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How do you create a culture of visualising objectives?

Lamia Rarrbo
How do you create a culture of visualising objectives?

In a hyper-connected world, distractions are everywhere, impacting on our ability to stay focused on important tasks and long-term goals, according to an analysis by Psychology Today Research suggests that our attention span may now be less than that of a goldfish, an idea popularised by a study1 from Microsoft (2015) which highlights our difficulty in maintaining focus in the digital age.

Vision boards therefore appear to be strategic tools, not only for focusing our aspirations, but also for transforming these desires into concrete realities. They are often presented as powerful tools to combat this fragmentation of attention, promising to help us visualise and achieve our organisational ambitions. But what does the science actually say about these creative collages? This article explores the effectiveness of vision boards and data visualisation, drawing on recent research in psychology and neuroscience to understand how these tools can act as catalysts for engagement.

The neuroscience behind Vision Boards

Based on neuroscience research, vision boards do more than just display goals; they have the potential to rewire our brains. When we imagine carrying out an action, our brain is activated in the same way as if we were actually carrying out the action. This neurological imitation could explain why people who use vision boards often feel more aligned with their goals and report higher levels of motivation and commitment.

Effective visualisation: beyond the end goal

According to a study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, the success rate among Vision Board users can vary significantly. On the one hand, there are those who build their board with only the end goal in mind; and on the other, those who build their board by integrating the possible challenges they are going to encounter and the strategies for dealing with them.
The latter group had much higher success rates than users who only saw the end result...

Data visualisation: an essential skill

Many companies are still struggling to deploy the visualisation of objectives and make it a widespread organisational skill. Managers like visuals, but many think that this is the exclusive role of KPIs (key performance indicators). Instead of harnessing collective intelligence and fostering collegial collaboration, visualisation is used in a limited way by just a few people.

However, there is a better approach than having just one person capable of managing data and visualisation. Every member of the team can do it: it reinforces the sense of work (whatever the hierarchical level).

The impact of visualisation

Data plays a central role in our ability to achieve our objectives. However, with the massive amount of information we receive on a daily basis, we can feel overwhelmed, or even lose track and find it difficult to act effectively. This is where a visual representation comes into its own.

Let's take the example of a sales team looking to improve its performance. Objectives may include increasing sales, improving customer satisfaction or developing new skills. Without a clear visualisation of these objectives and the progress being made, it can be difficult to stay on course and stay motivated. A Vision Board brings all these aspirations together in a visual form, making it easier to make decisions and monitor progress.

Even for less quantifiable goals, such as improving team collaboration or innovating working practices, a visualisation helps significantly. For example, if your objective is to improve internal communication, a Vision Board can illustrate the key initiatives to be put in place, making this abstract concept more tangible and achievable.

Whether it's quantitative data or qualitative aspirations, visualisation plays a proven role in clarifying and achieving our professional goals.

Thanks to the Internet and a growing number of affordable tools (Visio, Miro, Whiteboard, Vensim...), translating information into visuals is now within everyone's reach. There is a risk, however, that this ease of ‘clicking and viewing’ will be to the detriment of thinking about the objective. As Sun Tzu says, ‘he who has no objectives, is unlikely to achieve them’. It's up to each and every one of us to take responsibility and not let the easy way out get the better of us, at the risk of ending up with inadequate or ineffective tables.

Conclusion

Vision boards and the visualisation of objectives are more than an artistic exercise: they are engagement tools for employees. By allowing us to visualise not only what we want to achieve, but also how to get there, vision boards provide a framework for action. Their effectiveness lies in their ability to provoke thought about our goals and the paths to achieve them, making it easier to make decisions and understand complex systems in a VICA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) world. Adopting a strategic approach to visualisation, by answering key questions about the nature and purpose of data, allows us to create effective and meaningful visualisations, leading to better organisational decisions.

To find out more:

Vision board: visualize your goals to achieve them more effectively

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