Where Does Vision Come From?

We all agree that vision matters.  Every leadership book says you need one. Every strategic plan starts with one. Every offsite eventually circles back to it.

But here’s the question for today:  Where does vision actually come from?

Is it handed down from the mountaintop by the CEO like Moses delivering the Ten Commandments?  Or does it “bubble up” from the employees closest to the work?

Let’s explore both!

The Mountaintop Model

Some believe vision should come from the CEO.  After all, that’s why they get paid the big bucks, right?  To see around corners. To understand markets. To make the big calls.  There’s substantial logic to this. The CEO has:

• The broadest view of the organization
• The clearest understanding of strategic trade-offs
• The accountability for results

Yes, but here’s the catch:  When vision is delivered from on high, what you often get is:

• Compliance
• Polite nodding
• Or worse… passive-aggressive resistance

Because when something is handed down, people may align behaviorally but not emotionally.  And you don’t build a high-performance team on compliance.

The Grassroots Model

Conversely, some say vision should “bubble up” from the employees closest to the work.  There’s wisdom here too.  These are the people closest to the customer.  Additionally, when people help to shape their future, they tend to own it. Energy rises. Engagement increases.  People are deeply committed to what they help create, but there’s a limitation.  Most employees:

• Can only see their piece of the system
• Inherently understand operational realities (and/or limitations)
• Experience customer friction and frustrations firsthand

What they may not see are:

• Capital constraints
• Long-term strategic bets
• Market positioning trade-offs
• Competitive pressures

Without that broader context, a purely bottom-up vision may lack strategic robustness.

So Where Should Vision Come From?

The answer isn’t either/or.  It’s both.  Vision is not a speech.  It’s a conversation.  High-performing organizations blend direction with discovery. Here’s how.

1. Leadership as Listening Post.  Before declaring anything, leaders get out and about.

• • They conduct listening tours.
  • They host small group conversations.
  • They ask three powerful questions:
    • What are we doing that we should stop?
    • What are we not doing that we should start?
    • If you were CEO for a day, what would you change?

This isn’t performative listening. It’s disciplined discovery.  When leaders truly understand what’s happening on the front lines, the vision becomes grounded in reality rather than abstraction.

2. Shared Discovery, Not Shared Drafting.  You don’t need 200 people to wordsmith a vision statement.  But you do want broad involvement in the thinking behind it.  Invite employees to:

• • Participate in customer interviews
  • Analyze trends
  • Identify strengths and differentiators
  • Surface cultural barriers
  • Use surveys, focus groups, or cross-functional working groups.

Let people contribute to the discovery process.  The leadership team still synthesizes and decides, but now the vision reflects collective intelligence.

3. Co-Creation of Meaning (Not Just Messaging).  Here’s the often-missed step.  Even if leadership defines the strategic direction, teams should help interpret what it means for them.  After the vision is articulated, ask every department:

1. 1. What does this mean for us?
   2. What must we start, stop, or continue?
   3. What capabilities do we need to build?
   4. Where are we out of alignment today?

This shifts the vision from a framed poster on the wall to a working agreement.  People don’t just receive the vision.  They translate it.  They operationalize it.  They commit to it, and that’s where ownership is born.

Vision as a Leadership Process

The CEO must ultimately own the vision, yet ownership does not require isolation.  The strongest visions:

• Are informed by many voices
• Are shaped by a strategic perspective
• Are clarified through dialogue
• And are reinforced through alignment conversations

Vision isn’t Moses on the mountain, and it isn’t a suggestion box.  It’s disciplined co-creation.  When done well, people don’t comply with the vision.  They see themselves in it, and that makes all the difference.

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