Leading With 20/20 Vision

I really enjoy hearing someone else clearly articulate my thoughts. I just finished listening to some audio from the Andy Stanley Leadership Podcast. The talk was about communicating your vision convincingly. Two of the three points I already incorporate into my leading with vision.





The three points were:

Define the problem you vision will solve (CHECK)

State your vision as the solution (CHECK)

Answer the questions: Why us? & Why now? (NEEDS IMPROVEMENT)

By nature I'm a problem solver, a troubleshooter. You can call me crazy, but I get a natural high from solving problems. So the first two points come naturally. Unfortunately, I never think about asking those last two questions. People have to see why they need to be part of the solution and why the problem needs to be solved now. It's important to get them to feel the burden of the problem. This is one of the few times when feeling a burden for something is a good thing. Bill Hybels calls it holy discontent; which at its simplest level is no more than having a burden to fix a problem. Of course, the assumption is that your burden is God-driven and not man-driven or just plain ol' bellyaching.

When I followed the first two points, I saw amazing results. The last time I remember doing this well, is when we launched our first membership class last year. I did a message about church membership.

Problem: It's not good for man to be alone

Solution: God has adopted us into his family

Needless to this was our highest attended membership class. It also helped that it was our first but the point was made.

Recently, we placed more emphasis on our prayer ministry time at the end of our service. I don't think I stated the problem or the solution well enough. It's something that I will need to work on. I'm also looking at some changes in our Life Group structure. Its time to put into practice the things I have learned.

Casting vision has a lot to do with change. People don't like change and rarely see a need to changed. This is why communicating your vision is so important.

Are you a problem solver or a goal setter? (According to Bob Biehl most leaders fit into one of these two categories.) How do you cast vision convincingly? What tips would you give someone who is about to cast their vision?