There's little or no debate about the value of vision in corporations yet many leaders seem unaware that their behavior influences perceptions of their vision. These perceptions are critical to motivating employees toward the vision. However, most leaders don’t think about vision in terms of behavior, so they may be unaware that certain behaviors can affect people’s commitment toward the vision.

The top ten vision killers identified by employees include the following actions by leaders:

1. Treating people badly, such as not showing them they care, forgetting to say thank you, not respecting people, not making people feel valued.

2. Not setting good examples and living by the adage, "Do as I say, not as I do."

3. Focusing on too many things at once.

4. Pushing too hard on the task and forgetting the people.

5. Not giving clear direction.

6. Giving inconsistent direction.

7. Not taking responsibility for failure.

8. Focusing on the detail and forgetting to tell the "whys" or the big picture.

9. Showing little or no personal commitment to the vision.

10. Allowing people who aren’t performing the job to remain.

In the eyes of employees, these 10 items ranked highest in reasons why people felt less committed and less connected to the leader’s vision. How many do you stumble over?

  For what research confirms employees would tell bosses - if asked, send an email to bs@futurevisions.org  with "MWS research on bosses" in the subject and nothing in the body