Having a well-established vision is something that all leaders need to have in their repertoire. Unfortunately, however, it is not always the case. Most people in leadership positions lack the necessary skills to inspire and energize their staff.
The reason why so many leaders lack the necessary vision is, in large part, due to the common misconception that vision is some rare gift that only a select few possess. Having the foresight required to look ahead is not something that people are born with. It is a skill, like any other, which almost anyone can learn with the necessary time, experience, and knowledge.
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As some of us already know, a vision requires a series of intriguing ideas that have the power to inspire others. But to create these ideas, you will need to exercise your imagination and learn how to think outside the box. When done right, however, one’s vision will become an incredibly powerful tool that will significantly reinforce their ability to influence others.
When done right, one’s vision will become an incredibly powerful tool that will significantly reinforce their ability to influence others.
Logos, Pathos, and Ethos
From a rational perspective, a vision is a future ideal that’s worth striving for. But for that vision to have a significant impact on both the vision’s creator and their audience, it also needs to spark an emotional revelation of some sort. It needs to resonate on a more intimate level to make people feel motivated and energized.
In other words, your vision will need to touch both hearts and minds, before it can inspire. To do that, however, you can employ Aristotle’s modes of persuasion, commonly referred to as Logos, Pathos, and Ethos. Together, these three are the pillars of engagement.
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In short, logos stands for the logic behind your vision. People need to clearly understand and process the direction in which your view will be taking them. Pathos, on the other hand, stands for the emotional engagement, which will allow people to feel themselves part of your vision. Lastly, ethos is representative of the speaker’s character and integrity.
To make ethos work for you as a leader, you will need to embody your vision and present it in every activity that you partake. It is through this ongoing expression of your view that you will be able to get others to trust in it.
Vision-Creating Abilities
As mentioned in the beginning, the capacity of creating, cultivating, and maintaining a great idea is found within most of us. It is not a gift bestowed on only a few. But the question remains of how to harness it.
As fate would have it, two critical abilities will allow each of us to develop our visionary inner selves.
The ability to see the early signs – Most of us are oblivious to much of what’s happening around us. Visionaries, however, can peer into the seemingly random noise and deduce early signs which can be indicative of change somewhere down the line. It’s only by growing this ability to notice these signals early that you can develop your visionary capability.
Connecting the dots – As visionaries can see the early signs mentioned above, they are also able to connect the dots and anticipate with a fair amount of certainty the events that are about to follow. It means that they can deconstruct the multidimensional future and reassemble it based on what they’ve learned to generate a comprehensive story of what’s about to happen.
Connect the dots to inspire others
Becoming a visionary is not something reserved for only a select few. With the necessary knowledge, time, and experience, everyone can detect the early signs and connect the dots to inspire others. But if you feel that you’re having a tough time handling this, I believe I can help. Let’s connect: https://meetme.so/GregNichvalodoff or greg@inscapeconsulting.com.
