How to Host a Fun and Focused Team Vision Session
A team vision can unite your new Spirit Box team and generate excitement for the work ahead. When your team rallies around the same goal, it turns the everyday tasks into meaningful actions. Refining a team vision takes more than simply sitting around a table and throwing out ideas. Creating a truly motivating vision takes time and intention. If you’re ready to help jump-start your team excitement, take a look at our tips for how to host an effective team planning session below.
Determine the Purpose
No one likes to attend another pointless meeting. Some might say that a vision is only a piece of paper on a wall, and in some places, that is true. In order to be effective, a vision must be known, seen and repeated. When a team creates a vision and truly commits to it, it can be a powerful force.
Your vision session isn’t just another meeting; it is an opportunity to clarify what your team members care about. It is a time to create a common goal you will work toward together. It is a brief session where you will learn more about the people around you and maybe even about yourself.
Action Step: Write down what you want your team members to feel at the end of the session. Write down why you care about creating a team vision.
Clarify the Logistics
Once you determine why you want to create a team vision, next you’ll get to some concrete details to assess your time and resources. You can work with your DECA/Spirit Box Advisor to decide how much time you can allot to this activity, as well as what resources might be available. You can figure out whether it will be a one-hour classroom session or perhaps it will be spread out over two class periods. You can also discover the supplies available to you such as sticky notes, paper, online resources, and more. Perhaps you might even ask about teachers or local business people adept at creating a company vision who might be willing to come assist or speak for ten minutes to inspire your team. Work with your advisor to gauge your limits and opportunities.
Action Step: Decide how much time you have available for the session, the best location and whether you’d like to invite a guest or two to assist/speak. Share the purpose of your vision session with them and invite them to attend.
Plan the Agenda
Next it is time to create the agenda. “Agenda” may sound like a boring word, but it is the best way to ensure your session is not only effective, but fun for everyone involved. Creating an agenda can also help your team to stay on task.
This vision session will only be valuable to everyone if everyone has the opportunity to let their voice be heard. Sometimes it is easy to focus only on the ideas of the people who are loudest or most outgoing, but it is imperative that everyone on the team can share their ideas. There are a few ways to go about this:
Pass out sticky notes to everyone and ask them to write what they hope to get out of their year with Spirit Box. Have everyone put these anonymous sticky notes on a wall or whiteboard and discuss them aloud.
Prepare 2-3 specific questions to discuss and go around the circle once for each question so that every person gets an opportunity to speak. If your team is large this may be a challenge, but for smaller teams, it will allow everyone the opportunity to share.
Prepare a few large sheets of paper with one question printed or written in big letters on each sheet. Ask the team to go around the room for the first half of the session and anonymously write their answers to the questions on the sheets of paper. In the last half of the session, discuss the answers.
Perhaps at the end of the idea-gathering time above, each person can write a one-sentence draft of what they believe the vision should be (again, anonymously). Then collect the papers at the end and vote on which vision the team likes the most.
Action: Work with a member or two of your team to create an agenda for the session, including the specific questions you’d like to ask about your vision. You can find some examples of vision questions here.
Gather the Supplies
Work with your advisor to gather the supplies you need to host the session or make a list of basic supplies you might ask team members to bring, such as paper and pencils. Be sure you have everything you need to host the session ahead of time, so you don’t waste precious time trying to find it while the session is happening.
Action Step: Make a list of the supplies you’ll need and the steps to get them.
Execute the Session
When the day arrives to implement the session, remember what you hoped your team would feel when they leave. If you want them to feel excited, motivated and ready to succeed, be sure you demonstrate that kind of attitude when they arrive. Maybe you can play upbeat, fun music when they are walking in, and perhaps you could delegate a couple of second or third-year team members to greet them at the door so everyone feels included. This vision session will help set the team tone for the rest of the year, so you want to make a great impression.
Action Step: Make a list of things that can help to make the session fun: Music, food, snacks, greeters, etc. Write down the tasks to achieve these things.
Keep It Front-and-Center
Once the session is over, don’t just put the vision in a drawer. Delegate someone to make a cool graphic and print at least one copy to keep in an important and visible place. Talk about the vision during every team meeting to remind everyone of why you are all doing what you are doing. Your Spirit Box can be more than just a school project. As you remind your team about the vision and keep it in front of them, your team will better remember the big picture. This can help you all stay motivated when things get tough. As a leader, it is your responsibility to keep the team focused on what matters most.
Action Step: Make a short list of people who might be able to make a cool graphic for the vision and reach out beforehand to see if one would be interested in creating it. Maybe 2-3 people could make a graphic and the team vote on their favorite a few days after the session.
These are the basics for implementing a fun and focused vision session! What else would YOU add?
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