We could also have called this post How to help people to see what you see.
It stems from a conversation Pete Aldin had with an entrepreneur friend of his in Australia. The man felt that his staff and partners seem to always translate his goals & ideas into work & problems rather than into possibilities & innovation.
His ultimate vision is about resourcing latent leadership & development projects in 3rd world countries, so there is a strong altruistic theme to this man’s life. It wasn’t about making a bunch of people make him more money; it was about enlisting them in turning the business toward fulfilling a greater good.
Still he struggles to bring people on board.
What follows are a few thought-starters and “tips” for him from people who’ve had to cast vision as a manager, a team leader, an author, an entrepreneur. They were asked to answer the question: How could this leader draw people into his vision?
Develop a sense of shared destiny
Demonstrate personal conviction
Be resolute and confident
Be optimistic and make positive predictions
Make the intangible tangible
Make the vision sticky, smelly, noisy, and noisy and flashy, as well, with detail!
Find ways to live your vision - even in microcosm. Those who have eyes to see, will! And having seen, they will know that they can do the same and even long for more.
Robert Hruzek
Inspire them with a story. Pretty simple, really, but if you share your vision in story form, it draws folks in much easier than with bare facts and figures.
Whatever you know, don’t be afraid to share it! You might just change a life! Here’s a post that illustrates this.
The best way to help people see the world you see is to understand their world first. When your vision runs into someone else’s boundaries, it’s far too easy to try to change that person instead of trying to understand them. If you want to be a writer, whether of a fantasy novel or a corporate vision, you have to understand your readers and what they want from you. You have to learn how to engage their excitement without stretching them too far. Once you can do this, you can lead people into a world they want to believe in, and they will follow you with enthusiasm.
But the writer also has to understand that this kind of visionary leadership is a promise to the readers of a certain future experience–a kind of emotional contract. If you fulfill that contract, they will be even more eager to follow you again.
Mike DeWitt
Think complex, not complicated.
Favorite 100 Bloggers
These are all great, and right on the money. Somebody give Troy Worman a CEO job, right now!
I like Robert’s answer. Inspire them with a story!
Thanks for putting this together, Pete! (Oh, but if you would be so kind, it’s “Sky,” not “Skye.”)
Wow, I didn’t know as much about it as you’ve shared here since we were putting together some ‘overarching’ thoughts on the topic. Your friend faces more than the usual stumbling blocks in dealing with third world entrepreneurship. We have all been deeply programmed to believe that it is almost impossible to make a difference in such places.
Of course it isn’t impossible at all, but it’s some powerful programming to overcome.
Knowing this, I have more specific advice: he needs to make the leaders and entrepreneurs ‘real’ to the people he wants to sign on back home. These leaders need to be specific individuals, not just ‘theoretical people.’ Video would be ideal–clips of these leaders talking with enthusiasm about their dreams for their communities, for their countries.
They can be anyone–male or female, young or old. The important thing is their enthusiasm, optimism, and energy level. That’s what will sell the idea, what will make it seem achievable.
(This sell is going to be all about ‘hacking’ that programming. If he’d like to talk more, give him my address and tell him to e-mail me.)
Oh dear, my one typo and it’s in an author’s NAME! I do apologise, EM! Your additional ideas here are gold.
Thanks all of you for your collaboration on this.
And I’ll fix that typo now! ;)
LOL. No problem. :)
Brilliant thoughts all around. There are four key steps that I have personally used in developing the people around me:
1. Stimulate Development
The first requirement in stimulating development in people is being able to discern what their gifts and talents are. A person’s gifts and talents are the seed of his or her potential.
2. Motivate Development
I have found that the easiest way to do this is by painting a picture of the future for your people. People want to be associated with success and when they see that you are headed towards greatness they will jump aboard.
3. Encourage Development
When I was in college I read a quote that I have come to really love and appreciate a lot. I can’t remember who gave us the quote (…might have been Socrates or Plato … or one of those profoundly wise sages of the 16th Century). The quote was, “Encouragement is the oxygen of the heart”. In terms of people development I’d say encouragement is the fuel of continued growth. Every time I encourage my son I see a magnified effort in him at giving extra effort in that particular behavior.
4. Celebrate Development
People need leaders that will celebrate good performance more often than they criticize or give feedback about shallow performance. Celebration means fun. When people are having fun, nothing hurts.