Dr Bob Hall: Making a Difference – The Challenge of Turning Vision into Reality Page 1 of 10 MAKING A DIFFERENCE: THE CHALLENGE OF TURNING VISION INTO REALITY Dr Bob Hall, Director of Planning and Institutional Research University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/piru Presentation Notes: TEM Conference, Sydney, 27-30 August, 2006 1. BACKGROUND • New Zealand government tertiary reforms • Requirement from 2002 onwards for universities to produce Charters and Profiles. • A Charter is a high-level governance document that provides a broad description of the organisation’s mission, vision and role in the tertiary education system. • Despite its name, a Profile isn’t a “profile” as such. Rather it is a planning document that sets out the organisation’s strategic direction for the next three years. • In April 2003, with a new Vice-Chancellor in place, and as part of the process of updating its Charter in response to new government requirements, the University of Canterbury embarked on a “re-envisioning” process. • No statutory requirement to include “vision and values” in the new Charter document. Nevertheless the new Vice-Chancellor decided that this should be done. • Reflection, discussion and consultation led to the emergence of a new vision statement. These notes provide background to the process. 2. CLARIFYING THE TERMINOLOGY • Need to understand differences and connections between three interrelated terms mission, vision and values – the first two are often confused with each other. • A Mission statement captures the essence of an organisation. It relates to core business (what we are and what we do) and is expressed through statements about purpose. • A Vision statement, on the other hand, captures aspirations and hopes. It relates to our dreams (who and what we want to be) and is expressed in “wanna be” statements. • Related to both of these are values that reflect the heart and soul of the organisation, the things we hold dear and to which we are committed as a matter of priority and purposeful choice Captures Reflects Expressed through Mission Essence Our Core Business what we are and what we do Purpose statements Captures general characteristics Vision Aspirations and Hopes Our Dreams who and what we want to be Wannabe statements Aspirational and inspirational Values Heart and Soul Our Core Values what we cherish Commitment statements ”Principles and priorities Dr Bob Hall: Making a Difference – The Challenge of Turning Vision into Reality Page 2 of 10 3. WHY WE NEED VISION (see Background Document 1, following) James Lucas: Anatomy of a Vision Statement, Management Review, February 1998, pp 22-26 • To guide us – provide direction towards a destination. Leads us from point to point in our organisational journey. Helps to sharpen, align and confirm our priorities and goals and keeps us from fragmenting. • To remind us – of what it is that we take to be, the fundamentals of our existence. • To free us – from the litany of “but this is how we’ve always done it” to fresh vision of how things could be different. • To inspire us – capturing the imagination and encouraging us to higher effort. 4. VISION DO’S AND DON’T’S (see Background Document 2, following) A vision statement should be… A vision statement should not be… 1. Realistic and credible 1. A high concept statement 2. Well articulated and easily understood 2. A motto 3. Appropriate 3. An advertising slogan 4. Ambitious 4. A view from the top 5. Consistent with values 5. A history of the past 6. Defensible and achievable 6. Passionless 5. THE VISIONING PROCESS (see Background Document 3, following) James Lucas: Anatomy of a Vision Statement, Management Review, February 1998, pp 22-26 The critical components of a visioning process are: • Soul searching: We have to know who we are before we can decide where we want to go. • Consulting: We need widespread input. The process needs to be inclusive but without succumbing to the lowest common denominator – the “false consensus that does not offend.” • Being prepared to be challenged: We must include detail to which we can be held accountable. Are we living up to it? The vision needs to stretch us without stressing us. While inspiring us, a good vision statement will also make us feel a little uncomfortable. • Communicating: We need to actively support the implementation of the vision. We must describe its implications, train people to understand what it means to them and develop mechanisms to apply it. If we want it to permeate organisational life we must devote more time to this after we have developed the vision statement, than went into developing it in the first place. 6. THE “OLD” CANTERBURY VISION (see Background Document 4, following) In embarking on a re-envisioning process at Canterbury in 2003, we started from an existing vision statement: “To be a premier research university, internationally known for the excellence of its contribution to knowledge, its excellent courses, teaching and graduates, its high levels of citizenship, and to be recognised by its community, including the international network of scholars, for these qualities.” This represented “the view from generica” insofar as it could be applied to any university. Dr Bob Hall: Making a Difference – The Challenge of Turning Vision into Reality Page 3 of 10 7. THE RE-ENVISIONING PROCESS • We agreed to some basic principles: o We wanted to keep the process as simple and streamlined as possible o We wanted to involve as many people as possible – but in a manageable way o We wanted to achieve an outcome that would have broad acceptance o We wanted a statement that would release us from “generica” • We convened a broadly-based Vision Group that met on a number of occasions • The Vision Group included the Vice Chancellor and Deputy Vice-Chancellor as well as senior and junior members of staff – academic as well as administrative • The Vision Group had access to a range of relevant background information (see Background Document 5, following) • The group met on a number of occasions to review the available material and discuss possibilities • Alongside of this a series of lunchtime focus groups were widely advertised and held, these included students • A worksheet was developed to aid discussion and to solicit input • Background material was made available on the web for reference and feedback • Input was also solicited from selected individuals, departments and campus groups (internal as well as external to the University) • The Vision Group had all of this input made available to it and met regularly to review the material and to set a brief for developing an alternative vision statement 8. THE TEN-FOLD BRIEF We wanted to develop a vision statement that would satisfy the following criteria: • It should be inspiring – not deadly, dull and boring • It should emphasise people rather than bricks and mortar • It should highlight the fact that Canterbury was one of New Zealand’s first universities • It should capture the connection between our past and our future • It should highlight key distinctives of Canterbury • It should highlight the theme of the university as a catalyst for change • It should have relevance for general staff as well as academic staff, students as well as staff, Maori and Pasifika as well as pakeha, international students as well as kiwi students etc. • It should be able to be rendered easily in Maori • It should highlight significant values such as excellence, quality, respect, courtesy, collegiality, leadership, collaboration • It should be reducible to a key thought which, if necessary, could go on a coffee mug Mission impossible? Dr Bob Hall: Making a Difference – The Challenge of Turning Vision into Reality Page 4 of 10 9. THE “NEW” CANTERBURY VISION The outcome was four paragraphs that provided variations on one simple theme: People prepared to make a difference – see Background Document 4, following Note the key elements (apart from the fact that it could go on a coffee cup): • It is easily rendered in Maori – tangata tu, tangata ora • People – the explicit point of reference is not bricks and mortar, the institution, its programmes or activities. The focus is “people” o He aha te mea nui? -What is the most important thing? o He tangata, he tangata, he tangata – It is people, it is people, it is people. • Prepared – three key aspects: o Ready -people who are proactive and informed o willing -people who have the right motivation and attitude o able -people who have the necessary training and skills • To make a difference o Having a positive impact on others o Acting as a catalyst for change o Providing a voice for change 10. IMPLEMENTATION AND GIVING EXPRESSION • Vice-Chancellor speeches • College vision statements • Service unit planning documents • Branding statements • Web pages • University artefacts • Exemplar: The Planning and Institutional Research Unit: Our mission is to contribute to the University vision of being people prepared to make a difference Our vision, as a Service unit, is to be known and appreciated for the excellence, relevance and accessibility of our service, staff and outputs PLANNING AND INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH UNIT Excellence Quality of Service Relevance Focus of Service Accessibility Delivery of Service Capability Fitness for Service People Resources Business Processes Structure Culture Relationshhip Staff -“people prepared to make a difference” • Still some way to go, but at least we know where we are going! Service Outputs Dr Bob Hall: Making a Difference – The Challenge of Turning Vision into Reality Page 5 of 10 Background Document 1 WHY WE NEED VISION James Lucas: Anatomy of a Vision Statement, Management Review, February 1998, pp 22-26 http://web.sau.edu/RichardsRandyL/Leadership_Readings_Anatomy%20of%20a%20vision% 20statement.htm We need vision for a number of critical reasons: 1. To guide us Like the stars that have guided sailors to their destinations and safe harbours for millennia, an articulated vision leads us from point to point on our organisational journey. It also aligns our various priorities and goals and keeps us from fragmenting. 2. To remind us The same organisation that can remember one of its mistakes for years can forget what it represents and wants to become in a matter of months. Like the Declaration of Independence, a vision should be something we can reflect on during the coming years to remember the important "whys." 3. To inspire us People, at least the sane ones who have a life, are not inspired by work in and of itself. Rather, they are inspired by the purpose of work, the result of work and the transcendent priorities and goals it encompasses. 4. To control us When we get the "crazies" and start wandering into unrelated businesses or core incompetencies, our vision statement can snap us back to reality. 5. To free us It's hard to have a forward-looking, high-performance organisation when we don't know who we are or what we want to become. The events of our past push us along with their inertia, to a chorus of "this is the way we've always done it" in the past. A living vision pulls us loose from that mire and opens the door to a fresh future. Dr Bob Hall: Making a Difference – The Challenge of Turning Vision into Reality Page 6 of 10 Background Document 2 WHAT A VISION STATEMENT SHOULD AND SHOULD NOT BE Notes from selected web sites – see Background Document 4, following A vision statement should: 1. Be realistic and credible 2. Be well articulated and easily understood 3. Be appropriate 4. Be ambitious 5. Be responsive to change 6. Orient the group’s energies 7. Serve as a guide to action 8. Be consistent with the organisation’s values 9. Challenge and inspire the group to achieve its mission 10. Be shared 11. Be achievable in a reasonable amount of time 12. Take advantage of opportunities the future will afford 13. Articulate a view of a realistic, credible and attractive future 14. Be clear, engaging and attainable 15. Provide a ready reference for everyone to use as a benchmark when making decisions 16. Provide a driving force that everyone in the organisation can speak to, feel, act upon and integrate 17. Be authentic 18. Be a picture of the future we seek to create, described in the present tense, as if it were happening now 19. Show where we want to go and what we will be like when we get there 20. Provide guidance to members of an organisation by articulating what it wishes to attain 21. Inspire, motivate and engage people 22. Be a compelling picture of the future that inspires commitment 23. Be a succinct snapshot of what we want to be, do, feel by some date in the future 24. Contain measurable, tangible goals 25. Be able to be transformed into individual action 26. Be a living document that incorporates the best of the organisation’s past in an ideal yet feasible view of the future 27. Be described in enough detail that we can be held accountable 28. Make us feel a little uncomfortable 29. Identify and highlight what makes us unique A Vision Statement should not: 1. Be a high concept statement 2. Be a motto 3. Be an advertising slogan 4. Be a strategy or plan 5. Be a view from the top 6. Be a history of our proud past 7. Be passionless 8. Be a prophecy Dr Bob Hall: Making a Difference – The Challenge of Turning Vision into Reality Page 7 of 10 Background Document 3 THE VISIONING PROCESS James Lucas: Anatomy of a Vision Statement, Management Review, February 1998, pp 22-26 http://web.sau.edu/RichardsRandyL/Leadership_Readings_Anatomy%20of%20a%20vision% 20statement.htm A vision statement will be worth more than the paper (or plastic) it's printed on when it becomes a driving force and compels people to do something, change something, and become something. That means it must pass the "baloney test" and get to the heart of the organisation, answering key questions about its competitive strengths. The statement also needs to be a "living" document that incorporates the best of the organisation's past into an ideal yet feasible view of the future. Only then will people do more than just buy into the image; they'll actually own it. Creating such a statement is not an easy task, but a necessary one nonetheless. What does this hard work involve? Here are the critical components of a visioning process: • We have to know who we are before we can decide where we want to go. This means we have to do some serious soul searching. Who are we, really? Why are we? What are our core values? What are our core competencies (and incompetencies)? Writing a vision statement without clear answers to these questions is akin to a doctor writing a prescription for an illness without examining the patient. We'll end up with a wart-like philosophy such as "growth." • We need widespread input on these issues that goes beyond the advice of consultants or the results of benchmarking against (read "copying from") other organisations. The input also must come from -especially from -our people. The visioning process must be intelligently planned to ensure that the results are comprehensive and inclusive. Managers also need to prevent the process from succumbing to the lowest common denominator; a false consensus can result in a vision that does not offend anyone but also fails to challenge and motivate employees. • We must describe the vision in enough detail that we can be held accountable. People must be able to look at a specific clause and know whether or not we (or they) are living up to it. It needs to stretch us without stressing us. More than making us feel good; a vision needs to make us feel a little uncomfortable. • We need to support the implementation of the vision. If we want it to permeate organisational life, we must devote as much (or more) time to our ideal after we've developed the vision statement as we did when creating it. We must describe its implications to people, train employees to understand what it means to them, create continuous learning processes to nurture the vision's deep roots and broad branches, develop mechanisms to apply it, communicate the vision through many forums (particularly stories) and revise it as it gains life during its implementation. Dr Bob Hall: Making a Difference – The Challenge of Turning Vision into Reality Page 8 of 10 Background Document 4 VISION STATEMENTS – UNIVERSITY OF CANTERBURY The “old” vision statement (pre-2003) The University has a two-fold vision: First, to send out graduates with trained and educated minds, to serve as a source of intellectual energy for the New Zealand community. Second, to be a premier research university, internationally known for the excellence of its contribution to knowledge, its excellent courses, teaching and graduates, its high levels of citizenship, and to be recognised by its community, including the international network of scholars, for these qualities. The “new” vision statement (post-2003) People prepared to make a difference – Tangata tu, tangate ora Since its founding in 1873 the University of Canterbury and its people have a made a difference locally and globally. Proud of that past, we now look to the future with fresh vision that blends the best of Canterbury tradition with the innovation necessary for success in a changing world. People are crucial to this process – people who are prepared to make a difference. We will make a difference by the application we bring to our studies; the passion and rigour we bring to our teaching and research; the inclusiveness and transparency we bring to our decision-making; the care and attention we bring to our administrative tasks; the courtesy we bring to service; and the sense of collegiality and respect we bring to interaction with others. We will make a difference to our city, region and nation by the quality of our graduates; the relevance and excellence of our research; the brilliance of our creativity; the impact of our collaboration with others; the strength of our bonds with community, business, industry and government; and by the leadership we show in Treaty, equity, environmental and other issues. We will make a difference internationally by enhancing the Canterbury tradition of worldcllas research and scholarship; working with selected overseas institutions; providing a welcoming destination for international students; and sending out graduates who are prepared to make their mark on the world stage. Dr Bob Hall: Making a Difference – The Challenge of Turning Vision into Reality Page 9 of 10 Background Document 5 VISION STATEMENTS -WEBSITES OF INTEREST What’s in a vision statement? http://www.allianceonline.org/FAQ/strategic_planning/what_s_in_vision_statement.faq What’s in a mission statement? http://www.allianceonline.org/FAQ/strategic_planning/what_s_in_mission_statement.faq Develop a clear, educationally focused vision http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/educatrs/leadrshp/le1clear.htm How to write vision and mission statements http://wi.essortment.com/writemissionvi_rvld.htm How to write a vision statement http://www.profitguide.com/howto/article.jsp?content=1011 Creating a vision http://www.semi.org/web/wmagazine.nsf/4f55b97743c2d02e882565bf006c2459/26ce68cbb4 bbdec988256897006b14cc!OpenDocument Bringing visions into focus http://members.aol.com/BWPerspective/BWP03002.htm Vision, leadership and change http://www.sedl.org/change/issues/issues23.html Business vision statements http://www.ivenus.com/careers/features/WW-full_length-wk37.asp Anatomy of a vision statement http://web.sau.edu/RichardsRandyL/Leadership_Readings_Anatomy%20of%20a%20vision% 20statement.htm Drafting a vision statement http://www.nsba.org/keywork2/guidebook/Chap2_Vision.pdf A recipe for Vision and Mission Statements http://www.refresher.com/!recipe.html Developing Effective Vision and Mission Statements http://www.inc.com/resources/startup/articles/20050201/missionstatement.html Writing Vision Statements http://www.teal.org.uk/vl/vl3vlead.htm Mission, Vision and Value Statements http://www.cio.com/leadership/buzz/column.html?ID=9311 Basics of Developing Mission, Vision and Values Statements http://www.managementhelp.org/plan_dec/str_plan/stmnts.htm Dr Bob Hall: Making a Difference – The Challenge of Turning Vision into Reality Page 10 of 10 Note: An electronic (Microsoft Word) copy of this document can be obtained by sending a message to: bob.hall@canterbury.ac.nz Dr Bob Hall Director of Planning and Institutional Research University of Canterbury Private Bag 4800 Christchurch 8140 New Zealand http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/piru