Preparing to Vision
Multi Agency Team Visioning will be especially tricky AND especially critical to moving the work forward. Each Team member will need to ‘unplug’ somewhat from their agency defined role, mission, Vision, etc. to reach a shared Vision for what it will look like when everyone works together in a seamless system, where the needs and desires of the youth guides the choices and types of services and programs. A system in which agencies routinely engage in multi agency planning processes, braid and blend funding, and programs and services are tailored to just what each youth needs and wants, for as long as required.
Vision without action is mearly a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world.
Joel A. Barker
The Team’s Vision Statement explains its aspirations in a concise manner and creates a focus for the Team’s priorities. Sure, each Team will likely want to take on every single problem or issue uncovered in Step One. The Vision will assist the Team to be more selective in choosing areas to concentrate on in other aspects of the strategic plan. Each Team’s Vision shines a light on how the transition process will look different and be more effective in providing a clearer path for youth and their families to adult outcomes in the community. How your agencies will interact differently and operationalize the Vision is detailed in the goals and strategies for each Team’s plan.
Attempting to foresee into the future or imagine ideal conditions can be daunting. We become so accustomed to handling our work in the here and now, that feeling the freedom to dream about a time when all the pieces fall into place in just the right way can seem futile. However, no change, big or small, occurs without clarity about what is desired, and how the future state is different from currently exists. A key step to develop a Vision is to begin simply – by just ‘writing it down.’
A Multi Agency Team brings together the perspectives and priorities of separate agencies into a singular Vision for the work. That will entail some dialogue, for each person to experience release from his/her agency role, get past agency vernacular and express, in one powerful idea, the Team’s common beliefs and values for the optimal circumstances for youth with disabilities to transition to adult life.
It is vital for the Core Team to experience the Visioning exercise:
- A shared Vision is critical to the Team’s ability to move ahead with developing the rest of the components of the Team’s plan
- The process of developing a shared Vision assists the Team to solidify shared values and beliefs about what increasing the capacity to work together for transition youth looks like into the future.
- It is important to experience ‘Visioning’ so you can replicate the process with an Implementation Team.
The steps outlined in the table ‘Multi-Agency Team Visioning Process’ provide a straightforward process for crafting a Vision for your Team’s plan.