vision

Vision Casting and Vision Collecting: A Big Difference!

Visions that are truly shared take time to emerge. They grow as a by-product of interactions of individual visions. Experience suggests that visions that are genuinely shared require ongoing conversation where individuals not only feel free to express their dreams, but learn how to listen to each other's dreams.  Peter Senge

Twenty Predictions for the Next 20 Years

Would you believe I finally got the link right THIS TIME. The only way you will know is if you click it on.

From time to time, we need to read reflections like this one and think about what is coming our way.

Futurism is never precise. 
Predictions are frequently wrong.
DO NOT take these things as spot on.

But do enjoy thinking about these as potential possibilities that could be headed our way.

Leadership Lesson 04:
Leaders spend a good deal of their time living in the future.

That is the reality! Leaders live in the future. Well, they are least rent an apartment there which they visit quite often! For fruitful visionary leadership, leaders must know how to stay energized and stay up-to-date and in touch with the emerging future. Leaders live with a balancing act, where they live in the future as they lead in the present. The only way to continually see a better future, is by seeing it. How do you see it? You see it by being there to look around.

Leadership Lesson 04: Facing the Future
Being forward looking is THE quality that most separates leaders from followers.

If there is one thing that is most often talked about, it is visionary leadership. Sometimes I think it is the MAIN thing that is said to define leaders. What I so respect about Kouzes and Posner, is they know great leadership requires many components. And in that larger vision, they give the rightful place of vision and seeing a better future.

I came across the great idea in Gretchen Rubin's book - Better Than Before (highly recommended for anyone who wants to change habits).

Gretchen makes the point, we waste time thinking about our future self, when we only have our NOW-Self to work with. We can actually neglect to do NOW important things, because we think our FUTURE-Self will get around to doing them.

Future-Brian will be a writer, a good husband, a strategic leader, a creative communicator, etc., etc., etc. 

Really! How is Future-Brian going to become that kind of person if NOW-Brian isn't working on those things. Good things do not appear from nowhere. They are the results of the choices we make to practice, learn, align, adjust, NOW.

The first responsbility of a leader is to define reality.
The last is to say thank-you. In between the two,
the leader must become a servant and a debtor.
Max De Pree

This is one of those truly wise understanding of the work of leadership from the outstanding CEO and Chairman of Herman Miller - Max De Pree. I have read many of his books. They are wise, practical and delightful. If you have never read any of his books, I highly recommend Leadership is an Art and Leadership Jazz.

While great leadership always involves more than seeing and the visionary aspect of the calling, it never means LESS than seeing quite a distance down the road.

This "sight" must not be at the service of a personal agenda, certainly not a vision that is mostly focused on the leader's self-interest. Instead the vision/seeing/imagination must be in the service of something great. A mission that is bigger, better and much beyond the individual leader.

This is what calls to the best leaders.
This is what nourishes, stimulates, stirs, provokes, motivates, inspires and stays with true Spiritual Leaders.

The vision of what they have been created in Christ Jesus to do... and the will to be sustained on that mission... to see it through to its culmination. At least, as much as is possible on earth.

If You Are On To It, You Will Talk About It!

FIRST THEME.
What you are on to defines you. Shapes you. Fills you. Then, you begin to live out what you are on to.
My apologies to all English, grammar types, for these darn dangling prepositions.

You always live out and live according to what you are on to. 

I have a good friend who is on to something powerful about reconciliation and forgiveness between people who really don't like each other. He lives this stuff constantly. By the way, he pays the price for it.

And Are You On To Something Good?

The Apostle Paul was finally on to something good (and it was on to him as well). It was not that Paul had not been on to something before. He was. He was on to it intensely. It is that now, Paul was on to something much different, Someone Way Better. He was on to Jesus Christ crucified, risen and ascended (see Acts 9). And Jesus was on to Paul (and in to Paul - which is the more biblical way of saying it).

It is always interesting to be around someone who is on to something.
Interesting - what a mild word! 

Let's find another word or two that are better descriptions of being around others who are "on to something."

How about exciting?
What about invigorating?
Maybe challenging?
And at times - even exhilarating!
Remember, terrifying is a close cousin to exhilarating!

When we are around people who are "on to something" they have a way of drawing us in.