Why a clear vision is non-negotiable

26 May 2025 Reading Time: 4 minutes

by Helen Baldwin:

A few years ago, I was brought in to rescue a struggling transformation programme at a global energy company. It was their 10th Communications Lead in just over two years – not exactly a vote of confidence in the role!

When I asked different members of the leadership team to explain the vision for the change, I got wildly different answers. Some couldn’t articulate it at all. If the leaders steering the ship were confused about the destination, what hope did the employees have?

This experience hammered home something I’ve seen time and again: without a crystal-clear vision, even the most brilliantly executed change communication plan will fail.

Why vision matters more than ever

As the complexity of organisational change grows (and let’s face it, when was the last time you worked on a “simple” change programme?), the ability to fully grasp and communicate the ‘vision’ has become absolutely crucial.

A clear vision is the cornerstone of successful change initiatives because it recognises that effective change communication isn’t just about pumping out information. It’s about providing a compelling narrative that guides the entire transformation journey and answers the fundamental question: “Why are we doing this?”

When people understand the ‘why’ behind change, when they can visualise the end state and their place within it, resistance diminishes, and momentum builds naturally.

Building your change communication foundation

Let’s break down how to establish this critical foundation:

1. Understand the vision thoroughly

This might seem obvious, but I can’t tell you how many communications plans I’ve reviewed that jump straight to tactics without a solid grounding in the vision.

A well-understood vision transforms your communications from a disjointed series of updates into a cohesive narrative that drives genuine engagement. It gives you the North Star that guides every message, every channel choice, every timing decision.

I’ve found that asking these questions helps clarify the vision:

• What will be fundamentally different when this change is complete?
• How will success look, feel, and operate for different stakeholders?
• What aspects of the current state are we deliberately leaving behind, and why?
• What core problems is this change designed to solve?

Don’t move forward until you can answer these questions clearly – and until key stakeholders give consistent answers when asked.

2. Assess the impact

Understanding the full scope of change impact is essential for tailoring your communications effectively. This allows you to anticipate reactions and address concerns proactively.  It also helps you to align your messaging with the realities faced by different groups.

Work closely with your Change Lead or Executive Sponsor to map out:

• Who will be most affected by the change
• How their day-to-day work will shift
• What skills or behaviours they’ll need to develop
• What they stand to gain (or lose) in the process

I find that creating impact change heat maps with stakeholders often reveals surprising insights that significantly improve communication targeting. Sometimes what seems like a minor operational change to leadership represents a fundamental shift in how frontline teams work.

3. Transform observers into active participants

There’s a marked shift towards viewing employees not just as recipients of change, but as active participants in the transformation process. This perspective is reshaping how we approach engagement, focusing on empowerment and co-creation rather than mere compliance.

When people help shape the journey, they develop a sense of ownership that no amount of top-down communication can create.

This might involve:

• Developing two-way communication forums that go beyond Q&A
• Establishing change champion networks
• Hosting co-creation workshops for specific aspects of the change

I recently worked with a financial services company that involved frontline staff in designing the new customer journey before any systems were built. The result? Implementation happened in half the expected time because staff were already invested in making it work.

4. Plan your communication strategy

The most effective change communication strategies maintain a clear line of sight between the grand vision and day-to-day actions. This alignment ensures that every message reinforces the overall direction and purpose of the change.

Your strategy should answer:

• How will we ensure consistent understanding of the vision?
• What key messages will resonate with different stakeholder groups?
• Which channels will reach our audiences most effectively?
• How will we create dialogue, not just deliver information?
• How will we measure understanding, not just message delivery?

I believe in communication strategies that are thorough in planning but flexible in execution. The best plans have clear principles and frameworks but allow for adaptation as the change evolves and feedback emerges.

Your change communication starting point

Are you ready to embark on a new change initiative? Before you draft a single email or plan a town hall, make sure that the ‘vision’ is crystal clear – not just to you, but to every individual who’ll be communicating it.

Here’s a simple test: ask five key stakeholders to describe the change vision in one sentence. If you get five substantially different answers, you have work to do before moving forward.

Remember, this alignment is key to transformation success. Everything else – the messaging framework, the channel strategy, the timeline – flows from a shared understanding of where you’re going and why it matters.

In my experience, the extra time spent clarifying and aligning on vision pays dividends throughout the change journey. It prevents the costly midcourse corrections that happen when different parts of the organisation are working toward different destinations.

What’s next?

Getting the vision right is just the beginning, of course. I have a whole host of additional insights to share as I explore how to translate that vision into compelling messages, how to handle resistance effectively, and how to measure whether your communications are actually driving the change your organisation needs.

I’d love to hear about your experiences. Have you been part of a change initiative where the vision wasn’t clear? What impact did that have on the success of the change? Share your thoughts with me on LinkedIn.

Want to learn more about change communications?

If you want to transform your change communication approach and go beyond the surface-level advice you find elsewhere: sign up for my free weekly newsletter ‘Change Communication Insights’.

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With over 25 years elbow deep in leading change communications for large and complex programmes, Helen Baldwin is no stranger to complexity and ambiguity.  Now she’s turned her attention to coaching both senior leaders and the next generation of internal communicators, transforming hesitant messengers into confident change communication champions who can navigate transformation with clarity and conviction rather than corporate speak and wishful thinking.

Written by: Editor