Vision: Moving from Dream to Action
We all have dreams of a better future, whether it’s personal or professional. However, turning a dream into a reality is no laughing matter, as it can be quite challenging. That’s most often because we don’t leverage a simple but powerful document called a vision.
A written vision gives you a clear destination to shoot for.
On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy made a very bold and ambitious declaration. He declared that the United States would land a man on the Moon’s surface and return him safely to Earth by the end of that decade.
His dream of sending someone to the moon seemed absurd at that time. However, JFK’s clear, easily understood declaration motivated a country to get behind that vision and plotted a roadmap to get there. With that level of support and resources, President Kennedy’s vision became a reality.
There are a few simple steps that can increase the likelihood of our visions moving from being a dream into action. This is applicable to organizations as well as individuals, whether it’s a passion, a job, or some other aspiration.
Benefits of A Vision
There are many benefits to a vision that can be articulated.
- Decision-making. Having a clear destination will enable more effective decision-making.
- Focus. A documented vision eliminates the risk of aimless meandering by reducing distractions.
- Increased Support. It’s easier to solicit support if there’s a clear destination versus just an idea in your head. It signals significant thought has gone into the idea.
- Inspirational. A vision of a future destination which is progressive, better than current status, and aspirational inspires support and motivates action.
A clear vision is like a shining target to shoot for. Everyone knows the destination. This eliminates confusion, drives efficiency, encourages unity, and inspires action.
Vision to Action Conversion
How do you convert a vision to action?
If you are a person of faith, you have to look no further than the Bible for the three-step solution. Other leadership books may have many more steps, but I submit they all boil down to the same basic roadmap.
Then the Lord answered me and said, “Write the vision and engrave it plainly on [clay] tablets So that the one who reads it will run. “For the vision is yet for the appointed [future] time. It hurries towards the goal [of fulfilment]; it will not fail. Even though it delays, wait [patiently] for it, because it will certainly come; it will not delay. Hab 2:2-3 (AMP).
This gives the three-step process to convert our visions into action:
- Write it,
- Share it, and
- Have active faith.
Let’s break this down.
1. Documentation (Write it).
If an idea resides only in our heads, it’s just a wish. A pipe dream. Let’s face it: an idea that’s just in our heads is liable to change from one moment to the next as our thoughts keep modifying the idea.
Keeping the vision as a thought increases the likelihood of that vision remaining blurry, and the destination out of reach.
- Documentation forces us to capture our ideas clearly and sensibly.
- Documentation encourages focus, which is better than ideas in our heads open to change with every thought.
- Once a vision is documented, it becomes much easier to make concrete decisions based on the destination we have captured.
- A documented vision makes it easier to solicit support. The more aspirational a vision is, the more support we might need. It’s easier to sell and gain support for our ideas to stakeholders if it’s well documented.
- There’s another benefit to documenting our ideas that’s seldom thought of – unless me or you are in court defending our ideas. Documentation can be used to defend copyright and prove originality.
Documentation may seem an unnecessary step for a dream, especially if it’s personal. However, if we want that vision to be converted to action, documentation is a simple first step.
2. Communication (Share it).
A vision must be communicated to align others and bring them on the path.
Now, this is not encouraging us to broadcast our visions over a loudspeaker or even share it on social media – unless, of course, that’s what is required, as demonstrated by President Kennedy.
However, that’s where wisdom is required. It will be helpful to learn how to safeguard your vision here.
An aspirational vision will only come alive when there’s alignment or buy into it from key stakeholders. What we personalize becomes important to us.
- It’s important to communicate our visions for understanding and implementation.
- Understanding brings alignment and ownership. This accelerates action.
- Our visions may be clear in our minds. However, inviting input, guidance, and collaboration from trusted people, like mentors, will help sharpen that vision.
The reality is that keeping our ideas or dreams to ourselves can actually delay implementation or even stifle them.
3. Active Preparation (Active faith).
Great leaders don’t just dream; they act.
This step of actively waiting for the dream to become a reality means we need to take action.
Countless great ideas flow down the drain – but not due to lack of intelligence. A number of smart leaders still struggle to act on great ideas. That’s because there are hidden habits that stall progress and keep ideas from becoming reality.
Active preparation is what expectant parents do when preparing for the arrival of a newborn.
They prepare while they await the baby’s arrival. This includes choosing a name, preparing where the baby will sleep, selecting clothing, buying feeding needs, and all the other necessities to care for that baby. A vision is no different.
Once the vision has been documented and communicated, the work begins to make it a reality.
Waiting expectantly means demonstrating active faith that our visions will materialize.
That level of faith means we believe that the vision will come to pass and act accordingly. There are two elements that go with this.
- First, have patience. Waiting expectantly means we’ll not become impatient and short-circuit our process. This can happen if we are overly confident and presumptuous.
- Secondly, trust the process. Trust the process of research, evaluate, test, validate, repeat until the right solution is achieved. Aborting the process by skipping steps or ignoring warning signs risks killing our ideas prematurely.
One often experienced barrier to progress at this stage of our visions becoming a reality is procrastination; another is analysis paralysis. That’s where our fear of making the wrong decision stalls progress.
We must actively drive our vision.
Anyone who dreams of a better future has a vision of what that future is. Having a documented vision, an appropriate communication plan, and diligently following a path to success saves them from meandering about and aborting that dream before it becomes a reality.
Empowered Leader Reflection
What dreams or ideas do you have in your head that need the 3-step process to convert them from idea to action?
If this resonates with you, please share your thoughts below, and forward to someone you know could benefit from it.
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