We used the activity described in this article to develop a shared vision statement for teacher training faculty in the Faculty Development Division of the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center in Monterey, California, USA. This activity served as a useful team-building activity, helped participants have a clear vision, gave our team direction and inspiration, and was the foundation for goal setting and action planning. The advantages of involving group members in the creation of a vision are a greater degree of commitment and engagement and diversity of ideas and thinking.

Activity Components

Aim: In this session, the participants pool their thinking to achieve a shared vision for themselves, their colleagues, and their organization. The activity culminates in the creation of a written statement that articulates the organization’s collective identity and purpose.

Objective: To apply the steps of writing a shared vision statement

Estimated Time: 90–120 minutes

Equipment and Supplies: Flipchart and markers, index cards (5 in. x 8 in.), tape

Activity Outline

Step 1: Introduction (10 min)

Ensure that your team is familiar with the concept of a vision statement. Remind them of existing statements for your organization or introduce them to the concept. At Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center, we found Hart (1994) to be a useful resource for this stage.

Step 2: Phrase Brainstorm (30 min)

1. Ask each person (individually) to write several short sentences that describe specific things (actions, opportunities, attitudes, behaviors, etc.) they associate with their own vision for the department. Elicit an example so everyone has the idea before brainstorming their own ideas: (E.g., “Faculty developers’ commitment to being on the cutting edge of teacher education practice is demonstrated by their scholarship and professional development.”)

2. After several minutes, ask each person to share one idea. Repeat this process until all contributions are heard. Capture the statements/ideas on the flip chart and number each sequentially. Leave a margin on the left side for symbols.

Step 3: Group Ideas (15–20 minutes)

1. Invite participants to look at the list of ideas/sentences generated and find pairs of sentences with similar ideas.

2. As participants identify pairs of sentences with similar themes, write the same symbol (e.g., =, +, #, !) on the left side of each sentence in the pair.

3. Repeat this procedure with another pair of sentences and mark with another symbol.

4. Continue the process until there are four to six pairs (or more). Elicit help from the participants to point out any outliers (items that didn’t get paired up).

Step 4: Naming Pairs (5-10 min)

1. Ask the participants to come up with a one-word label that summarizes/characterizes/describes the common ideas expressed in each pair of sentences.

2. Print the word and the corresponding symbol on an index card.

Step 5: Team Writing (5–10 min)

1. Distribute an index card with the label and corresponding symbol to each group.

2. Ask each group to write a good, clear statement (compound sentence) that focuses on the idea expressed on their card, referring to the corresponding sentences on the flipchart. The statement should emphasize what the department or division is—and if you aren’t there yet, it should state what it is becoming (i.e., what they want us to be).

3. Participants write their statement on half a piece of flip chart paper.

4. A representative from each team stands and reads their statement to the whole group.

5. Groups post their statements on wall.

Step 6: Review and Reflection (15-20 min)

Invite participants to review colleagues’ statements, make suggestions, and discuss.

Step 7: Compilation (15 min)

During the break, compile the statements into one document with one bullet-point list, to be later drafted into paragraph form by volunteers.

Summary of Results

See Table 1 for an example of statements that were generated by the preceding session at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center.

Table 1. Examples of Summarizing Statements

Acronyms: DLI = Defense Language Institute, FD = Faculty Development Division

Follow-up

An Faculty Development Division volunteer task force later worked on combining the ideas from the statements that were generated into a one-paragraph vision statement. They drafted several versions that were sent out to faculty to vote on the final version they liked the best:

“The Faculty Development Division is a dynamic, innovative, and collaborative community of professionals who provide state-of-the-art teacher education. In advancing the Institute’s mission, we also realize our personal and collective goals in a spirit of good humor, vitality, and teamwork.”

Conclusion: What We Did With Our New Vision Statement

We used our new vision and mission statements to let other individuals and organizations have a snapshot of our group’s identity and goals. We put the vision statement on the letterhead of stationery and on our organization’s webpage, as well as on fliers and posters advertising our sponsored teacher training workshops and professional development conferences. Finally, our vision and mission statements serve as constant reminders of what is important to our organization. The process of developing them has allowed our faculty to see the organization as “theirs.” We have even put our vision statement on t-shirts and coffee mugs to give out as much appreciated tokens for work well done.

Reference

Hart, L. B. (1994). 50 activities for developing leaders. Amherst, MA: HRD Press.

Jon Phillips is a senior program manager in the Faculty Development Division at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center in Monterey, California, USA. He holds an MA TESOL from the School for International Training, Brattleboro, Vermont.