The purpose of a shared vision is to provide a statement of an envisioned future and establish common understanding of the aspirations and governing ideals of the team in the context of that desired end state. The shared vision anchors the team’s governing ideas and principles and captures the objectives to be achieved. The shared vision guides the activities of the team and helps drive the team to achieve its mission and objectives. A shared vision facilitates working together and helps the team to attain unity of purpose among its members.
No team operates in isolation. ,em>A shared vision for the integrated team is critical to ensure that the team’s charter, direction, and activities achieve a fit with any larger project objectives or other interfacing teams. A team’s sponsor(s) or leader may establish the vision for the organization or project for which the integrated team is a part. An integrated team’s shared vision must be aligned with and support the achievement of the project’s and organization’s higher level objectives as well as its own. When one team falls short of or strays from its objectives and vision, it is likely to have a significant impact on the overall success of the project.
Shared-vision context has both an external and internal aspect. The external aspect entails the objectives and interfaces of the team’s sponsor and overall organization, while the internal aspect is about aligning the group member’s personal interests and vision with the team’s mission and purpose. The shared vision must ensure a commitment of the integrated team members to both their team and to other interfacing teams and project responsibilities.
Aligning personal perceptions of the people within the team is an important part of understanding and accepting the shared vision. As such, a shared vision is usually not the product of one person’s effort; however, the team’s sponsor(s) or leader may begin the discussion of the vision for a team. It is important that all integrated team members understand and commit to a shared vision. The team population should openly discuss and be given the opportunity to provide feedback on the vision and address inconsistencies and make revisions as appropriate. This openness creates a vision that belongs to everyone, provides an end-state view of the implementation of the team’s responsibilities, is the basis for the team’s charter, and is applied to all work. Benefits of a shared vision are that people understand and can adopt its principles to guide their own, as well as the whole team’s, actions and decisions.