Public sector leaders must be able to set a meaningful direction through a clear vision. It sounds simple, but vision leadership is one of the most difficult forms of leadership. What exactly is vision management? Why should you as a public manager be interested in it and what pitfalls should you be aware of when practicing vision management? You can find out here.
In the summer of 2018, the Leadership Commission published 28 recommendations to help improve public sector leadership. Among these recommendations, there is one in particular that very explicitly articulates a specific leadership strategy that public leaders must master:
"...all public sector leaders must be able to set meaningful direction through a clear vision for their organization. If you can't and won't do that, you shouldn't be a leader."
Numerous Danish and international studies have shown that the practice of visionary leadership has positive effects on important factors such as employee motivation and organizational goal achievement. And that is the core of good public management: having employees who are motivated to make a difference and having organizations that create tangible value for citizens and society. Visionary leadership can contribute to this.
The article continues in the next section.
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What does it mean to practice vision leadership?
Vision leadership requires the leader to develop, share and sustain a vision, which is understood here as a picture of a desirable, ideal future state for the organization. What does the organization want to achieve in the long term and why is it important to contribute? Examples of overarching visions are when a primary school works to "promote the individual child's personal, social and professional curiosity" or a municipality that seeks to "put the citizen at the center". A vision is thus a guiding principle for all activity in the organization.
4 purposes of having a vision:
Public organizations must adhere to a set of overarching political objectives. However, translating these political objectives into a locally anchored vision is a significant management task. A vision should serve four essential purposes:
- Clarify the direction of the organization and thus be a guiding star for the organization's future course: Which track are we following?
- Provide the opportunity to have a common, organizational starting point for how different local objectives should be prioritized, so that a "long haul" can be taken based on selected objectives: Which objectives do we prioritize particularly high?
- Motivate and create meaning for employees: How - and for whom - are your organization's employees making a difference?
- Act as an evaluative measure of goal achievement: Is the organization moving in the right direction?
