Vision in leadership can develop long before a person formally takes on a leadership role. My own understanding of leadership began during my high school and college years, when I did not initially see myself as a leader despite encouragement from friends and recognition as an honor student. Looking back, those experiences helped shape my understanding of how purpose, initiative and a clear vision can influence a person’s ability to lead.
“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
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During my high school years, several of my friends encouraged me to run for a position in our student council. Despite their enthusiastic backing, I chose not to participate. Even though I was an honor student, I did not see myself as a leader. We found ourselves in a similar context, which I would estimate was in the late 1950s.
This sentiment continued into my college years in the late 1960s. I graduated amidst the First Quarter Storm, and it wasn’t until several years after Martial Law that I became politically aware.
Reflecting on that time, I believed I lacked the essential qualities of a leader, such as charisma, discernment, commitment, initiative, passion, discipline, and a positive attitude. Most importantly, a true leader must possess a vision. I had a vision back then, and I continue to pursue it today.
“The very essence of leadership is that you have to have a vision,” commented Theodore Hesburgh.
“A leader’s role is to raise people’s aspirations for what they can become and to release their energies so they will try to get there,” says David Gergen.
Ralph Lauren adds, “A leader has the vision and conviction that a dream can be achieved. He inspires the power and energy to get it done.”
A leader without vision is bound to fail. “Vision is everything for a leader,” explains American author and inspirational speaker John C. Maxwell. “It is utterly indispensable. Why? Because vision leads the leader. It paints the target. It sparks and fuels the fire within and draws him forward. It is also the fire lighter for others who follow the leader.”
“The most pathetic person in the world is someone who has sight but has no vision,” Helen Keller once said. For as Jonathan Swift pointed out, “Vision is the art of seeing things invisible.”
Among the most remarkable leaders in history is Jesus Christ. He approached fishermen and proclaimed, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They immediately abandoned their nets and chose to follow him.
He encountered a woman at a well and stated, “Follow me, and you will never be thirsty again.” She left her bucket behind and hurried to gather all her friends.
The Bible says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18). And Jesus Christ had a vision for His followers.
Research indicates that individuals tend to exert greater effort and dedication on tasks when they comprehend the overall importance of their specific role.
An examination involving aircraft workers supports this assertion. They were split into two distinct groups. One group followed instructions without question, while the other group was taken to the engineering lab to witness how their individual components contributed to a remarkable jet designed to soar higher and faster than any previous aircraft.
Remarkably, without any extra motivation, the productivity of the second group significantly increased. They recognized the value of their contributions to a broader objective.
“Give to us a clear vision that we may know where to stand and what to stand for – because unless we stand for something, we shall fall for anything,” Peter Marshall reminded.
Or to quote the words of Nobel Peace Prize winner Woodrow Wilson, “No man that does not see visions will ever realize any high hope or undertake any high enterprise.”
Pursue your aspirations, as the saying goes. However, mere dreaming will not lead you to success. Combine your dreams with resolve and proactive efforts, and you will be on the path to achievement.
High Eagle enlightens: “In life, many thoughts are born in the course of a moment, an hour, a day. Some are dreams, some visions. Often, we are unable to distinguish between them. To some, they are the same; however, not all dreams are visions. Much energy is lost in fanciful dreams that never bear fruit. But visions are messages from the Great Spirit, each for a different purpose in life.
“Consequently, one person’s vision may not be that of another. To have a vision, one must be prepared to receive it, and when it comes, to accept it. Thus, when these inner urges become reality, only then can visions be fulfilled. The spiritual side of life knows everyone’s heart and who to trust. How could a vision ever be given to someone to harbor if that person could not be trusted to carry it out. The message is simple: commitment precedes vision.”
From 1923 to 1955, Robert Woodruff held the position of president at Coca-Cola. During his tenure, he aimed for the soft drink to be accessible to every American serviceman globally for just five cents, regardless of the cost to the company. What an ambitious objective!
Yet, this was merely a fraction of the grand vision he envisioned. Throughout his life, he aspired by every individual in the world to have experienced Coke.
“The future belongs to those who see possibilities before they become obvious,” said John Scully said, former chief executive officer of Pepsi and Apple Computer.
So, don’t ever underestimate the power of a vision. Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonald’s pictured his empire long before it existed, and he saw how to get there. He invented the company motto – “Quality, service, cleanliness and value” – and kept repeating it to employees for the rest of his life.
According to American novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald, the test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function. For instance, he said, “One should be able to see that things are hopeless and yet determined to make them otherwise.”
One day, Thomas Alva Edison was conversing with the governor of North Carolina, who praised him for his inventive brilliance. Edison responded, “I do not consider myself a great inventor.”
The governor then inquired, “But you hold over a thousand patents, do you not?”
“Yes, but the only invention I can really claim as absolutely original is the phonograph,” Edison admitted. “I guess, I’m an awfully good sponge. I absorb ideas from every source I can and put them to practical use. Then I improve them until they become of some value. The ideas which I use are mostly the ideas of other people who don’t develop them themselves.”
“Leadership,” Warren Bennis said, “is the capacity to translate vision into reality.”
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