Leaders LOVE casting vision! A vision is a gift solely given to the leader. The team doesn’t get the vision, the leader does. As a result, a vision of a preferred future is so exciting leaders can’t wait to tell other people about it. They can’t wait to invite others to be part of it of this brighter tomorrow.
But because of this excitement to cast the vision, leaders often make a mistake in terms of the sequence and timing.
In Nehemiah 2:17, Nehemiah told the local officials, “Then I said to them, ‘You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.” (ESV)
Notice the sequence – Nehemiah tells the people the trouble they are in and then invites them to head towards a more peaceful future.
By communicating the problem prior to the solution, Nehemiah did the following:
- He created a need that a problem exists.
- He then created buy-in from those who would benefit from the solution to the problem.
- Finally, he created a sense of urgency that “this cannot continue. The problem must be fixed now.”
Once the people were ready to solve the problem, it was then time to cast vision.
Because of impatience and/or excitement, many leaders make the mistake of inverting this process. They rush it.
They are so excited about the vision that they immediately begin talking about this beautiful utopia of what could be. With great passion they describe this preferred future and promptly begin inviting people into it.
But something is missing from this approach. While the future is quite compelling, the sense of urgency for it hasn’t been built up. As a result, it lacks complete buy-in and whole-hearted support from the people. The leader has microwaved their vision rather than crockpotting it. And we all know things taste better coming from a crockpot rather than a microwave.
Nehemiah gave us a successful blueprint for vision-casting. Create need and urgency, only then invite people to be part of the solution and go to a brighter tomorrow.
The Top 75 Leadership Quotes From 2021 Part 2 is my latest ebook. For many entering a post-pandemic environment, leadership looks completely different than the pre-pandemic world. People are more broken now. They are more uncertain. Fear and anxiousness are unwelcome constant companions. Cultures are more unhealthy. Relationships are more dysfunctional. Hope seems to be in short supply. Every day seems to bring a new hacking, natural disaster, or unexpected calamity.
Therefore, the fundamentals of leadership are more important than ever. The quotes in this book deal with the basics of leadership. If you want to be the best leader you can possibly be, click HERE or on the image provided to download this FREE resource. The lessons learned from last year, if applied, will sustain you for years to come.