Success Pictures as the Roadmap to Success

Ever thought everyone in your team was aligned, then discovered you were wrong? Here’s why:

There's something I refer to as a "success picture".

It’s a mini vision which tangibly describes what the task / project / relationship / meeting will look like when you've achieved success.

Not the process, but the result.

Sounds simple, right?

I can't tell you how many times I've heard leaders say: "yes, everyone is clear, I told them what we're trying to make happen."

Then I test that assumption by asking the people involved in the project what they understand success looks like.... and guess what?

As many versions of success as there are people!

All because nobody invested in alignment.

It’s the equivalent of having a football team where everybody thinks the goal post is in a slightly (or, in some cases, very!) different place.

No surprises when they lose the game.

Here's what leaders can do to get everybody shooting to the same goal:

𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞 𝐮𝐩𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭
↳ If communication isn’t clear, all the rest is frail. Ask questions, build a clear picture together.

𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬
↳ Paint the success picture with as much detail as possible describing the end state, not the process for getting there.

𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝
↳ If it doesn't have a date, it's not a measurable outcome.

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲
↳ Why is it important now? The stakes have to be painfully clear.

A “success picture” is not a shiny object to hang on the wall.
It’s a roadmap to performance.

Check out my short video where I go into more depth on how to do this in practice 👇