THE PERSONAL VISION STATEMENT
OF A WOMAN IN MANAGEMENT
SHOWS HOW SHE WILL
ACHIEVE HER PERSONAL MISSION

Your personal vision statement adds the all-important “how” to your personal mission statement. It defines the specific strategies you will use to accomplish your mission. Specifying the primary activities you will pursue to accomplish your purpose, it reflects your unique passions, talents, personality traits, experience, and skills. This statement provides the direction necessary to guide the course of your days and the choices you make about your career, guiding your steps all along the way.

Ideally, you should be able to define your statement in one concise paragraph. Some experts even recommend keeping your statement to 50 words or less, but it’s more important to be sure you fully articulate your vision.

The first sentence will state your mission – a strategic statement. The next one or two sentences specify how you will accomplish your mission – tactical statements.

Write everything in the first person and make statements about the future you hope to achieve. Write the statements as if you are already making them happen in your life.

Motivational speaker and writer, Brian Tracy, states that you are more likely to accomplish your goals and plans when you write them down. Writing them down gives them power and commits you to their accomplishment. So commit your statement to writing.

Your answers to the following questions, suggested by Management Consultant Susan M. Heathfield, will help identify the tactics you will use to implement your mission statement and prepare you to write your statement.

• What is your mission statement?

• What ten things do you most enjoy doing?

• What three things do you need to do every day to feel fulfilled in your job?

• What are your five or six most important values?

• Other dimensions of your life besides your career deserve attention in your statement. Write down one goal for each: physical, spiritual, family, social relationships, financial security, mental improvement and attention, and fun.

• If you never had to work another day, how would your spend my time?

• When your life is ending, what will you regret not doing, seeing or achieving?

• What strengths have other people commented on about you? What strengths do you see in yourself?

• What weaknesses have other people commented on about you and what do you believe are your weaknesses?

“My mission is to inspire and help women managers achieve their fullest career potential. I am doing this by mentoring them - sharing my knowledge and experiences intelligently, empathetically and supportively - on a website, and fulfilling my own dream to make a difference in the world.”

(Keep in mind that your statement will change over time, depending on what’s happening in your life, and will probably never be perfect. But you’ll be surprised how many components remain constant over time.)

The beauty of having a personal vision statement is that it can be your guide through your work life - and other parts of your life as well. It articulates how you will realize your dreams and hopes for the future and provide inner peace as you live and experience its components.

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