Ripples (Photo credit: Bill Gracey)
I have recently been thinking a lot about visions. As a leader, I have come to realize how important it is for a vision. I believe that a vision is what provides the fuel for an organization or a person to move forward. In the Bible, I find this passage: “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” (Proverbs 29:18a) Vision is vital as the driving force to move all things forward.
I think that one of the issues that arises with many organizations and individuals is the lack of a vision. As we have moved to be more inclusive in the decision-making process, I think that we have inadvertently eliminated a vision caster in most situations. As we have moved toward being realistic in our personal lives, we have stopped creating visions that seem too lofty and often stopped creating visions at all. The results are a lot of stagnation in organizations and the lives of individuals.
I believe we need to recapture the importance of lofty visions. We need to acknowledge that there are visionaries and we need to allow them to cast visions. I also believe that vision casting is not a group activity. But when we allow the vision casters to do the visioning, then the next important step is for those casters to communicate the vision clearly to others. During that communication, we need to be willing to take risks and to strive to see what we cannot see now. The vision then comes to life as that vision is spread and appropriated by others. The realizing of the vision is only possible with the input and involvement of others. So I view it similar to the effects of a stone being tossed into a pool of water. However, there is only one person who cast that stone.
We need more visions. We need more vision casters. We need more fuel to move us from stagnation to living.
Related articles
- Without vision, the people perish (iowabiz.com)
- The Difference Between Dreaming and Having Vision (lifehack.org)
- The Vision Thing (theleadersgathering.com)
- “Vision is the capacity to see beyond what your eyes take in. (timothyshockleysr.com)
I think one of the reasons that there doesn’t seem to be as many grand visionaries as in the past is that we have come to rely on ourselves to generate the vision. Rather than seeking to create a vision, we should work to see the vision God is casting for us. Society today has marginalized God and relegated the notion of God’s vision to a place long ago and far away. We have stopped looking because we think that there is nothing to look for. We need to once again, hone our listening skills and open our eyes to God’s vision in the world. Then we will have a true vision to tell the people. If it is a vision truly of God, it will be a vision that may demand much of us and may seem far out of reach. But it will be a vision that we can accomplish if we rely on God to help us achieve it.
There is truth in that!