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Chapter 8: THE INDISPENSABLE QUALITY OF LEADERSHIP: VISION

“Vision gives significance to the otherwise meaningless details of our lives… Vision brings your world into focus. Vision brings order to chaos. A clear vision enables you to see everything differently.” Andy Stanley

Do you see the world the same way you did 10 years ago? 20 years ago?

What changed for you over the years in how you see the world? What stayed the same?

How has your vision given you a roadmap for your leadership development?

VISION STATEMENTS

“If the leader doesn’t see the vision, the people never will.”

When have you seen this occur in your experience?

1. What You Can See Determines What You Can Be

• People who never see it—they are wanderers.
• People who see it but never pursue it on their own—they are followers.
• People who see it and pursue it—they are achievers.
• People who see it, pursue it, and help others see and pursue it—they are leaders.

Which category would you put yourself?

How can you get to the next category?

2. You See Only What You Are Prepared to See Contrast the perspectives of Bishop Wright and Orville and Wilbur.

How are you preparing to possess your vision?

3. What You See Is What You Get

Leaders understand that they have to believe it to see it, while most

people go through life saying, “I have to see it to believe it.”

Discuss how the Coca-Cola and Walt Disney illustrations described the importance of vision.

What do you believe the future holds for you? The people around you?

HOW TO INCREASE YOUR “MORE AND BEFORE”

“Cherish your visions and dreams as they are the children of your soul: the blueprints of your ultimate achievements.” – Napoleon Hill

What steps can you take to increase your capacity for your vision?

1. Know There is More “More and Before” Out There

How are other people determining your vision?

2. Develop a Process for Finding More “More and Before”

• Test: Get out of your comfort zone by sharing your vision. Where can you share it that you haven’t before?
• Fail: Failure allows you to find out what doesn’t work. You won’t eliminate what doesn’t work until you know it doesn’t. Why don’t we do that more?
• Learn: A teachable spirit plus humility fosters the learning experience that is essential for expanding your vision.
• Improve: As a leader, you need to continually ask yourself, “Am I getting better?”
• Reenter: None of these matters unless you get back into the game.

3. Spend Time With People Who Inspire You to See “More and Before” Who could you share your dream with, where you and your vision could be enlarge? 

4. Ask Questions That Will Help You Increase Your “More and Before”

• Questions allow us to get to know people when we meet them and whether we should take that trip together.

• Questions also open the door for the exchange of great ideas, which will help to shape and inform your vision. How does asking questions eliminate preconceived assumptions?

5. Intentionally Grow Every Day to Increase Your Capacity for “More and Before” Don’t ask: How long with this take? Start asking: How far can I go?

“If you are working on something exciting that you really care about, you don’t have to be pushed. The vision pulls you.” – Steve Jobs

How is your vision pulling you into the future?

PERSONAL OWNERSHIP OF THE VISION

Review the two lists on page 175 and determine whether you are living your dream or someone else’s.

• Look Within You: What Do You Feel?

“Before you can inspire with emotion, you must be swamped with it yourself. Before you can move their tears, your own must flow. To convince them, you must yourself believe.” – Winston Churchill

Why is it so important for your vision to originate within?

• Look Behind You: What Have You Learned?

What experiences from your past inform your vision?

• Look Around You: What is Happening to Others?

What do you look for to know if your people are with you? Good leaders watch the people to know how and when to present the vision. They listen to the people, learn from the people, and then discern how to lead the people.

How could this process enable you to lead others?

• Look Above You: What Does God Expect of You?

John’s definition of success:

• Knowing God and His desires for me.
• Growing to my maximum potential.
• Sowing seeds that benefit others.
• Look Ahead of You: What is the Big Picture?

With daily changes happening, how do you as a leader juggle looking ahead and seeking to accommodate the unknown?

PAINT A PICTURE OF THE VISION FOR THEM

Nothing will happen unless you are willing and able to paint a clear picture of your vision for people and mobilize them to join you. How clearly can you paint your vision for your people?

APPLICATION: Develop the Visionary Within You

Identify Your Vision

What is your answer to these five questions?

Look Within You: What Do You Feel?

Look Behind You: What Have You Learned?

Look Around You: What Is Happening to Others?

Look Above You: What Does God Expect of You?

Look Ahead of You: What Is the Big Picture?

Increase Your Vision

Do you see more and before the people you lead?

Do you have a handle on the big picture and see problems before others do? Or are you often blindsided?

Do you have to be told by your people about the problems and challenges ahead?

Which of the three areas do you need to focus on this week?

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