Successfully casting a vision for your organization is a crucial part of leadership.
You have to know how vision works in the life of the leader, and you have to know how to communicate it to the people around you.
But what’s the point? What’s the payoff?
I believe there are at least four resulting benefits when a vision is cast successfully.
It creates enormous energy
People get fired up when they know the why behind what they are doing. Whether it’s a business, a church, or some other type of organization, when people understand the point behind it all, and the goal in front of them, and why it’s important, they usually buy in a lot faster, and a lot more completely.
And the energy created is tremendous. It’s contagious. The excitement is like a current of electricity, being felt bey everyone.
It increases ownership
When people are excited about something, they want to be a part of it. They want to contribute and they want to benefit.
When I first stumbled upon this principle in youth ministry, I was amazed. I enabled students to buy into what I wanted to accomplish, and allowed them a significant role in the process. All of a sudden, they could claim our ministry as their own, and not just something they attended. As a result, they were much more passionate about sharing with their friends what we were doing.
In an instant, it had become their ministry, not just mine. Our attendance exploded, and it did so within days of my leadership teens grasping my vision for the first time.
That’s a lesson I’m not likely to forget.
It provides focus
Once you communicate your vision clearly to your team, you have a template to fit everything into. If something fits into your vision, keep it. If it doesn’t, scrap it, or pass it off to someone else who can do it effectively.
Soon you’ll find that you and your team are no longer doing so much that you can’t keep up. You’ll have removed a lot of good things from your organization and you’ll be able to focus on doing only the great things.
It reduces the trauma of leadership succession
A successfully communicated vision will continue even after the leader leaves.
Look at Apple. With Steve Jobs gone, many expected Apple to flounder, and maybe even fail. But Apple has grown stronger. I’m sure they experienced some bumps during the initial months, but because Jobs successfully communicated his vision, the problems that could have occurred were avoided.
The same is true in any organization. A month from now, I’m leaving my current position with a church in southern Missouri for a position on the Gulf Coast of Florida. I have very little fear that the ministry in Missouri will fall to pieces. In fact, I’m certain that the team I leave in place will be able to continue on after I leave. There may be a few minor bumps during the transition, but nothing significant.
Casting and communicating a vision successfully to your team is well worth the effort involved. You’ll see results far down the road.
Are there any other benefits to successful vision casting that you’ve experienced? You can share your thoughts in the comment section below.