A Not-Too-Specific Vision
“Where there is no vision, the people will perish.”
- Proverbs 29: 18
I draw upon a number of lessons from the Bible for leadership strategies in my own businesses, and I consider this particular verse quite universal, especially in the business world. It doesn’t matter if you are leading an entire company, an individual, or just your family – you are always communicating a vision as a leader. In building upon last week’s message about the importance of status, casting a clear and powerful vision about how someone’s status will increase beyond what it is today is integral to procuring their buy-in with you. So many people get caught up in today – focusing too much on what they have to do to win today. And certainly, there is an appropriate time and place for that; you must, of course, take care of today’s business to ensure future success. But true leaders don’t stay caught up in the business of today – leaders are always looking out in front of their company and their team, seeking to chart their path forward, and identify and assess what future obstacles might hinder their progress. Because if you wait until today to address those obstacles, you will be forced to be reactive. As a leader, you want to be proactive as often as possible so you are equipped and ready to navigate safely around these obstacles before they have the opportunity to sink your ship.
When you are communicating your vision, be careful not to be too specific. If you are too specific with your vision, you leave very little room for error, and may even alienate – rather than motivate –people. Not everyone is going to identify perfectly with your very-specific vision for the future. They may agree with the general direction and major goals, but if you make the vision too specific, it has the potential to be received as orders, or precise instructions, only. And the danger in that is that your people won’t emotionally-connect with your vision – and you need them to connect with it to execute it well. A powerful example of a simple but emotionally-charged vision was Donald Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.” He didn’t tell you how he was going to make America great again; he just said that he would make America great again if he was elected president. And that vision resonated so effectively with enough people that he was elected President of the United States.
To paint a great vision of the future, give your people something not-too-specific to be excited about. Make sure that painting illustrates a future where their status increases, where the woes of today don’t bog them down from progress, and where they feel confident about the direction in which they need to go.
Written by Schuyler Williamson
REALTOR. Leader. Veteran. Business Owner. Investor.
Weekly Email List: https://www.schuylerwilliamson.com/weekly-leader-note
God Bless!
~ Schuyler Williamson