Successful leaders have and share vision. As we talked about earlier, Napoleon shared his vision with his troops and gave them hope. They could see prosperity in the future. The Bible says in the book of Proverbs, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Peter Senge defines vision in his book, The Fifth Discipline, as a “picture of the future we seek to create.” He goes on to say “One is hard pressed to think of any organization that has sustained some measure of greatness in the absence of goals, values, and missions that become deeply shared throughout the organization.” The same is true for individuals and teams of people. What binds us together is a common identity and a shared sense of destiny.
One of the keys when building teams is developing a shared vision versus a personal vision. A shared vision will galvanize teams and organizations. In his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Steven Covey says you need to focus on the Circle of Influence and not the Circle of Concern. The Circle of Influence is the things you can do something about or control and the Circle of Concern is the things you can’t. ( taxes, weather, etc.) He says if we focus on the things we can control, our Circle of Influence grows, and therefore our personal power increases. This is how we get to share our vision with others. First we have to nurture and grow the vision within ourselves and then it will start to spread to others.
Four years ago, when the economy was still pretty good, I built a new house. I also bought a waterfront lot in The Reserve on Lake Keowee. In addition, my prior home didn’t sell so I was confronted with three mortgages and very serious financial debt. On top of that, the economy was starting to erode my income and I knew I needed to find another way to shore up my financial picture. My vision was always to become financially free but the vision was fading into the sunset. Out of necessity, I looked for other opportunities. I had reached a point that Peter Senge calls “creative tension.” He defines creative tension as “the gap between vision and reality.” It’s the difference of where you are and where you want to be. Some get discouraged by the gap, some draw strength from it. I was one that decided to draw strength from it.
Senge likens creative tension to a rubber band. The bigger the gap between vision and realty, the tighter the rubber band is stretched. The only way to relieve the tension is to “Pull realty toward the vision or pull the vision toward realty.” You either use the tension to sling-shot you toward your goals or you allow it to drag you down to despair. The first step in using creative tension to your advantage is to acknowledge the gap between vision and reality and use it as a force to motivate you in fulfilling your vision.
There are many people out there hurting right now because of the economic times. Not only have I been able to shore up my financial picture, through my marketing company, I have been able to help others dream again and rekindle the vision they once had. I am financially changing the lives for many families in a good way. Have you been looking for a way out?
What is your vision? Are you willing to do what it takes to close the gap? Will you use the gap to draw strength and go for your vision or will you let it drag you down? Send me a note and let me know what your vision is.
Have an awesome day.
