[June 21, 2018] We hear about it all the time and read it in every publication ever written about leadership … we are told that leaders must have a clear vision and be capable of communicating it. How leaders create a vision is, however, rarely discussed.
I’ll make a case on how any leader, at any level, can create a vision. Communicating that vision will be the subject of future posts but I’ve written about communicating it on several occasions (see examples here and here).
The subject of leaders having a vision has been a central theme for me. I have argued in the past that most leaders lack a clear vision. It’s not a matter of communication for these leaders, they simply don’t have one … or they have one that is confused and without any priorities and resources to carry it out.
A leader’s vision should be clear, distinctive, and can elicit an emotional response to a specific view of the future. Ideally, it is linked with a strategy to achieve it. No one can be a leader without a vision, period.
Of interest for us today is HOW a leader can come up with a vision; one that establishes what the future looks like and the strategy to achieve it. Why there is little information that does this, is something I cannot explain. Here is my idea on how to establish a vision:
- The first step is figuring out a vision is discovering what you want to accomplish. For example, the U.S. National Education Association’s vision is “a great public school for every student.” We could debate the meanings of each word, but I don’t think anyone would deny this is a pretty good goal to achieve. A common mistake is to look at the future with a view that is much too narrow.
- Details come later. We need to remember that a vision is not detailed. Making it detailed defeats the ability of clearly articulating it to others. A good vision is one that is easily remembered, purposefully short and simple, and immediately creates an image in one’s mind.
- The vision is connected to a strategy. Technically this is not necessary but all the best vision statements I’ve ever seen do this in spades. For example, the Boy Scouts of America vision is “to prepare every eligible youth in America to become a responsible, participating citizen and leader who is guided by the Scout Oath and Law.”
It takes a leader some hard thinking to come up with a good vision because it’s a different way of tackling a problem. Forward-looking is the ethos of great leadership and most of us are not trained to look that far afield.
Good leadership depends upon a vision of the future. Once you set your mind to it, most find it easy to state.
Longtime reader, first-time comment. I would like to say thanks for your blog and how it made a difference in my approach and success in leadership at my workplace. Today’s article is another example that makes me think about leadership and the ways I can personally improve upon my capabilities.
Welcome, Nick. Good to hear from you and to know this blog is making a difference in your life.
I’ve been reading a number of books on your recommended reading list and found them to parallel the very thoughts you wrote today. Thank you for a great resource!
I agree … 😉
Another great article to continue your series on “how to be a leader.”
Growing up, no one ever talked about this stuff. Thank goodness for the Internet and great leadership blogs like this one.
You hit onto something I’ve talked about for years. Those alive today that don’t perform well can only blame themselves. The amount of resources (informational, financial, etc.) are so great that it pales what generations before had. Yet people still struggle. It’s not someone else’s fault, it’s their own stupidity and recalcitrance that makes it so.
On this date in 1942, the Allies surrendered at Tobruk, Lybia during WWII. While this was a major setback the Allies’ vision of tying down Nazi forces in Africa worked and took the pressure away from the coast in France where D-Day would be launched nearly two years later. Vision is important. A strategy is how to carry it out.
Not that long ago I was a junior leader in the US Marine Corps. Today, I’ve advanced because several senior Marines took me aside and mentored me in how to develop my vision of what a good unit looks like and how to make it happen. Not everyone is fortunate enough to get this level of mentoring.
Good point about mentors and how they can have a major influence on our development as a leader.
Yes, thanks Lynn. Good point on the importance of mentors.
Thanks Kenny and Brig Gen Satterfield. These are very much underdeveloped topics worthy of discussion. I agree with Kenny that a vision is subject to evolving but this is true only as the fundamental morality remains unchanged.
Good point.
Forgot to say that this is the best way to avoid stupid people actually making it hard for us. Stupidity is a contagious disease.
Here is an article on the interesting idea that a leader’s vision must “evolve.”
https://www.gse.harvard.edu/ppe/program/leadership-evolving-vision
Vision development is not unlike character development. Both require considerable effort, thinking, resources, and determination. Thanks.
Really good article today that makes me think. Of course, thinking is what is at the center of this article and what makes reading it every morning a worthwhile exercise. And … it’s entertaining to boot.
A special quote from the Dalai Lama, “In order to carry out a positive action we must develop here a positive vision.” He is talking about the same thing we are discussing on creating and communicating a leader’s vision.
It has been said many times that the secret to leader success is vision development.
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/leadership-vision-1918616
Very good subject. Thank you.
Good article today on something rarely talked about or written on. How to develop a vision should be the subject of more articles. Thanks Gen Satterfield.
Yes, I agree. I would like to see more on how to create a vision. That often is hard thinking.
Creating a vision is paramount for leadership and as noted here it matters not what level (beginner or advanced leadership) one is on the leadership scale. I have discovered that many young leaders have no idea about vision although they may have one. A mentor is the best way to develop this talent.
Gen Satterfield, you are right. I’ve never seen anyone writing about HOW to create a vision and I’m also sure that there is more to it. Good article. Thank you.
Good comment Max and you are right to bring up the idea that learning from history is a much easier way of advancing one’s self than learning the hard way (aka the school of hard knocks).
Talk about creating a vision, today is the anniversary of the ratification of the US Constitution. It was ratified on June 21, 1788. HOW it was created is a story that should be told to everyone because it is the basis of one of the greatest developments of freedom the world has ever seen.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/u-s-constitution-ratified
As usual, spot on with your comments.
Thanks, Army Captain.
Not many folks even pay attention to history anymore. In schools the idea is to teach about how bad American and Europe is today and how their govt’s suppress peoples across the world. The real history of what happened is exactly the opposite.
Good comment, Max.
The history of America is great just like Australia. Cheers!