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Chuck on May 27th, 2010
In leadership part of our job is casting vision. We paint a picture of where we’re heading, why we’re heading in that direction, and how we’re going to get there. This is a huge role for a leader. But easier for some than others. I’ve learned a few lessons the hard way about casting vision. I’ve found the following 4 things to greatly hinder our communication of vision:
- When we say what we’re NOT doing. For instance, we can easily say what church “is not” (like buildings and programs) more than we can accurately communicate what it “is” and how that ought to play out in every day life. But communicating what we’re not doing is not helping people understand where we are heading. I have made this mistake many times and I can say from experience, it doesn’t help.
- When we use too many words. When telling people where we are going and how we’re going to go about it we have to be clear and concise. The more we think through things, the more concise we can be. The more concise we are the more helpful it is. When communicating vision, I believe, less is more.
- When our leadership uses different terminology. If people use different vocabulary vision is confused in everyone’s mind. A great deal of time must be spent on getting everyone to “speak the same language” if we want to cast vision.
- When words are not clearly defined. Everyone tends to attach connotations from our past experiences to words. So, if we’re going to clearly communicate our vision we have to make sure everyone knows how we define terms. For example, if we desire people to live in “community” we will have to define what it is we mean when we use that word. If we don’t, expectations aren’t met and confusion sets. This inevitably leads to frustrated people who don’t see the vision we’re seeking to cast.
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