In the previous post, I wrote of passion as a force multiplier in an organization and the creation of passion through individuals who know their role, are convinced their role matters and see the good of their work. I argued that leaders must focus on five elements to create this level of passion; vision, culture, principles, style and sacrifice. In this post, I will discuss vision.
Proverbs 29:18 says, "Where there is no vision, the people perish". People are wired to pursue something larger than themselves. It is in their microcode. History is created by humans pursuing extraordinary achievements with passion spurred on by vision. Two of the most indelible imprints on the United States in the latter half of the 20th century were the civil rights movement and the race toward the moon. Both were activated with great vision.
On August 28th, 1963 at the conclusion of the March for Jobs and Freedom, Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous speech containing lines like, "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal". This event and speech was the tipping point for the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
The promise of landing on the moon created numerous technical innovations and captivated the hearts and minds of a young generation. On May 25th, 1961, John F. Kennedy challenged Congress and the nation to put a man on the moon and then at Rice University on September 12th, 1962, Kennedy delivered his most quoted words about the mission, "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills"
The civil rights movement and the race to the moon enrolled millions of people into extraordinary, sustained action. People stayed convinced of their role, its' importance and the good in their work as they pursued racial equality and exploration of space. Key to this level of passion was the vision cast by King and Kennedy. Since their visions were so effective, it is useful to study both and understand the four elements a vision must have to captivate people:
- The vision is focused on hope
- The vision points beyond the leader
- The vision is extraordinary but not unattainable
- The vision is easily communicated
Focused on hope: A vision focused on hope is more powerful than one focused on fear or negativity. It is always easy to be against something, but more difficult to be for something. When you are for something you open yourself up to criticism, second guessing and self-doubt. Yet it is when you are for something that you can activate hope. However, we must be clear about hope; what it is and what it is not. I had these words given to me by a friend at a very difficult time, "Alex, hope reflects the health of our spirit rather than what is happening at a moment in our lives. Hope is not the equivalent of optimism. Its opposite is not pessimism but despair and resignation. Hope is about keeping the faith despite the evidence so that the evidence has a chance of changing." When we create our vision, a vision based upon hope, we must know that hope is not optimism. Hope is a deep sense of faith in the outcome. Faith, as Paul says in Hebrews 11:1 is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Both King and Kennedy were sure of what they believed and they were certain of the outcome, even if they could not see all the steps. They never said it would be easy, they never said it would happen without struggle or sacrifice, but they exuded faith in the outcome. Our vision must be one of a positive future and believed so deeply by us that our faith in the outcome is unquestionable.
Beyond the Leader: Both King and Kennedy pointed past themselves toward something larger and more everlasting. You may remember the lyrics to a song called Cult of Personality that came out in 1989 by the heavy metal band Living Colour, You gave me fortune, you gave me fame, you give me power in your god’s name. I’m every person you need to be; I’m the cult of personality. The purpose of our vision is not to attract people to us as leaders, it is not to tell them that the answer lies with us. Our role in casting a vision is to point toward something past us, something that can live on beyond the lifespan of the leader. A vision must connect people to their relationship with the future, not create a cult of personality.
Extraordinary but not unattainable. I have a good friend, Art Wilson, who owns a company called Critical Path Strategies. Art leads people through the creation of business goals and plans. One of the important exercises he facilitates is goal setting. In this exercise, Art distinguishes between four levels of goals; clear, stretch, extraordinary and pipe-dream. The clear goal is one that you have high confidence in achieving by working the way you work today. The stretch goal is one you are a little less sure of, but you will get there working the way you work today; just with more effort. The pipe-dream is a goal that is so far away from reality, no one believes it. The pipe-dream is mere fantasy, it is unattainable and it demotivates the team. The important goal is the extraordinary goal. This is a goal you can just barely see in the mist, it is audacious and it will require you to change the way you are working today. You are not exactly sure how you will get there, but you and others can imagine the possibility. The end point in the journey must be just out of reach, but not unattainable.
Easily communicated. The phrase, "If I had more time, I would write you a shorter letter" has been credited to Mark Twain, Blaise Pascal, T.S. Eliot and Henry Thoreau. I do not know who really wrote it, but it is the essential truth in communications. Take the time to make it short and memorable. Good communication can be learned through hard work. Andy Craig is a colleague who knows this well. He runs a company dedicated to memorable communication, you can find him at www.elevatorspeech.com. Andy has mastered the art communicating your idea in a clear, concise and compelling manner. If I can summarize Andy's coaching it is "tell a story". Stories are remembered, speeches are not. And tell the story in plain language. A comment I know is from Mark Twain, "Anybody can have ideas—the difficulty is to express them without squandering a quire of paper on an idea that ought to be reduced to one glittering paragraph. I never write "metropolis" for seven cents when I can write "city" and get paid the same. As to the adjective, when in doubt, strike it out". "I have a dream", "We choose to go to the moon". Four words and seven words - all single syllable.
You do not have to be a visionary to create, own and communicate vision. All you need to do is be willing to go through the hard work of creating a vision based upon hope, that looks beyond you as the leader, is extraordinary in its' goal and can be communicated well.
In the next post, I will discuss culture.
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