Inspire A Shared Vision A Leadership Challenge Charles W Inspire A Shared Vision A Leadership Challenge Charles W. Richburg, III, Ed.D.

Definitions Leadership: One who possesses the power, skills, or ability to lead others.   Passion: A strong feeling of enthusiasm or excitement for something or about doing something. Vision: A thought, concept, or object formed by the imagination

Essentials of Envisioning the Future. Imagine the Possibilities Essentials of Envisioning the Future * Imagine the Possibilities * Find a Common Purpose Taking Action a. Determine the “something” you want to do b. Picture what you will do next c. Survey your constituents about their aspirations Daniel Gilbert, professor of psychology at Harvard university states; “The human being is the only animal that thinks about the future.”

Imagine the Possibilities * Turning possibility thinking into an inspiring vision is the leader’s challenge. * Clarifying your vision is a process of self-exploration and self-creation. * Engage in conscious introspection: a. Reflect on your past b. Attend to the present c. Feel your passion Past- Search your past to find the recurring theme in your life. Present- Pay attention to what is currently available. The future could be right in front of you, and you might not see it. Prospect the Future- Look out for emerging developments in all aspects of life. Look over the horizon! Feel Your Passion-Passion and attention go hand in hand.

Find A Common Purpose Daily Practice Building commitment to the mission of the organization, not to the task Listen carefully and deeply Build a cause, not plans Figure out what it means to others – common values link people together Commitment leads to transformative leadership practice. Stephen M.R. Covey states in his New York Times Bestseller titled; The Speed of Trust. There is one thing that is common to every individual, relationship, team, and organization. “That one thing is trust.”

Find a Common Purpose Listen Deeply to Others “Walk the hallway slowly”-pay attention! * Seek out the “brewing” consensus among the constituents. * Sense what people want, value, and dream about. * Be aware of the attitudes and feelings of others and the nuances of their communication. Determine what is meaningful to others * Communicate the meaning and significance of the organization’s work. * People have a deep desire to make a difference. * People want to know that they have done something on this earth.

Find a Common Purpose Making it a Cause for Commitment * People commit to causes, not to plans. * Transformational leaders get people to infuse their energy into strategies. * It occurs during interactions, where people “raise one another to higher levels of motivation and morality. * It becomes moral when raising the level of human conduct and ethical aspirations of both the leader and the followers.

TAKING ACTION Determine the “Something” that you want to Do! :Some Questions to use as catalysts in clarifying your vision: Are you in your job to do something, or are you in your job for something to do? What do I want to accomplish? Why do I want to do this? What is my dream about my work? What is my burning passion? What does my ideal organization look like?

TAKING ACTION Picture what you will do next. * What is next question you should frequently ask yourself? *Think about the next project, and the one after that, and the one after that. Think beyond the end date. ~~ SURVEY YOUR CONSTITUENTS~~ * Find out about their aspirations. * Make a list of all the individuals or groups you want to enlist. * Identify those who will have a stake today and tomorrow in the outcomes of your vision.

ENLIST OTHERS “You have to paint a powerfully compelling picture of the future for people to want to align with the vision. Vicky Ngo-Roberti, VM Ware, Inc. Essentials of Enlisting Others: * Appeal to Common Ideals * Animate the Vision TAKING ACTION: * Record your shared vision * Breathe life into your vision * Expand your communication and expressiveness skills.

Appeal to Common Ideals * Talk to people about how they are going to make a difference. * How are they going to have an impact? CONNECT TO WHAT IS MEANINGFUL TO OTHERS * Liberate the vision that’s in your constituents. * Awaken dreams * Arouse beliefs that something grand can be achieved. TAKE PRIDE in BEING UNIQUE! * Compelling visions set us apart from others. * Uniqueness fosters pride, boosts self-respect, self-esteem. * Find distinctive qualities. Few things can help an individual more than to place responsibility on them, and to let them know that you trust them -Booker T. Washington

ENLIST OTHERS Align Your Dream with the People’s Dream * The late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a master of aligning dreams: He used fundamental values, cultural traditions, personal convictions, and words to create positive images of the future. Leaders bring visions to life. Think of leaders who were able to bring visions to life. How were they able to do this? Were they successful with enlisting others?

Animate the Vision Express Your Emotions Have Faith * Enthusiasm is infectious. * Communicate emotions using all means of expression. * Emotions make things more memorable. * We tend to pay more attention to information that excites or scares us. * A good script plus a good show will make it a show that people will remember. Speak From the Heart * The prerequisite to enlisting others in a shared vision is genuiness.” Believe Have Faith Be Optimistic

Animate the Vision * Help people see and feel how their interests are aligned with the vision. * Recognize that your enthusiasm and expressiveness are the allies to generate commitment in your constituents. Use symbolic language. * Create word images of the future. * Use metaphors deliberately. * Spark people’s imaginations. * Paint the word pictures that best portray the meaning of the vision.

Taking Action Create a covenant with your team regarding your vision. Record Your Shared Vision Create a covenant with your team regarding your vision. Some questions for expanding your vision: 1. What is unique about your hopes and aspirations? 2. How does this vision serve the common good? 3. What are the shared aspirations among all the constituents? 4. What images come to mind when thinking of the future? Give voice to your dreams with pictures and symbols.

Taking Action * Evoke strong emotions. Breathe Life into Your Vision * Evoke strong emotions. * Make intangible values tangible by using rich language. * Use many forms of expression. * Be evocative and provocative. * Adapt statement and slogan to changing times. * Revisit your vision- refine and update it.

Taking Action and Expressiveness Skills * Give short speeches. Expand your Communication and Expressiveness Skills * Give short speeches. * Volunteer to stand up in front of groups to speak. * Practice presentation skills. * Listen and watch famous speeches. * Take an acting class. * Let your emotions show. * Use gestures, speak clearly, make eye contact. * Video tape yourself to watch and critique. * Practice, practice, practice!

CHANGE INSPIRE A SHARED VISION All of the efforts presented help to promote change. CATALYST=CHANGE Effective Leadership is required to facilitate change.

VISION: Dreams Possibilities Create CHANGE You never know when someone might ask you, “Tell me your dreams for this organization.” When opportunity knocks, will you be ready to answer the door?

How does one Inspire a Shared Vision? Henry Ford: “Coming together is the beginning, working together is progress, staying together is success.” What are its components? Envision the future Enlisting others

Part 1: Envision the Future Define 2 tools for envisioning the future: Imagine the possibilities Finding a Common Purpose Passion Lou Holtz example

Envision the Future through imagining possibilities Daily practice Reflecting Attend to the present Prospect the future Feel your passion All in the effort to build capacity

Envisioning the Future by Finding a Common Purpose Daily Practice Building commitment to the mission of the organization, not to the task Listen carefully and deeply Build a cause, not plans Figure out what means a lot to others – common values link people together -Commitment leads to transformative leadership practice

How can a leader develop his/her practice for envisioning the future? Willing to take risks, and take responsibility for actions Set aside regular time for reflection Creating a covenant with your team regarding your shared vision Updating constituents, keep them informed Periodically throwing ideas out to trusted colleagues, look for feedback

Part 2 of Inspiring a Shared Vision: Enlist Others Passion + Pride = Performance Define Building capacities around common ideals that will bring to life the shared vision Main components: Appeal to common ideals Animate the vision

Enlisting others through appealing to common ideals Daily Practice Learning about constituents hopes and dreams Ideals represent ultimate priorities Take pride in being unique, make others feel proud of being a part of something extraordinary

Enlisting others by animating a vision Daily Practice Charismatic Genuine/sincerity Presenting emotion and enthusiasm Make images of the future Arouse others to join the cause Caveat: not everyone is initially comfortable with speaking in a group. No need to be superficial, speaking from the heart is key.

How can a leader develop his/her practice for enlisting others? Taking advantage of opportunities to speak in front of larger groups, and listening to public speakers Congeniality combined with collegiality, developing a community, culture PR to your own constituents, know “your people” Technological resources Find the “informal” leaders “Walk the hallway slowly” – pay attention! Transparency Remaining positive Using symbolic language that transforms the intangible to tangible; looking for personal examples Speaking specifically to the uniqueness to the organization and the talents within Speak less, listen more, find patterns

Change All of these efforts are for change to be successful Catalyst = change Leadership is needed because of change