I love visioning exercises.  As a strategic planner, I have had the pleasure of facilitating the creation of amazing practical vision statements – for events, programs, departments, etc.  Without exception, everyone who participates is energized, motivated, and deeply connected to the possibilities of the group’s dream.  Implicit within the vision, the group’s values are beautifully articulated.  It is a singular moment in the life of the group.  It represents collaboration, consensus, communication, and creativity in a unique and powerful way.  It builds community and fosters understanding.

But I have always wondered, how else can visioning exercises be used in a business setting?  What other ways can creativity help to develop culture or further corporate goals?  Would it be possible to represent vision and value visually?

I decided to find out for myself by making my own ‘Vision and Values’ board.  I wanted to see if I could build a vision collage that showed my professional aspirations.  One that would serve to guide me towards my future work.  What I created absolutely surprised me!!

Unlike many vision statements or traditional vision boards which tend to be more literal, this board is rich with metaphor and symbolic representations of my work processes.  It shows the leadership values I hold most dear, the habits of mind I deeply resonate with, and the implementation strategies I believe work best.  It visually articulates how I will approach my work and how I can build community with my fellow collaborators.  It represents my own ‘best practice’ philosophies.  It captures my current thinking and allows me to easily share my values around leadership. I can only wonder what my next ‘Vision and Values’ board will look like, 5 years from now…

I can see that a ‘Vision and Values’ board is a valuable way to deepen community among staff, articulate core values, spur rich conversations about leadership, or envision future outcomes.  In what ways would you use the vision board in a work setting?  Please share your thoughts and photos below!

About Celena Turney — I am a learning and development specialist and have worked with lots of different types and sizes of organizations during the last 20 years.  I have found that using metaphors is a very effective way to begin discussions on solutioning specific obstacles.  I am also a dancer.  I find that I see the world in terms of movement through space and that my service to an organization is like studying the choreography of all of its resources, both internally and externally.  I decided to write a series of articles for organizational leaders using the metaphor of tango, to encourage you to experience your work and envision solutions to barriers using new imagery.