How to Prevent Your Vision from Getting Lost in Translation

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Is Your Vision Getting Lost in Translation?

As a leader or business owner, you likely have a clear and complete vision for your company’s future. You see the big picture—the direction, the details, and how everything fits together. However, translating that vision into something your team understands and can act on isn’t always straightforward.

What You See vs. What They Hear

You start with a perfect story in your mind—a vision that, to you, is seamless. But when you attempt to communicate it, the message might not come out as clearly as you intended. This often leads to an imperfect story, where certain key elements are missing or unclear.

It gets even trickier: what your team hears is often only part of what you say. People fill in the gaps with their own interpretations, leading to misunderstandings. Before long, what they "see" is something quite different from the original picture in your mind. This leads to misaligned goals and efforts—a common problem when visions get lost in translation.

Why Miscommunication Happens

Visions get lost for a few reasons:

Incomplete Communication: Leaders often assume that their team will automatically understand the bigger picture after one or two conversations. In reality, important details can be lost in the exchange.
Team Assumptions: When parts of the vision are unclear, team members may make assumptions that differ from the leader's original intent.
Lack of Feedback: Communication is a two-way street. If leaders don’t seek feedback from their teams, they may never realize that their message has been misunderstood until it's too late.