July 18, 2022
Years ago, I was giving a close friend a tour of the incomplete gymnasium that our church was building for its private school. As we made our way through the dusty, unpainted hallways and stepped over the stacks of tile and unrolled carpet, I had a giant smile on my face. Puzzled, my friend asked me, “Dave, what is it? Why the smile?” I replied, “Can’t you hear it?” “Hear what? There’s no one here” he said. My smile grew even larger and I said again, “I can hear it… I can hear the sound of children slamming their locker doors shut after class. I can hear the basketballs being dribbled in the gym! I can hear kids laughing as they make their way outside to the playground! I can hear and see it all!” My friend laughed and said, “Dave your vision is contagious! YES I can hear it!” Guess what? Within a few months my vision had become a reality!
The number one priority for a leader is to create a vision for the organization and to inspire commitment to that vision within its team.
"Dreams are extremely important. You can't do it unless you can imagine it."
— George Lucas
"Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality."
— Warren Bennis
If you want your organization to be great, vision is essential. If you want your organization to last beyond your lifetime, vision is required. In Proverbs, King Solomon tells us that “Without a vision, people perish.” In 1964, Dr. Martin Luther King gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. In this speech, he described his vision for America. He spoke with passion and fire about an America of equality, unity, and brotherhood. His vision launched a movement and inspired generations to come.
Jim Collins, author of “Good to Great” says there are 4 benefits of vision to your organization:
- Vision forms the basis of extraordinary human effort.
- Vision gives context for strategic and tactical decisions.
- Vision creates teamwork, community, and cohesion.
- Vision allows the company to evolve past dependance on a few key individuals.
If you want to be a leader who gets results, it’s important that you not only have a clear vision, but you must have the ability to clearly articulate and communicate your vision. Only when you are proficient in this, can you inspire commitment in your team to the vision. My spiritual mother, Marilyn Hickey, once told me, “The most difficult thing to do in ministry is clearly casting vision.” So, let me encourage you! Spend some time thinking and dreaming about your organization and its amazing future. Be able to describe every little detail of it, talk about it often, and watch it inspire others and even attract the resources you need to see it become reality. In Matthew 4:19, while recruiting, Jesus clearly articulated His vision in one sentence, “Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.” It attracted the team and the resources He needed to launch His ministry.
Question for Growth: Can you clearly articulate your vision for your organization?
Recommended Book:
The Fourth Dimension - Dr. David Yonggi Cho
If this Leadership Lifter has added value to you, please share with someone else!
God is for You,
Pastor Blunt