I’ve been doing a lot of planning recently – weeks, months, years – and I’ve noticed something curious.

Here’s the way I describe it: I’ve created a plan for this thing happening next month, and have done my best to think through all the ins and outs. It’s become so real in my mind that I’m imagining it actually happening.

The problem, of course, is that it hasn’t actually happened yet.

And all the people I’m working with, well, it hasn’t happened for them either. And it’s a lot more fuzzy in their minds than what I’m experiencing.

This happens all the time for people who spend time planning the future. And here’s an example of where it can backfire on you, big time.

I was doing financial projections for our organization, looking out three years. In order to make reasonable projections based on realistic assumptions, I had to dive pretty deep into it. I asked lots of questions so that I could integrate this picture into my mind.

It became so realistic for me that, well, it became real. Which means that all the hard work to get from now to that future turned into “it’s already happened.”

But it hadn’t. We had a whole bunch of work to do, much of which hadn’t started yet. And other people only had a piece of the picture.

The fix? Well, the leaders need to dive into getting that picture of the future in their minds too. For some it’s the whole thing, for others it’s mostly focused on their particular area of responsibility. But they should be able to see how their contribution fits in and contributes to the larger whole.

And that’s true of all the worker bees too. It’s fine if they focus on their particular team and individual responsibility, but they need to see that their work is essential to the whole. Not only what we’re doing today, but also that vision of a better future.

You might be able to create that wonderful picture of the future state, but remember that your folks mostly live in the present. So help them make the connection. They might just get inspired!