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Turning Vision into Reality
Leadership is not something you do to people; it's something you do with them.
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We need to think things through, create a strategy and a plan, and stick with it. In the process of setting the vision, it's important to find out what the congregation wants. But notice that this is second. In business, many people ask, "Why wouldn't you first see what the customers want?" Well, because the customers don't have the big picture. Every time you get a suggestion from the congregation, you see where it fits into your picture. The reality is, you can't include everything in your picture. For example, you cannot get a tablecloth and candlelight at McDonald's. It's not part of their vision. Some would ask, "Wouldn't McDonald's want to attract everybody who is going out for dinner tonight?" No, if they tried to attract everybody, they'd get nobody. After you create a vision, the people will probably want to tweak it, but they're not going to change it significantly. If the first person says, "Yeah, but you didn't think of this," and you snap back, communicating, "This is a closed deal," you're in trouble. The biggest problem in implementing change is when you think, "If it wasn't invented by me, it's not worth considering." Journey of ChangeMuch has been written in recent years about the central importance of vision, and some people wonder whether vision is overrated. I don't think so, but vision alone can't get it done. Too often we spend all our time on vision and none on implementation. At some point you've got to move. Managing the journey of change is more important than announcing the destination. Often we announce a destination: "Here's a vision; here's what I want to do." Then we use a delegating leadership style and don't roll up our sleeves and get in there. Why don't New Year's resolutions work? Because people announce them and then don't do anything. Disney Corporation invites their competition to Disneyland to observe and take courses. How do they feel safe doing that? Because they know nobody else will follow through on the vision. People imitate Disney's rides because they think that is the key. But they miss that the key is follow-through on the details—the friendliness of the staff, the cleanliness of the park. The question every leader and organization needs to ask is, Are you committed to reaching the vision or are you just interested? A lot of people are interested in improving, but they aren't willing to pay the price. A person interested in exercise will wake up in the morning and if it's raining, say, "I'll exercise tomorrow." A person committed to exercise gets up in the morning and if it's raining says, "I'll exercise inside." Follow-through is so important. I asked Max De Pree, former chairman of the board of Herman Miller, "What is your role in the vision of your company?" |             |
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