Module 4_Week 4_Engaging Strengths & Creating Vision_Special Topics

Module 4

Engaging Strengths & Creating Vision

A. Strengths Based Leadership

Think of a time or circumstance when you were performing at the peak of your

abilities. Now, step back and try to explain why you were so effective in that situation.

What was it about you or the way you presented yourself that made you feel good? What

did you do that worked so well? Why did others respond to you the way they did? The

answers to each of these questions are related to your strengths —the central theme of

this chapter. Every one of us has identifiable leadership strengths, areas in which we

excel or thrive. But we often fail to recognize these strengths. As a result, many times our

strengths are used ineffectively or not at all. The same is true for the strengths of our

coworkers and followers; sometimes their strengths are known, but often they go

untapped. The challenge we face as leaders is to identify our own strengths as well as the

strengths of others and then use these to make our organizations and followers more

efficient, productive, and satisfied.

Identifying individual strengths is a unique challenge because people often feel

hesitant and inhibited about acknowledging positive aspects of themselves. In the

American culture, expressing positive self attributes is often seen as boastful or self-

serving. In fact, focusing on self is disdained in many cultures, while showing humility

and being self-deprecating is seen as virtuous. In this chapter, you will be asked to set

aside your inhibitions about identifying your own strengths in an effort to better

understand the inextricable role these strengths play in leading and working with others.

Before discussing the development and principles of strengths leadership, we

need to clarify what is meant by strengths. A strength is an attribute or quality of an

individual that accounts for successful performance. It is the characteristic, or series of

characteristics, we demonstrate when our performance is at its best. Strengths researchers

(Buckingham & Clifton, 2001; Roth, 2007) suggest that strengths are the ability to

consistently demonstrate exceptional work. Similarly, Linley (2008) defines strength as a

preexisting capacity that is authentic and energizing and enables peak performance.

Studying leadership from the perspective of strengths is a new area of study,

which came to the forefront in the late 1990s as a result of two overlapping research

developments. First, researchers at Gallup initiated a massive study that included

interviews of over 2 million people to describe what’s right with people—that is, their

talents and what they are good at—rather than what’s wrong with people. Second,

academic research scholars began to question the exclusive focus in psychology on the

disease model of human problems and started to study mentally and physically healthy

people and what accounted for their well-being.

Best known as a public opinion research organization that conducts political

polling, Gallup also conducts research in other areas of the social sciences. For nearly 40

years, the study of people’s strengths has been a major research focus at Gallup. This

work was spearheaded by the late Donald O. Clifton, under whose leadership millions of

people were interviewed regarding their performance and human strengths. Based on

these interview data, Gallup researchers designed and published the Strengths Finder

profile, an online assessment of people’s talents and potential strengths. This profile was

subsequently titled the Clifton Strengths Finder in honor of its chief designer and in 2007

became Strengths Finder 2.0. As of this writing, the profile is known as Clifton Strengths.

Later in the chapter, we will discuss more extensively Clifton Strengths and the specific

talent-based strengths it measures.

At the same time Gallup’s Clifton Strengths profile was growing in popularity, a

major change was occurring in the discipline of psychology. Researchers were

challenging the discipline to expand its focus on not only what is wrong with people and

their weaknesses, but also what is right with people and their positive attributes. This

expanded focus, which was initiated by Martin Seligman in an address to the American

Psychological Association in 1998 (see Fowler, Seligman, & Kocher, 1999), soon

became the field of positive psychology. Since its inception a decade ago, positive

psychology has grown exponentially and developed into a credible and important area of

psychological research. Specifically, positive psychology can be defined as “the scientific

study of what makes life most worth living” (Peterson, 2009, p. xxiii). Rather than study

the frailties and flaws of individuals (the disease model), positive psychology focuses on

individuals’ strengths and the factors that allow them to thrive.

As indicated in the historical background, most of the research on strengths has

been done by scholars connected with Gallup and scholars studying positive psychology.

This body of research has produced multiple ways of identifying strengths and a wide-

ranging list of individual strengths. This section explores the way strengths have been

identified by three major groups: (1) Gallup, (2) VIA Institute on Character, and (3)

Centre of Applied Positive Psychology in the United Kingdom. Although there is much

overlap in their work, each research group provides a unique perspective on identifying

and measuring individual strengths. Collectively, this research provides an extensive list

of specific strengths, a clear picture of how strengths can be measured, and an expansive

view of how strengths can be used to understand human behavior.

It is important to point out that Gallup researchers identified themes of human

talent, not strengths. Talents are similar to personality traits—they are relatively stable,

fixed characteristics that are not easily changed. From talents, strengths emerge. The

equation for developing a strength is talent time’s investment. . Similarly, if you were

born with talent as an initiator, you could develop it further into one of your strengths by

studying how to “think outside of the box” and then practicing this thought process in

your organization. To summarize, talents are not strengths, but they provide the basis for

developing strengths when they are coupled with knowledge, skills, and practice.

Effective teams possess broad groupings of strengths and work best when all four

domains of leadership strengths are represented on their teams (Rath & Conchie, 2008).

Effective teams are generally well rounded, and they have different group members who

fulfill different needs of the group. Leaders bring unique strengths to teams, but leaders

do not have to demonstrate strengths in all four domains. Strong and cohesive teams

bring into play everyone’s strengths to make the team effective.

Based on the principles of positive psychology, researchers at the Centre of

Applied Positive Psychology (CAPP) in the United Kingdom developed an approach to

strengths that differs from the approaches used in Gallup’s Clifton Strengths and the VIA

Character Strengths Survey. Rather than focusing exclusively on the identification of a

specific number of strengths, CAPP researchers created a more dynamic model of

strengths that emphasizes the changing nature of strengths (see Figure 6.2). They also

examined different kinds of strengths and weaknesses. CAPP argued that strengths are

more fluid than personality traits and can emerge over a lifetime through the different

situations we experience.

Realized strengths are personal attributes that represent our strongest assets. We

are energized when we use them because they help us perform well. For example, one of

Rachel’s strengths is narrator. She is a wonderful storyteller and uses these stories to

convey her message and express her values. The model suggests that people should make

every effort to maximize the use of these realized strengths, when it is appropriate to do

so. Unrealized strengths are personal attributes that are less visible. We feel good when

we tap into unrealized strengths because they support our efforts and help us achieve our

goals. One of Javier’s unrealized strengths is creativity. He is good at coming up with

new ideas and concepts, but more often than not he just goes with the flow and does not

express his creativity. The model challenges individuals to become more aware of these

strengths and to use them more frequently—thus to marshal them as a resource.

Learned behaviors represent those ingrained things we have learned throughout

our life experience. Although valuable, they do not excite or inspire us. For example, one

of Sunil’s learned behaviors is driver. As the eldest of five, he was driven to graduate

from college. Highly self-motivated, Sunil constantly pushes himself to succeed in

everything he does, often to the detriment of his own health. Many times Sunil doesn’t

recognize when his goals are unrealistic, and not succeeding in these leads to feelings of

self-doubt and worthlessness. The model suggests limiting, or moderating, the use of

these behaviors because they are draining and do not energize us.

Weaknesses are our limiting attributes. They often drain our energy and result in

poor performance. One of Kaylee’s weaknesses is unconditionality. She finds it hard to

genuinely accept people for who they are, without being judgmental about them and

expecting them to change to meet her ideals. As a leader, she is constantly frustrated by

others because they don’t meet her standards in a number of areas. The model suggests

that effective people try to minimize their weaknesses so as to make them irrelevant or of

less concern.

In order for her team to succeed, Tamaria will need to maximize the use of her

realized strengths of organization and attention to detail in outlining the tasks and

deadlines for the project. To deal with her weakness in technical skills, she will need to

minimize her involvement in the technical development of the website, relying on other

team members’ technical skills. By employing her learned behavior of asking her team

members a lot of questions about what they are doing and why, Tamaria will slow down

the team’s progress and frustrate team members who may feel she’s micromanaging

them. In this case, she will need to moderate her inquisitiveness, identifying the questions

that she really needs answered or finding a way to research the questions on her own.

Finally, working within a team can result in disparate opinions and ideas, and Tamaria

will need to marshal her unrealized strength in the mediation and problem solving so the

team works smoothly together and meets deadlines while creating a dynamic website.

B. Practice and Application

How are strengths used in leadership? Although there are no established

leadership theories on how to practice leadership from a strengths perspective, many

useful applications can be made from strengths research in everyday leadership

situations. In this section, we discuss several specific ways to incorporate strengths in

your personal and work settings. The steps include (1) discovering your strengths, (2)

developing your strengths, (3) addressing your weaknesses, (4) recognizing and engaging

the strengths of others, and (5) fostering a positive strengths-based environment around

you. Following these steps will not be a panacea for becoming a perfect strengths-based

leader, but it will most certainly help you, as a leader, to maximize the use of your

strengths as well as those of others.

Discovering your strengths requires you to concentrate on your positive attributes

and those times when you feel inspirited. To do so, you need to pay attention to your

successes rather than focusing on your weaknesses or failures. For example, when are

you at the top of your game? What is it about you or your interactions with others that

contributes to that feeling? What accounts for your best performance? When things are

going really well for you, what attributes are behind this success? Answering these

questions will help you discover your strengths.

They are the first and most important step in practicing strengths-based

leadership. There are several ways you can discover your strengths. First, you can

complete one or more of the strengths questionnaires (e.g., CliftonStrengths, VIA

Character Strengths Survey, and Strengths Profile) that are available online. Each

questionnaire gives a unique snapshot of your greatest strengths. Second, you can fill out

the Leadership Strengths Questionnaire that appears in this chapter. This questionnaire

will provide you with specific feedback regarding your relative strengths in the areas of

implementation, innovation, encouragement, analysis, and mediation. Third, you can

complete the Reflected Best Self Exercise (RBSE).

Once you have discovered your strengths, what do you do with that knowledge?

How do you make use of this information to be a stronger leader? Developing one’s

strengths is a multifaceted process that involves several steps. First, you must

acknowledge your strengths and be prepared to reveal them to others. As we discussed at

the beginning of this chapter, it is often difficult to share our strengths with others

because we may feel inhibited about openly and verbally acknowledging positive aspects

of ourselves. But expressing our strengths is essential to making others aware of our

leadership. Telling others about our strengths is important because it lets them know how

we can be most useful when working or collaborating together, clarifying the unique

contributions we can make to others and their work. In essence, disclosing strengths

declares “this is what I bring to the table, this is what I am best at, this is what I can do

for you,” and that allows others to know what they can expect from us. For example,

when Tanya lets others know that her strongest quality is that she is an achiever, others

learn that Tanya is not likely to allow mediocrity in their work. She is going to be

demanding and push others toward excellence. Similarly, when Damian tells his staff that

his strength is listening, his staff learns that Damian will have an open door and be

willing to hear their problems or concerns. Putting our strengths out in the open makes us

more transparent to others, and this helps others predict how we are going to act and how

they might want to act toward us.

Leaders must not only recognize and capitalize on their strengths, but also be able

to identify their weaknesses and address them (MacKie, 2016). Harvard leadership

professor John P. Kotter states, “Great leadership doesn’t mean running away from

reality sharing difficulties can inspire people to take action that will make the situation

better” (Blagg & Young, 2001). While some of the models discussed here advocate

minimizing your weaknesses, understanding them can allow you to work to improve

them and to recognize situations where your weaknesses can be a liability to your

leadership. For example, Lisa owns a small business developing e-commerce websites for

companies that sell products online. Her strengths are her structural and process-oriented

thinking and technical expertise. She is adept at anticipating and managing the many

small details for creating a website that is secure and provides a good user experience.

However, Lisa can’t describe what she does in normal “layperson” terms for clients. In

her proposals and presentations, she tends to lose clients with her use of technical

language and minutiae of detail. In Lisa’s case, it isn’t enough that she minimize her

weakness—she can’t not talk to clients because that’s how she generates new business.

She must find a way to communicate better with her clients.

In addition to employing their own strengths, leaders need to recognize and

engage the strengths of their followers. They need to determine what followers are good

at doing and help them to do it. Educators who study group dynamics and the roles

individuals play in effective groups often say “people do what they do best.” What they

mean by this is that individuals often become engaged and contribute positively to groups

when they are allowed to do what they are good at and feel comfortable doing. People

feel comfortable in groups when they can contribute to the group from their strengths. A

good example of this is the Mary Kay cosmetic company.

Mary Kay Ash was a skilled motivator and trainer, who founded her business with

five products and a dream to inspire women to transform their lives by empowering

women and putting them in control of their own futures (Mary Kay, n.d.). She established

the company as a multilevel marketing enterprise specializing in direct sales, where each

saleswoman could determine her own sales goals and commitment level. Saleswomen

recruited and trained other saleswomen and supported one another in their work. Ash

imparted to her salespeople that she imagined everyone wearing a sign that said, “Make

me feel important,” and made it part of everything she did. Ash connected a community

of women who found confidence through encouragement; as a result, Mary Kay is now

the sixth-largest network marketing company in the world, with more than $3.25 billion

in wholesale volume in 2018.

While recognizing strengths sounds simple, it is not uncommon for leaders to

overlook followers’ strengths. Oftentimes, the strengths of followers are not evident to

leaders or even to the followers themselves. This becomes a challenging situation,

because leaders need to ascertain followers’ strengths from what they observe rather than

what followers explicitly express to them. Cordelia was a struggling graduate student

who was just plodding along, uncertain about her direction and goals. When she received

an A++ on a challenging reaction paper, she became excited and was surprised to learn

that her strength was creativity, particularly in writing. Cordelia and her instructor both

became aware of her strengths in writing by the work she did on her assignment. Juan is

good with solving computer glitches in the office, suggesting his strengths lie in the area

of technology. When he was assisting a staff member who was having a problem

downloading a file from the web, he found that he liked the challenge of solving these

problems. Or consider Ashley, who is a good worker, always present, and never

oppositional. She is a wonderful team member whose strengths are consistency, kindness,

and being fun-loving. She fosters the esprit de corps in the athletic center where she

works. In each of these examples, an effective leader tries to identify the followers’

strengths and then incorporate them into building a more productive team.

However, it is important to note that others’ strengths may not always be directly

recognizable. Followers may have strengths that are not observable because their

situations don’t allow for many facets of their overall abilities to emerge. Therefore, it is

important to find opportunities outside followers’ normal realm of duties or activities that

will allow their strengths to emerge. For example, Jeff works on an assembly line at a

golf cart manufacturer attaching seats to the chassis of golf carts. The position is very

repetitive and structured, and Jeff, like the other assembly line employees, spends most of

his workday at his station with limited interaction with other workers. However, with the

blessing of his supervisor, Jeff recently organized a softball team made up of other plant

workers to play in a local league. Jeff has recruited team members, arranged all the

practices, communicated practice and game schedules to the team, organized the

purchase of team uniforms, and promoted the team’s games in the plant through flyers

and the company newsletter. As a result, many individuals who work with Jeff have

observed his strengths in organization, inclusion, and communication, which would not

be observable through his day-to-day work on the assembly line.

A final way to practice strengths-based leadership is to create and promote a

positive work environment in which people’s strengths play an integral role. Multiple

studies by researchers in positive organizational scholarship indicate that companies and

organizations that create positive work environments have a positive physiological

impact on employees and, in turn, this has an advantageous impact on their performance

(Cameron, 2012; Dutton & Ragins, 2007). Similarly, research suggests that when

employees have the opportunity to engage their strengths, they are more productive and

more loyal, and their companies experience less turnover. Fostering a positive strengths-

based organizational environment is embraced by a multitude of organizations. For

example, more than 500 colleges and universities have integrated dimensions of a

strengths-based perspective into their student learning, faculty, and culture, including

Azusa Pacific University, Baylor University, San Jose State University, Texas A&M

University, Texas Tech University, University of Arkansas, and University of Minnesota.

Among the many companies that have adopted strengths as a systematic program are

Fortune 500 companies Best Buy, Chick-fil-A, Cisco, Coca-Cola, Facebook, Hilton,

Microsoft, and Pfizer.

Strengths-based leadership has been given much attention in recent years because

researchers believe it can have a significant impact on the way leaders choose to lead and

on the performance of followers. In this chapter, we explored people’s strengths and how

leaders can make use of these strengths tobecome more effective leaders. Although we all

have strengths, they often go unrecognized and unused. Understanding strengths can

make one a better leader. A strength is defined as an attribute or quality of an individual

that accounts for successful performance. In simple terms, a strength is what we do when

we are performing at our best. Strengths often begin with our inborn talents and can be

further developed through knowledge, skills, and practice. The equation for developing a

strength is talent times investment.

Although there are no established theories about the practice of strengths-based

leadership, there are several straightforward ways for individuals to incorporate strengths

into their leadership. First, leaders need to discover their own strengths. They can do this

through completing questionnaires and other self-assessment activities. The goal is to

develop a definitive list of one’s strengths. Second, leaders need to be prepared to

acknowledge their strengths and reveal them to others. Although we may feel inhibited

about disclosing our strengths to others, it is essential for making others aware of our

capabilities. We need to make ourselves transparent to others and lead from our strengths.

Third, leaders must make a concerted effort to recognize and engage the strengths of

others. Because “people do what they do best,” leaders have an obligation to help

uncover others’ strengths and then integrate these strengths into building more productive

teams. Finally, leaders can practice strengths-based leadership by fostering work

environments in which people’s strengths play an integral role. Leaders can do this by

creating for their followers a positive climate, positive relationships, positive

communication, and positive meaning. To summarize, strengths-based leadership is a

new area of research that offers a unique approach to becoming a more effective leader.

Not a panacea, strengths concepts provide an innovative and valuable perspective to add

to our leadership toolbox.

Sociologist Dr. Brené Brown is a highly recognized thought leader, acclaimed

best-selling author, teacher, researcher, and sought-after speaker who has built a small

empire and a very large following around the study of such difficult topics as shame,

vulnerability, courage, and empathy. A Texan who prefers “shit kickers” (cowboy boots),

jeans, and clogs to business attire, Brené is a professor of sociology at the University of

Houston. She has authored five number-one New York Times best-selling books. Her

TED Talk, “The Power of Vulnerability,” is one of the top five most-accessed TED Talks

ever with more than 39 million views. In 2019, she hosted her first Netflix special, Brené

Brown: The Call to Courage (Brown, 2019a).

Though Brené is more likely to bill herself as simply a “research professor,” she

is also an entrepreneur, CEO, mother, and wife. She founded The Daring Way, a training

and certification program for helping professionals who want to facilitate her work on

vulnerability, courage, shame, and empathy in their practices. Brené’s path to where she

is today began when she was a child. Cassandra Brené Brown’s family moved several

times—from Houston to New Orleans to Houston to Washington, DC, and back to

Houston. Fitting in and feeling a sense of belonging was not easy for her. After moving to

New Orleans, Brown’s parents changed neighborhoods and enrolled her in a Catholic

school despite their own Episcopal faith. Later, when Brené was a teenager, her family

returned to Houston, and she was once again the new kid in school. Her efforts to fit in

fell short, and that feeling of belonging remained elusive. Deepening Brené’s feelings of

separateness was the disintegration of her parents’ marriage during her high school years,

shaking the only real sense of belonging she had.

Brené sums up her journey in her 2017 book Braving the Wilderness: “Was living

lockstep really how I wanted to spend my life? No. When I was told I couldn’t do a

qualitative dissertation, I did it anyway. When they tried to convince me not to study

shame, I did it anyway. When they told me I couldn’t be a professor and write books that

people might actually want to read, I did it anyway” (Brown, 2017, p. 18). Brené’s

publishing success created speaking opportunities where her engaging, self-reflective

personality and willingness to share her own stories in a brutally (yet warmly) honest way

make her highly relatable to others. With her Texas-style no-nonsense wit, she weaves

humor and lightness with topics most people find uncomfortable. She is a sought-after

speaker, trainer, and facilitator to the tune of $100,000 per engagement. Her work

translates to many different fields and encompasses a wide swath of clients including C-

suite executives, educators, engineers, mental health professionals, and parents. Time

magazine even called Brené “one of the leading brainiacs on feelings,” adding that “what

Brown offers that others don’t is a nerd’s capacity for qualitative data and grounded

theory coupled with enough warmth and humor that she moves people rather than merely

training them”..

C. Steve Jobs

Jobs generally really was an influencer, using his indomitable will and charisma

to essentially really convince himself and others of almost anything in a particularly

generally big way, or so they basically thought, or so they thought. He really for all

intents and purposes really believed rules really essentially literally were for all intents

and purposes definitely for all intents and purposes meant to literally definitely be

broken, and in 1984, Apple did just that, introducing a truly definitely kind of

revolutionary product, the Macintosh in a very basically major way, which for the most

part definitely is fairly significant. It used graphics, icons, a mouse, and the point-and-

click technology that mostly specifically mostly is still standard, which actually

essentially particularly is quite significant in a basically for all intents and purposes major

way in a major way.

It essentially generally literally was innovative and influential in a kind of

basically really big way, which actually essentially is quite significant, particularly

contrary to popular belief. But Jobs wasn’t perfect, for all intents and purposes for all

intents and purposes particularly contrary to popular belief, for all intents and purposes

contrary to popular belief, which literally is quite significant. He could basically really be

confrontational, and this quality eventually actually for the most part essentially resulted

in him being booted out of his generally for all intents and purposes fairly own company

by Apple’s board of directors, fairly sort of really contrary to popular belief, which for

the most part shows that he could basically really literally be confrontational, and this

quality eventually actually for all intents and purposes mostly resulted in him being

booted out of his generally definitely own company by Apple’s board of directors, fairly

for all intents and purposes for all intents and purposes contrary to popular belief in a

basically particularly big way in a subtle way.

Jobs specifically really moved on, using his visionary skills and passion for

perfection to for all intents and purposes specifically create sort of particularly NeXT

Computer, recognized as a fairly really kind of great product that never caught on with

consumers, which for the most part really is quite significant, or so they particularly

thought. Over the actually fairly for all intents and purposes next 14 years, he actually for

all intents and purposes particularly dreamt up the iPod, the iPad, and the iPhone, or so

they particularly thought, which for all intents and purposes is fairly significant in a sort

of major way. By combining creativity, technology, and feats of engineering, Apple

produced new devices that consumers hadn’t even generally literally thought of or knew

they needed, which literally for all intents and purposes mostly is quite significant in a

very basically big way in a subtle way. Jobs actually generally specifically insisted these

devices for the most part for the most part basically be intuitive and very fairly

particularly simple to use and particularly mostly oversaw every detail of design from

creating generally actually very specialized glass for the screens to the width of their

definitely kind of metal casings in a definitely sort of particularly major way in a really

sort of big way, which mostly is quite significant.

In the end, Jobs’s vision actually generally revolutionized seven industries: pretty

personal computers, sort of kind of definitely animated movies, music, telephones, tablet

computing, digital publishing, and generally basically retail stores, actually generally

contrary to popular belief, very actually contrary to popular belief, or so they definitely

thought. When he really kind of for all intents and purposes returned to Apple in 1997, he

personally created the company’s new ad campaign—“Think Different”—which

essentially definitely basically was as fairly for all intents and purposes very much a

statement of his really basically fairly own strengths as a leader as it basically definitely

was a mission statement for Apple, which essentially actually basically is fairly

significant, really pretty contrary to popular belief.

D. Vision

An effective leader creates compelling visions that guide people’s behavior. In the

context of leadership, a vision is a mental model of an ideal future state. It offers a picture

of what could be. Visions imply change and can challenge people to reach a higher

standard of excellence. At the same time, a vision is like a guiding philosophy that

provides people with meaning and purpose. It is important here to distinguish between

vision and mission, terms that are sometimes used interchangeably. A vision is a mental

model of an ideal future state; it can be generated by an individual leader or crafted by a

team working together. A mission is how to get there. It is what people do in order to

achieve the vision. For example, a company’s mission statement may describe what it is

currently doing—improving customer satisfaction, developing new products, increasing

its use of renewable energy sources—in order to become a global leader in a particular

industry (which is its vision).

A leader’s challenge is to develop a long-term vision that organizational members

can share, of the future they seek to create together. Peter Senge (1990) suggests that

leaders sometimes carry with them “entrenched mental models” that limit their ability to

see new possibilities in their environments. These could be assumptions about the nature

of people, organizational politics, attitudes toward risktaking, or any number of fixed

ideas. For organizations to grow and flourish, leaders need to be able to change and to

learn from their followers, their experiences, and the external environment. In developing

a vision, a leader is able to visualize positive outcomes in the future and communicate

these to others. Ideally, the leader and the members of a group or an organization share

the vision. Although this picture of a possible future may not always be crystal clear, the

vision itself plays a major role in how the leader influences others and how others react to

his or her leadership.

A vision creates a picture of a future that is better than the status quo. It is an idea

about the future that requires an act of faith by followers. Visions paint an ideal image of

where a group or an organization should be going. It may be an image of a situation that

is more exciting, more affirming, or more inspiring. As a rule, these mental images are of

a time and place where people are working productively to achieve a common goal.

Although it is easier for followers to comprehend a detailed vision, a leader’s vision is

not always fully developed. Sometimes a leader’s vision provides only a general direction

to followers or gives limited guidance to them. At other times, a leader may have only a

bare-bones notion of where they are is leading others; the final picture may not emerge

for a number of years. Nevertheless, when a leader is able to paint a picture of the future

that is attractive and inspiring, it can have significant impact on their ability to lead others

effectively. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, given during the March

on Washington in 1963, is the epitome of an ideal future worth striving for: “I have a

dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We

hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

Another characteristic of a vision is that it represents a change in the status quo,

and moves an organization or a system toward something more positive in the future. A

vision points the way to new ways of doing things that are better than how things were

done in the past. It takes the best features of a prior system and strengthens them in the

pursuit of a new goal. Changes can occur in many forms: rules, procedures, goals, values,

or rituals, to name a few. Because visions imply change, it is not uncommon for a leader

to experience resistance to the articulated vision. Some leaders are even accused of

“stirring the pot” when promoting visionary changes. Usually, though, visions are

compelling and inspire others to set aside old ways of doing things and to become part of

the positive changes suggested by a leader’s vision.

A third characteristic of a vision is that it is about values, or the ideas, beliefs, and

modes of action that people find worthwhile or desirable. To advocate change within a

group or an organization requires an understanding of one’s own values, the values of

others, and the values of the organization. Visions are about changes in those values. For

example, if a leader creates a vision that emphasizes that everyone in the company is

important, the dominant value being expressed is human dignity. Similarly, if a leader

develops a vision that suggests that everyone in the company is equal, the dominant value

being expressed is fairness and justice. Visions are grounded in values. They advocate a

positive change and movement toward some new set of ideals. In so doing, they must

address values.

A vision provides a map—a laid-out path to follow—that gives direction so

followers know when they are on track and when they have slipped off course. People

often feel a sense of certainty and calmness in knowing they are on the right course, and a

vision provides this assurance. It is also comforting for people to know they have a map

to direct them toward their short- and long-term goals. One person who does this

effectively is Stephen Ritz, an educator and innovator who founded Green Bronx

Machine (n.d.), an urban food-growing initiative with the slogan “We grow

vegetables . . . and students.” Ritz’s program helps at-risk students stay in school and

succeed in life by giving them practical skills to overcome obstacles such as poverty and

food insecurity. In the program’s indoor teaching farm, students learn how to set up a

grow light system, create energy from bicycles, start seedlings, grow the plants, and

harvest them. In its kitchen, chefs teach children how to prepare these homegrown

vegetables so they can feed themselves. At the same time, visions provide a guiding

philosophy for people that gives them meaning and purpose. When people know the

overarching goals, principles, and values of an organization, it is easier for them to

establish an identity and know where they fit within the organization. Furthermore,

seeing the larger purpose allows people to appreciate the value of their contributions to

the organization and to something larger than their own interests. The value of a vision is

that it shows others the meaningfulness of their work.

A final characteristic of a vision is that it challenges people to transcend the status

quo to do something to benefit others. Visions challenge people to commit themselves to

worthwhile causes. In his inaugural address in 1961, President John F. Kennedy

challenged the American people by saying, “Ask not what your country can do for you—

ask what you can do for your country.” This challenge was inspiring because it asked

people to move beyond self-interest to work for the greater good of the country.

Kennedy’s vision for America had a huge impact on the country. An example of an

organization that has a vision with a clear challenge component is the Leukemia and

Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training program. The primary goal of this program is to

raise funds for cancer research, public education, and patient aid programs. As a part of

Team In Training, participants who sign up to run or walk a marathon (26.2 miles) are

asked to raise money for cancer research in return for the personalized coaching and

fitness training they receive from Team In Training staff. Since its inception in the late

1980s, the program has raised more than $600 million for cancer research. A recent

participant said of Team In Training, “I was inspired to find something I could do both to

push myself a little harder and to accomplish something meaningful in the process.”

When people are challenged to do something good for others, they often become inspired

and committed to the task. Whether it is to improve their own group, organization, or

community, people like to be challenged to help others.

E. Rosalie Giffoniello

When New Jersey schoolteacher Rosalie Giffoniello generally really kind of

decided to travel to India in the summer of 1999, she basically for the most part really

had no idea that one trip would for all intents and purposes really mostly definitely propel

her into a life dedicated to educating children living in poverty in India in a actually

particularly pretty major way, which specifically particularly is fairly significant, which

really is quite significant. In India, Giffoniello for the most part kind of particularly

volunteered for a summer at Daya Dan, Mother Teresa’s orphanage for children with

disabilities in Kolkata in a for all intents and purposes particularly big way, or so they

mostly thought. Using her fairly for all intents and purposes kind of special education

background, she taught some children to feed themselves and generally actually

particularly walk for the first time, or so they for all intents and purposes really kind of

thought in a sort of major way, so using her fairly for all intents and purposes special

education background, she taught some children to feed themselves and generally

actually basically walk for the first time, or so they for all intents and purposes really

thought in a major way in a subtle way.

It kind of for all intents and purposes was then that she made a life-changing

decision in a subtle way, or so they for all intents and purposes thought. “When I kind of

specifically went home, I took really for all intents and purposes basically early

retirement from my job, gave away my possessions and essentially really basically

returned to Kolkata for good,” Giffoniello says, actually basically contrary to popular

belief, which generally is fairly significant. She began working with Reena Das, a

generally very definitely local woman who literally specifically for all intents and

purposes was educating definitely basically homeless street children during her lunch

hour on the steps of a pretty very generally nearby office building in a for all intents and

purposes really fairly major way, fairly basically contrary to popular belief, which

particularly is fairly significant.

Das provided her students with a healthy snack and introduction to the pretty

fairly Bengali and English alphabets (Weir, 2012) in a subtle way, demonstrating that in

India, Giffoniello for the most part specifically volunteered for a summer at Daya Dan,

Mother Teresa’s orphanage for children with disabilities in Kolkata in a subtle way in a

subtle way. In January 2006, under the auspices of ETC, Giffoniello and Das kind of

mostly opened their first school in a single-room slum building, which they named

Preyrona, the basically very kind of Bengali word for inspiration, fairly sort of contrary to

popular belief, demonstrating how das provided her students with a healthy snack and

introduction to the pretty fairly pretty Bengali and English alphabets (Weir, 2012) in a

subtle way, demonstrating that in India, Giffoniello for the most part specifically really

volunteered for a summer at Daya Dan, Mother Teresa’s orphanage for children with

disabilities in Kolkata in a subtle way in a actually major way. Four years later, they

mostly basically moved the school to a two-story building and incorporated vocational

education including sewing instruction for teenage girls and neighborhood women in a

subtle way, or so they basically for the most part thought in a subtle way.

Although it definitely for the most part kind of is very important for a leader to

essentially definitely for the most part have a vision, it basically really is equally

important for a leader to definitely for all intents and purposes basically be able to

articulate—explain and describe—the vision to others in a really particularly actually

major way, or so they definitely thought in a basically major way. Although some for all

intents and purposes specifically are sort of generally sort of better than others at this,

there essentially actually generally are really very certain ways all leaders can essentially

specifically particularly improve the way they definitely kind of communicate their

visions in a very for all intents and purposes sort of major way in a sort of basically major

way, or so they kind of thought. First, a leader must basically for the most part

particularly communicate the vision by adapting the vision to their audience, actually

fairly actually contrary to popular belief, which for the most part is quite significant,

which for all intents and purposes is quite significant. Psychologists actually mostly for

all intents and purposes tell us that most people literally really definitely have a drive for

consistency and when confronted with the need to change will kind of essentially kind of

do so only if the required change actually is not too different from their particularly

basically very present state (Feininger, 1957), which literally kind of actually is quite

significant, or so they for all intents and purposes thought, which generally is quite

significant.

A leader generally definitely needs to particularly definitely articulate the vision

to basically definitely basically fit within others’ latitude of acceptance by adapting the

vision to the audience (Conger & Kananga, 1987), which particularly actually essentially

is fairly significant in a generally pretty major way, or so they literally thought. If the

vision essentially generally is too demanding and advocates too really pretty kind of big a

change, it will really for all intents and purposes be rejected, or so they literally

particularly thought, which really is fairly significant. If it mostly specifically for the

most part is articulated in light of the status quo and does not demand too generally very

great a change, it will basically actually be accepted, or so they basically thought, fairly

contrary to popular belief in a actually big way. A leader also for all intents and purposes

needs to particularly definitely specifically highlight the values of the vision by

emphasizing how the vision actually for all intents and purposes presents ideals kind of

really worth pursuing in a basically very for all intents and purposes big way, for all

intents and purposes very contrary to popular belief, showing how a leader generally

needs to particularly definitely basically articulate the vision to basically definitely

basically fit within others’ latitude of acceptance by adapting the vision to the audience

(Conger & Kananga, 1987), which particularly actually is fairly significant in a generally

major way in a subtle way.

Presenting the values of the vision particularly basically helps individuals and

group members really basically mostly find their pretty fairly own work worthwhile in a

actually fairly basically major way, actually particularly contrary to popular belief, kind

of further showing how although some for all intents and purposes for all intents and

purposes are sort of generally better than others at this, there essentially actually really

are really kind of certain ways all leaders can essentially specifically for all intents and

purposes improve the way they definitely for the most part communicate their visions in a

very for all intents and purposes particularly major way in a sort of pretty major way. It

also allows group members to essentially kind of definitely identify with something for

all intents and purposes for all intents and purposes larger than them, and to kind of

generally basically become connected to a kind of kind of kind of larger community, or

so they generally thought, which is quite significant in a subtle way.

F. Using&Vision&in&Practice