An effective leader has the ability to communicate vision in a way that compels movement. An unclear vision is an uncompelling vision.
The late Howard Hendricks was a towering figure in the world of Christian leadership and Christian Education. He impacted tens of thousands through his teaching, preaching and writing. A major part of his enduring legacy was as professor for over 50 years at Dallas Theological Seminary where I was a student.
As powerful as his prepared lectures were, some of the most practical lessons about ministry came when he went "off script" and began sharing insights and anecdotes from his decades in ministry. We always knew he was about to give us one of these rare gems when he began the sentence by saying “Listen, men and women…” and what followed next was often worth the price of tuition for the class. Here’s one of my all-time favorites:
A mist in the pulpit is a fog in the pew.
I’m not even sure that saying is original to Hendricks but this was among the best of those impromptu lessons he gave. His point was a challenge to take seriously the responsibility of standing in front of a congregation and opening up the Bible to share what it says. If a preacher is in any way unclear about what he is communicating, the audience will feel it and be unclear themselves. What is so insightful about this statement — and so tragic for the one up front doing the communicating — is that those on the receiving end may not even be aware of the fog because they may not know the difference. But the preacher does.
You can begin to see how this statement also applies to the dynamics of leadership and ministry. If God has put you in a position to shepherd and guide a group of people — a small group, a team of staff, an entire congregation — into some preferred future, you are leading. My challenge is to take seriously the responsibility of standing in front of that group and asking them to follow you to this new destination.
One mark of an effective leader is the ability to communicate vision in a way that clearly compels people to move. The danger comes when the leader tries to cast a vision that isn’t totally clear yet. One common mistake I’ve seen in leaders (and one I’ve made myself) is to try and lead before the idea is fully baked. If you’re not clear on where you want the organization to go, you may discover you’re having trouble getting people to follow you.
What’s wrong with casting a vision that’s not fully baked? It shows vulnerability, that the leader isn’t perfect. Everyone can go on a journey of discover together. It leaves room for the Spirit. On some level that’s all true and may work for smaller settings but that attitude towards leadership will not scale well. When you increase the size of vision, the size of the audience or the amount of resources required, the stakes get higher, too.
If you’re not clear on where you want to go, you may discover you’re having trouble getting people to follow you.
A mist in the vision is a fog in the plan. Speaking as someone whose expertise it is to develop plans that execute on a vision, it’s hard to create a clear strategy for accomplishing an unclear vision. A sure sign of an unclear vision with an unclear plan is if your staff team hears the vision and then just goes back to what they were doing before. If the organization lacks a clear plan, you will struggle to gain traction and create a sense of forward momentum. You can only go before them so many times with an unclear vision before the people you're leading begin to lose trust in you. Without some kind of action step you’re asking in response, you’re really just sharing ideas. And worse, your best leaders may conclude you’re not really serious and eventually stop listening.
A vision has consequences. Have you ever thought about what would happen if you didn’t accomplish your vision? Exploring the alternative is one way to find some clarity. That’s not to say you should use fear or force to require action. If you come across like an angry parent threatening a disobedient child (“You need to obey me or there will be consequences!”) you have made a grave leadership error. But if this is a spiritual endeavor, there should be gospel outcomes that result from accomplishing your vision and some sense of loss or disappointment if you don’t.
An unclear vision is an uncompelling vision. (Did I just make up a word? No, it's in the dictionary.) It’s harder to lead a congregation of unpaid volunteers than a team of paid staff. It’s just easier for them to vote with their feet and leave the church or be recalcitrant and simply refuse to budge. One of the most effective ways to lead a congregation in a new direction is to paint a compelling picture of this preferred future and invite them to go there together. But it takes a very rare communicator to make an unclear vision actually sound compelling in a way that creates movement.
A mist in the pulpit is a fog in the pew. A mist in the vision is a fog in the plan.
When in the process of navigating church mergers, there is often some reluctance on the part of the “old guard” who have been a part of the existing congregation for decades. In one such instance during our various meetings with the congregation, we came to know a particularly kindly but crusty old gentleman who sat mostly silent in our gatherings. Towards the end of the process when a decision was imminent, he spoke up with eyes glistening said, “I want to see children coming to Christ again in this church. I want to see families filling the halls again. We need to approve this merger.” He caught the clear vision for how two churches could be better together, he had considered the consequences if they didn’t do it and he understood what action step he needed to take in order to accomplish it.
What have you and your team done to find clarity about where your organization is going? I would love to hear what you're learning. Send a quick note to me at mv@michaelvolbeda.com.