I have coached hundreds of client in my years of being a leadership coach. It’s a profession I love so much, and I am fueled by the work I see my clients doing that can transform their lives. Clients often ask me how to get the most out of our Leadership Coaching engagement, and one exercise I often use is a simple visioning exercise. Often we think about “visioning” as something that is near daunting. How do we know what we really want? How can we plan for a vision in such a complex world? And now, with the added pressure of the Coronavirus, how can we see what three years from now will be?
For these chaotic and unusual times, where it’s difficult to plan for the next week, a three year vision can be comforting. In reality, a 3-Year vision is just a spot at the end of a journey that you have thought about in your mind. It’s like a car trip, you may end up at the destination that you first chose, or you may veer off the road to another destination. But when you set the car on the path to where you want to end up, there’s a much higher chance you will move forward on your journey of getting there.
Here are three easy steps to start on your own 3 year visioning process. Grab a journal and a pen, take a couple of quiet hours in a place that you feel comfortable in, get a nice cup of tea or a glass of wine, and work through these steps.
- Up Until Now (The Past)
- Take some time to write down answers to these questions around your past
- What influenced you when you were growing up?
- What were some of your takeaways from your first professional job?
- What’s influenced you or is shaping you from three years ago to now?
- Take some time to write down answers to these questions around your past
- What’s True Now (The Present)
- Ask yourself the question, “What is true for me now?”. Write a list of these truths, just one after another. When you think you are finished, pause for a few minutes and add a few more.
- What do I want the Future to Look Like? (The Future)
- Now that you have looked at your “Up Until Now” and your “What’s True Now”, review them both and begin to think of what you want to be different.
- Where do you want to be in 3 years? Physical Location, Job, Personal Life. If you close your eyes and see yourself in 3 years from now, what does it look like?
- Write yourself a letter, dated three years from today, in the first person. Vividly describe what you see for yourself. Close your eyes and see, feel, hear, touch and smell what it’s like for you.
- Put the letter aside for one week, and then get it out and review it again. Make the changes that feel right for you after a week of reflection.
Keep your vision on your desktop or in a written form in your journal, and review it every few months to see where you are. Your vision letter is a living document that will move with you as you move towards your vision.
Contact me at deiadrerauch@me.com if you would like help with your vision!