provide.
This is why a remote team vision statement can move mountains and contribute to improved team performance.
Now that you understand the meaning and importance of a
remote team vision statement, it’s time to look at the actual steps you’ll need
to take.
The process of writing an excellent team vision statement requires you to take it one step at a time. Here's the strategy you should follow.
Your company probably already has a vision statement. Your
team members might or might not be aware of it.
You should open an online discussion about it with your team
members and include them in the process of writing the team vision statement.
Together, you should talk about:
-
the meaning of the company's
vision statement
-
what they feel their main
purpose is
-
the ideas they’d like to
pitch in
Ask them to think about their roles in team projects, their experience in the
company, or their passion for the job. You never know what might come out as a
result of this discussion.
Make sure to write it all down and memorize the best ideas your team members shared.
Your remote team vision statement needs to embrace several
main ideas, but the most important one is your team’s purpose. This is why it’s
a great starting point and the first thing you should define.
Think about:
-
the service you provide
-
your target audience
-
the impact you’re making
-
the reason why you’re here
Think about your ultimate goal and try to put it in one
sentence. For example, a clothing brand could have the purpose to “make every person fashionable,” and a
tech brand could aim to “make ordinary
people extraordinary.”
This type of statement is the perfect basis for your team's vision statement, so make it count.
If you make your team's vision statement too elaborate, it will lose its power and charm. "A team vision statement needs to leave an impact and send the right message instantly", says Estelle Liotard, an editor and remote content writing manager at GetGoodGrade writing service.
That’s why you need to keep it short.
Ideally, it should be:
-
one sentence
-
up to 20 words long
- easy to understand
If the team has to really try in order to understand the
message of the vision statement, they’ll lose interest and won’t be able to
relate.
So, keep things short and clear.
4. Spread Enthusiasm
Your team vision statement needs to inspire enthusiasm with your team members working remotely. They need to feel like they’re all in it together, even though everyone's sitting at their computers far away from each other.
That means that you should include:
-
the passion for the job
-
commitment to achieving the
goals
-
a positive attitude
-
motivation
Your team vision statement could include a phrase such as
"we don't settle for anything less
than perfect" or "we're
devoted to every single customer."
It’s important to emphasize and spread the enthusiasm that your remote team members will feel and be inspired by. It will influence their performance positively and help them work harder and better.
A team vision statement is a way of setting a goal for the
future and challenging yourself to go further and further. It’s a great way to
inspire and motivate the team members, but you need to be careful. You don’t
want to overdo it.
If you set an unrealistic goal in your team vision
statement, you’ll be producing a counter effect:
-
team members will find it
unrealistic and impossible to achieve
-
this will discourage and
demotivate them
-
they’ll feel like their
efforts are in vain
This is why your team vision statement shouldn’t go as far as saying “to be the number one fast-food brand in the world." Instead, focus on something more realistic such as “to sell great food and deliver an exceptional experience.”
Finally, there’s one last step in the process of writing a
killer remote team vision statement. You need to try and imagine talking to
yourself and your team in ten or fifteen years.
What would you like to have accomplished? And, where do you
see yourself if things run smoothly?
Answer these questions to finalize your team vision statement. It’ll be the spice you needed to make the whole thing stand and make a difference for the team.
Writing a team vision statement for a remote team is of
utmost importance. You need to help them overcome the obstacle of physical
distance and use the vision statement to tie them all together.
Hopefully, the tips shared above will inspire
you and help you write a brilliant team vision statement for your team. Use
them wisely, and don’t forget to reinforce this statement whenever you get the
chance.
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