The very essence of leadership is that you have to have a vision. It’s got to be a vision you articulate clearly and forcefully on every occasion. You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet. —Reverend Theodore M. Hesburgh
If you want to move people, it has to be toward a vision that’s positive for them, that taps important values, that gets them something they desire, and it has to be presented in a compelling way. That way, they feel inspired to follow. —Martin Luther King Jr.
Vision
“Without a vision the people will perish.” – King Solomon
Vision is about charting the course, steering the ship. You have to know where you want to go before steering the ship. You’ve gotta know how you want things to be before attempting to lead. By definition leaders must know where they are going if they hope to lead. Leaders who don’t know in which direction to go succeed only in leading people down an aimless and meaningless path. Developing a vivid picture of the future is an important part of creating a future that is better than today. Having a clear, motivating image of a desired future provides meaning and context to daily tasks. Focusing on a vision for the future can inspire people to reach higher and overcome challenges. Once created, a vision will help to structure decision making and policy setting in an organization.
Visioning is a common, but effective strategy proven useful in many endeavors. Olympic athletes visualize themselves performing their specific feats, and this visualization is effective in helping them to perform better. Albert Einstein imagined himself traveling through the universe as a “man in a box” on a ray of light. This vision helped him develop the theory of general relativity.
Future-focused thinking is the one attribute that a leader must possess to create and shape an “intentional organization.” An intentional organization is purposeful, created and led with a specific goal in mind. An intentional organization is grounded in specific objectives and it has a plan of action designed to accomplish these objectives. The culture of an intentional organization reflects a deliberate focus on a specific end result. In order for the organization to be purposeful, goal oriented, grounded in specific objectives, and focused on an end result, the leader must be able to see and articulate a vision—to chart a course for the future.
A good vision is ideological, but possible; challenging, but realistic. It is not a wishful fantasy, but an attainable picture of the future. A good vision should be imaginable, desirable, feasible, focused, flexible, and communicable. A good vision depicts an image of the future with some implicit or explicit commentary on why people should strive to create that future. A vision can be a mental picture of the “ideal” organization, community, or youth program. Studies have shown that people are more likely to reach a goal if they can envision it and can imagine the steps to reach it.
Clarity of purpose and direction, and the ability to envision the future are paramount to effective leadership. Whether we call this a vision, a dream, a calling, a goal, or a personal agenda, the message is clear: leaders must know where they’re going if they expect others to willingly join them on the journey. Vision is the magnetic north that provides others with the capacity to chart their course toward the future.
Try This: Visionary Exercises
Try out one of the following exercises:
• Envision an article written in the future about you or your organization.
• Record your desired future in a diagram, sketch, model, or in a photographic montage.
• Imagine yourself receiving an award for a major accomplishment. What is the award for? What did you accomplish?
• Think about an ideal early childhood or afterschool program. What does it look like, sound like, feel like, and smell like? Make a list of the things that are already in place in your programs. Identify relatively easy, inexpensive actions you can take to improve quality. Create a plan for how you will need to tackle bigger changes.
• Politely question policies and procedures that don’t make sense to you. Ask why they are in place and learn about the problem they are supposed to solve. Now try to think of better solutions to these problems.
• Argue your opposite belief about an article or current event with a friend. Work hard at making good, sound points. This helps you to understand others’ perspectives better in the work situation.
Values
Highly-effective afterschool leaders use a values-based framework and a code of ethics to guide them in visioning and strategic planning. What are your beliefs and values; the values of the field and of your individual organization?
For example, in our organization, we believe that quality school-age care is more than a safe place for kids to be while their parents are working, and it is more than a fun place to be. It is one of the few times in a child’s day that provides the opportunity to interact positively with children of different ages. It is perhaps the only time in a day that teachers have the time to give significant one-on-one attention to individual children. We have the unique ability to teach the social skills that are essential in youth development, delinquency prevention, and the development of the future citizens of this country. We believe that we can join in true partnership with the family and the school in the role of participating in the positive development and education of our children.
In our organization, we value all of the people that make our organization strong, so we treat them as professionals, pay them competitively, invest in their training and professional development, treat them with caring and respect, help them to build their competencies, and trust them to act in the best interest of children and of our organization. We value long-term, big-picture, out-of-the-box thinking, so we look deeply into complex interrelationships, invest in wise decision making and problem solving, and give knowledge, information, power, and control to all of our staff. We value lifelong-learning, so children and all staff members are encouraged to learn through their experiences. We value quality, so we exceed quality standards and provide a place for nurturing and the development of life skills. We value our children and our families, so we facilitate positive child development, workforce development, and societal contribution. We value ethical standards, so we facilitate honesty, fairness, respect, responsibility, trustworthiness, citizenship, and caring.
Our values helped us create our mission statement. “Children’s Choice Child Care Services, Inc. is dedicated to facilitating the positive development of children by developing and maintaining school-age care programs that are a model of quality care—programs where children play, learn, grow, and make friends—programs where children are nurtured and develop life skills. Children’s Choice will use these programs as a source of training and technical assistance for the larger community of school-age care practitioners.”
Our values helped us create our vision. The vision of Children’s Choice is that of a wonderful place filled with an extended family in true partnership with schools and families. It is a community that nurtures and truly cares for children, staff, and families. It is a mini-society that challenges children, staff, and families to be their best. It is a place where children, staff, and families learn and develop life skills. It is a place that “makes easier” the positive development and education of children. The vision of Children’s Choice is to see healthier children, healthier families, and a healthier community.
Try This: State Your Vision
Go ahead, visualize your ideal life. Describe it. Create statements of beliefs and values, a mission statement for yourself personally, for your program, or for your organization. Use this to help you create a broad vision statement. If it sounds like motherhood and apple pie and is somewhat embarrassing, you are on the right track.
Discussion Questions
1. If you looked into a crystal ball, what would your organization, program, or community look like in ten years?
2. Are you focused on the right questions? Take a moment and reflect what you spend your time thinking about when it comes to the future of your organization and the role you play.
3. Do you see yourself as a future-focused visionary leader? Are you satisfied with the state of your organization and the state of the profession? If not, what differences would you like to see? What is an ideal future?
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