When leaders lead, they need to have a vision of what can be and should be done. John Maxwell is the modern leadership guru who has written a lot of books. In The 360 Degree Leader, Developing Your Influence from Anywhere in the Organization, he has a section on vision where he says it the key to successful navigation. The more you invest in the vision, the more it becomes your own. People respond to a vision is different ways:
- Some attack it: with criticism and sabotage mainly because they did not create it or even understand it, so they don’t agree to work with it.They feel unneeded to achieve it and they aren’t ready for it.
- Some ignore it: they do their own thing.
- Some abandon it: they leave the organization.
- Some adapt it: by finding ways to align with the vision.
- Some champion it: they take the leader’s vision and make it a reality.
- Some add value to it: the vision becomes something more than originally anticipated. It is rare but not impossible to add value to the vision.
Another Maxwell book is The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader: Become the Person People will Want to Follow, he mentions vision as quality 21. “A great leader’s courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion, not position.” Vision leads the leader, it’s that important. It sparks and fuels the fire within.
- Vision starts from within: you can’t borrow someone else’s vision; and you must draw on natural passions and abilities.
- Vision draws on your history: key events in your past are instrumental in creating vision.
- Vision meets other’s needs: vision is far-reaching and does more than include others, it adds value to them.
- Vision helps you gather resources: it is the magnet that attracts others, challenging and uniting them.
The more challenging the vision, the more winners it will attract, and the harder the participants will fight to achieve it. Check out this familiar Bible verse:
When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful. (Proverbs 29:18)
Robert Fritz wrote, “It is not what a vision is; it’s what a vision does.” It is active. Vision is the ability to see. Helen Keller was asked, “Is there anything worse than being blind?”She said, “Yes, having eyesight but no vision!”
Leaders imagine a preferred future, which is the essence of vision. Vision is the image of the compelling future God wants to create through you. Leaders can stand up and say this is where we are going.
I read about Mike Vance who tells of being at Walt Disney World soon after its completion when someone said, “It’s too bad Walt Disney didn’t live to see this.” Vance replied, “He DID see it—that’s why it’s here.”
So, what kind of vision do you have?
Myopic vision: Leaders with myopic vision are so nearsighted that they live only for today. Their vision of the future is fuzzy. They can barely see beyond their noses.
Peripheral vision: Leaders with peripheral vision are blindsided by side issues. These visionaries are hampered in moving forward because they catch the threatening images of lurking problems in the corners of their eyes. They are fearful of shadowy difficulties and people lurking on the sidelines who will defeat their efforts. These folks are easily distracted.
Tunnel vision: Leaders with tunnel vision see only what’s dead ahead of them and assume that their narrow view of reality reflects the whole world. They don’t see other people or other issues.
Panoramic vision: Leaders with panoramic vision see the big picture. They see beyond today. They see what is ahead of them. They see what is to the sides of them. They have a basic understanding of the key ingredients of a healthy organization and know the steps that it will take to get them there.
Vision is perhaps the greatest need of leadership today. How’s your vision? Without it the church or your company will be like an unbridled horse. With it the organization will be focused, moving toward the fulfillment of the dream.