I first met Eric Johnson, the author of the blog post below, a few years back at one of my Conflict Mastery workshops. Since then, Eric has moved to a new pastorate and started consulting work, too. He publishes a weekly blog and when I read this one, decided to share it with my readers as well. I believe any organization needs a vision. It’s the single most important ingredient in engaging and motivating your members! I especially love Eric’s final statement, “If your vision can describe any other organization in your community, it is functionally useless.”

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Visit Pastor Eric’s website by clicking the photo above

As leaders, we live under the expectation of having a vision. Our people want to believe that we know and are prepared for the next move. We can leverage our clarity of vision for the organization to motivate our teams to action.

Getting to that clarity can be a challenge. Before we can offer clarity to others, we have to have it for ourselves. I put together this list to help you assess the quality of your vision and to press in on the ways it might be lacking.

You WILL fulfill your vision when…

1. You have a vision.

Not every leader has a vision, and not all vision is actually vision. Goals are not vision. Tasks to complete are not vision. Dreams are not vision.

True vision is the clearly-articulated preferred future of your organization. Your team not only grasps the vision for themselves but is able to communicate the vision to others.

If what you are calling your vision is not clear and owned at every level, it may not be a vision after all.

2. It is not too big.

No matter how hard I try, no matter how bad I want it, I will never dunk a basketball. As much as I wish it weren’t so, I have limitations that will prevent any of these from happening. My preferred future does not include the art of the dunk.

This is where the difference between a dream and vision is most on display. I might dream of soaring through the air like Michael Jordan, but it isn’t realistic.

There is nothing wrong with dreaming. For a dream to become a vision, ground it in the true capacity of your leadership and capability of your team.

3. It is not too small.

But what if I could dunk a basketball? What if the limitations of height, age, and health were not factors? That would be awesome!

The danger in focusing too much on the practical is that it places limits on what is possible. Our natural tendency is to think smaller. We are more capable than we realize.

You will inspire your team to fulfill your vision when you push them beyond their current expectations of the future.

4. It is YOUR vision

This is, by far, the most important factor in whether your fulfill your vision. The preferred future of your organization should be grounded in its unique culture. Who you are will both attract some and repel others. Embracing this will propel you towards fulfilling your vision more than any other factor.

I see the opposite of this all the time in the church world. Many churches have a vision that is some version of “Love God, Love People, Serve The World.” Of course churches should do all these things. If that is all they are saying about their vision, they are not saying anything at all. Churches, and many organizations, want to be open to all, and they should. But if you are trying to appeal to everyone, you will actually appeal to no one.

If your vision can describe any other organization in your community, it is functionally useless.

How does your vision for yourself and your team compare to this list? Where is it lacking?

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4 Reasons You WILL Fulfill Your Vision