THE
VISIONARY LEADER
A leadership vision is the ability to perceive the
possibilities that are available to people, tribe, society or nation and create
a novel picture of where the body of people will achieve and be in the future.
A vision is similar in its meaning to the synonymous
terms – dream, image, or trance. A
vision is an idea!
A vision sets a clear, focused picture and direction
that will take the society to a specific destination.
People are motivated to accomplish when they have a
clear understanding of the purpose of a task or activity that promises some benefit
to them. The visionary leader provides
this purpose and meaning by developing and sharing his vision and communicating
by all means with his followers.
The message of the vision does not address
details. Everything that happens moves
the organization or society in the direction of attracting the circumstances
and manifesting the vision.
On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King addressed the
people assembled on the national mall in Washington DC where he proclaimed the
prophetic words: “I have a dream.” The speech was melodic, it was poetic and it
is full of imagery. As a result it moved
the nation and Congress to enact the Civil Rights law. King was a visionary leader – a Master Attractor
- who accomplished his vision by the compelling power of his words.
On May 25, 1961, President John F Kennedy set before
Congress a visionary goal to send a man
to the moon and return him safe back to earth before the decade is over. Congress approved and supported this vision. The first man set his step on the moon on July
21, 1969.
On June 12, 1987, President Ronald Reagan stood by
the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin and decreed, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” The Berlin Wall cracked open on November 9,
1989, without bloodshed. Reagan is now a
president revered by all political ideologues as the president who brought down
the soviet empire without sending one soldier to battle.
What is happening when a visionary leader sets an objective?
Many fellow men and women see in their mind’s eye that
same vision that the leader communicated and join forces to work together to
assemble all the matching components, necessary to accomplish and manifest the
objective. Sometimes the idea takes hold
in the mind of adversaries too as we saw how Reagan brought to its knees the
soviet empire.
Lack of visionary leadership results in apathy and
erosion of society. As the Bible says: “Without vision people perish.” (Prov. 23:18). Every leader, regardless of their vision is a
Master Attractor. They attract their
followers by the powers of the mind.
© 2013 Mandy Lender
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