In Boston Philharmonic’s Maestro, Benjamin Zander's famous TED talk, he says the job of a leader is to inspire their people, "so you see their eyes shining. If their eyes are shining, you know you’re doing it."
What he’s really talking about is a function of the culture we create i.e. “This is where we’re going” as opposed to “This is what we’re going to do.”
People need to know where they’ve been, where they’re headed, who they’re going there with, what needs to change, what they are actually capable of, how this will change them, and of course, where it all fits in the bigger picture.
In other words, they need a vision for the future they can connect with emotionally, basically saying: “This is how we're going to FEEL when we arrive there, this is what it's going to be LIKE.”
THIS is what “Onboarding” really means.