Mark Miller, VP for Organizational Effectiveness at Chick-fil-A, says, “A leader’s primary role is to see and shape the future.”
You are created, called, and equipped to influence others to see the vision, engage in it, and invest in it.
Having a vision is often the easy part. As a discerning leader, you must articulate and communicate your vision in a way that’s clear and compelling.
You must take the mystery out of what you are trying to do and where you are trying to go.
You must be clear and direct to engage donors to impact your ministry.
A vision that is demystified and descriptive has the power to inform, influence, and inspire others.
Here are three concrete steps you can take to demystify your vision and empower others to move forward with you.
Step one: Illuminate your convictions.
The point of writing down your vision, mission, and core values is to capture and clarify your inner conviction out in the open.
It’s certainly not to keep these documents lying around or hidden away on your website!
As the leader of your ministry or organization, God has given you the faithful conviction to do something, to lead the charge and facilitate change.
True conviction, like vision, is God-given, not something we simply produce as the result of a brainstorming exercise.
What is your deeply-held conviction, the one that led you to take action and step into leadership?
Your vision isn’t just a statement; it’s a picture of what you hope to see accomplished in the life of an individual person.
Step two: Construct a clear picture of your impact on one person’s life.
The vision of a Christian leader is always about saving or changing a life.
Instead of fixating on the vision statement, take time to write down a profile of your vision for the individual’s life.
To create a profile of your vision, begin by spelling it out clearly and concisely. Craft a series of bullet points.
Who is this person you serve and impact?
Who will he or she become if you’re effective in what you do in your organization?
Take it a step further and find a real picture of what their life will be like if you succeed. What images represent how you will serve, influence, and affect their life?
Step three: Clarify your mission statement and make sure it’s authentic.
Your mission statement conveys the very heart of what you do. It describes how you are moving toward your vision. It clearly articulates who you serve, what you do, and how you do it.
Look at this as the substance of your ministry: the people and the purpose.
Take time this week to revisit your mission statement. Does it answer these three questions:
- Who are we serving?
- What are we doing?
- How do we do it?
Then, make sure it’s authentic. Are you really doing these things? Are you actually serving who you say you are? Is your language clear and meaningful?
Your mission should make sense not only to the people in your organization, but also to anyone who reads it and sees your ministry in action.
People crave simplicity, focus, and purpose. When you are clear and intentional, you inspire your people to give their best to your cause.
Create alignment with your vision, and together you’ll be empowered to move forward into everything God has in store for your organization.
Report back.
Which of these three steps generates the greatest impact on your organization’s vision?
