Coaching on Strategic Leadership: Leading with VISION

Strategic Leadership: Leading with VISION

Emphasizing the power of a shared, collaborative vision through the Vision–Alignment–Execution (VAE) framework

Executive summary

Strategic leadership lives or dies on the clarity and credibility of a shared vision. The Everything DiSC® Work of Leaders framework—Vision, Alignment, Execution (VAE)—offers a pragmatic, research-informed path for leaders to craft the future (Vision), build true buy-in (Alignment), and deliver results (Execution). In this article, we focus on Leading with VISION and how to make that vision genuinely collaborative—co-created, understood, and owned by the people who will bring it to life. (EverythingDisc)

Why a collaborative vision?

Teams with a shared vision demonstrate higher commitment, more consistent decision-making, and stronger performance because people can see their stake in the future they are building. Contemporary research and reviews emphasize that a shared vision provides direction, sustains engagement, and accelerates change—especially in complex environments. (PMC)

The VAE frame at a glance

  • Vision — Define an improved future state in clear, human terms.
  • Alignment — Socialize the vision, test understanding, and secure authentic commitment.
  • Execution — Translate the vision into priorities, milestones, and operating discipline.

This sequence—popularized in The Work of Leaders and operationalized in Everything DiSC® Work of Leaders—distills leadership best practices into an actionable process for leaders at every level. (Wiley)

Leading with VISION: make it collaborative

1) Start with discovery, not declarations

Before drafting a statement, run a discovery sprint:

  • Listen broadly: 1:1s, small-group dialogues, and short pulse surveys to surface hopes, risks, and bright spots.
  • Map themes: Cluster inputs into 4–6 themes (opportunities, constraints, customer truths, capability bets).
  • Draft hypotheses: Turn themes into 2–3 “future snapshots” written as vivid stories from the customer and employee point of view.

This approach taps collective intelligence and raises the odds of ownership later. (PMC)

2) Write a vision people can picture

A collaborative vision should be:

  • Vivid: Describe what success looks like and feels like.
  • Specific enough to guide choices: Name the markets, customers, and capabilities that matter most.
  • Aspirational yet credible: Ambitious, but grounded in strengths and constraints you’ve surfaced together.

Work of Leaders describes “crafting a vision” as imagining an improved future state that the group will make real. Treat it as a storyline, not a slogan. (Discprofile.com)

3) Co-create the edges (principles)

Invite teams to help set design principles that will govern trade-offs—for example: “Customer trust over short-term revenue,” or “Healthier margin beats unprofitable growth.” Principles make the vision operational and reduce ambiguity during execution. (Wiley)

ALIGNMENT: build true buy-in (not just awareness)

Alignment means people both understand and choose the vision. Everything DiSC® Work of Leaders emphasizes adapting your communication to different behavioral styles to increase receptivity and engagement. Use the following quick cues when socializing the vision across DiSC® styles: (EverythingDisc)

  • D (Dominance): Lead with the stakes and the bet. What big win becomes possible? What are the decisive moves?
  • i (Influence): Paint the human story. Who benefits? How will we celebrate early wins?
  • S (Steadiness): Emphasize support and stability. What stays the same? How will we pace change and support people?
  • C (Conscientiousness): Provide evidence and logic. What analysis underpins this path? How will we manage risk?

Alignment rituals that work

  • Vision roadshows: Short, interactive sessions where leaders test understanding with live polls (“What does this change for your team next quarter?”).
  • Friction-finder workshops: Cross-functional sessions to surface misalignments (resources, metrics, policies) and resolve them on the spot.
  • Local translations: Each team writes a one-page “Vision-in-Our-World” that states their contributions and measures.

Research on shared vision consistently links participation in visioning and dialogue with higher commitment and change success—so design alignment as a participatory process, not a cascade. (Foundation of Nursing Studies)

EXECUTION: convert vision into operating discipline

Execution begins the moment the first trade-off is made. Use a few simple, repeatable mechanisms:

  1. Strategic priorities & guardrails
    Choose 3–5 priorities that express the vision this year, plus “won’t-do” guardrails. Publish both. (Wiley)
  2. Outcomes, not tasks
    Translate priorities into 90-day outcomes with clear owners and success metrics (e.g., OKRs). Keep them public and review bi-weekly.
  3. Learning loops
    Adopt a “build–measure–learn” cadence. Celebrate validated learning—even when it means pivoting. Link retro insights back to principles to preserve alignment.
  4. Narrative scorekeeping
    Beyond dashboards, leaders should tell the story of progress—what we believed, what we tried, what we learned, what we’ll do next. This keeps the vision emotionally present, not just numerically tracked. (EverythingDisc)

A 30–60–90 plan for collaborative visioning

  • Days 1–30 (Discover & Define)
    • Conduct 12–20 listening sessions and a concise pulse survey
    • Synthesize themes; draft two vision snapshots
    • Form a cross-functional “Vision Guild” to co-edit
    • Publish design principles draft and ask for comments
  • Days 31–60 (Align & Commit)
    • Run vision roadshows with DiSC-informed messaging
    • Host friction-finder workshops; remove top 5 misalignments
    • Finalize vision and principles; teams write their one-page local translations
  • Days 61–90 (Execute & Learn)
    • Set 3–5 strategic priorities with OKRs and owners
    • Launch a 2-week learning loop cadence and narrative scorecards
    • Celebrate first visible wins; revisit principles based on evidence

Leader behaviors that differentiate

Work of Leaders identifies concrete behaviors that raise effectiveness at each stage of VAE. In the Vision stage, the standouts include Exploration (seeking diverse inputs), Boldness (setting a clear direction), and Testing Assumptions (pressure-testing logic with others). Treat these as personal practice areas and coach your team to hold you accountable. (Discprofile.com)

Putting it all together: VISION as a team sport

A collaborative vision is not softer—it’s stickier. It invites people into authorship, equips them with principles for real trade-offs, and then anchors execution in disciplined learning. Leaders who use VAE in this way don’t just communicate aspirations; they create alignment and momentum that compound over time. That is Strategic Leadership: Leading with VISION. (EverythingDisc)

References

  • Everything DiSC® Work of Leaders overview and research lineage, including VAE model. (EverythingDisc)
  • Everything DiSC Work of Leaders® Profile description and features. (Discprofile.com)
  • The Work of Leaders: How Vision, Alignment, and Execution Will Change the Way You Lead (Wiley). (Wiley)
  • Evidence base on shared/collaborative vision and outcomes. (PMC)

Trademark notices
Everything DiSC® and The Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team® are registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. The Leadership Triad™, The Leadership Coach™, and The 4M Learning and Growth Model™ are trademarks of Affinity Consulting and Training.