The Importance of Vision and Strengths

Inspiring excellence in 21st century 
learning environments to empower students for tomorrow....Yes, that is my personal vision statement.  

After a recent assignment for a class at DBU, I was instructed to discuss the importance of vision, personal passions, and a personal best-case scenario for the future, just to name a few.  In addition, I've recently taken StrengthsFinders test and discovered my top five themes.  My top theme was futuristic.  Funny enough, I wrote about the importance of vision before the StrengthFinders test determined futuristic was my top strength.  

Nelson Mandela once said, “Action without vision is only passing time, vision without action is merely day dreaming, but vision with action can change the world.”  A simple statement with profound implications, Mr. Mandela shared the importance of vision.  Vision comes from relationships with others and builds off of the past and present in order to elongate the future.   Visionary leaders have a burning desire to transform what “is” to what “can be”. 

In The Leadership Challenge, Kouzes and Posner lay out a framework for creating a vision reflecting on the past, attending to the present, and prospecting the future.  Exemplary leaders are forward-looking.  They are able to envision the future, to gaze across the horizon of time and imagine greater opportunities to come.  Great leaders think long term.  Marcus Buckingham writes in The One Thing You Need to Know, “Leaders are fascinated by the future.  You are a leader if and only if, you are restless for change, impatient for progress and deeply dissatisfied with status quo…because in your head, you can see a better future.  The friction between ‘what is’ and ‘what could be’ burns you, stirs you up, and propels you.”  This is visionary leadership. That sense of meaning and purpose must come from within and a vision must have meaning to those in, around, and outside the organization. Kouzes and Posner state, “When visions are shared they attract more people, sustain higher levels of motivation, and withstand more challenges than those that are singular”. 

In a 21^st century world operating schools with an industrialized factory model, visions are more important than ever.  The future of our children depends on leaders to create a new vision of transformation and 21^st century educational experiences.  Through the dedication and beliefs of Texas public education stakeholders and leaders of the visionary Schlechty Institute, a new vision for public education in Texas has emerged.  Their vision begins the process of transforming more leaders to believe a greater future for our students.

In addition to being futuristic, I am a maximizer.  I like to find strengths in others and build upon those - that indirectly often allows relationships to grow and creates an environment appropriate for overcoming weaknesses.  Focusing on strengths as a way to stimulate personal and group excellence helps me seek to transform something strong into something superb. That will be my focus for McClatchey Elementary.