Vision - Dealing with the Critics

Ken Thomas, President of Connect Ministries

Every leader understands that casting a vision to those you lead is a major part of leading your team well. In fact, if people do not know where they are going, they will not be willing to follow you as the leader. All of us can relate to that. We would not follow someone to a place they can’t describe or explain. Casting vision (and having a vision for your organization) is one of the first basic ingredients of leadership. If a leader doesn’t know where they are going, how will they know when they get there? It is fundamental to leadership to not only have a vision but to be able to articulate that vision to your team.

But as soon as you articulate that big vision to your team - be prepared for the critics to speak up. It has been my experience that they are always in the room or online. They love to try and derail the plan. They find great satisfaction in “throwing a wet blanket on the fire.” I have learned over the years to embrace the critics - welcome the critics to the conversation. One of the main reasons to welcome the critics is because sometimes they can help sharpen your vision. They may see something differently than you and their feedback can actually make the vision clearer and more efficient as you move forward. Don’t silence the critics - be ready for them.

One reason critics show up (and there are more than one for sure) is because vision always involves change and gaps. Change and gaps equal threats. When people feel threatened by a new vision, they will usually respond in a defensive manner. Try to identify what might threaten your team before you officially share the vision with everyone. If you do this, you can be ready to address those threats before they ever get mentioned by your team. This can go a long way in getting the team on board with the new vision. Also, you will want to involve your team in the creation of the new vision - that is one of the best ways to reduce the threats that may surface. If your team is large and you are unable to involve everyone, make sure to involve your leadership team and have them seek input from their team in the creation process.

So many times as a leader, we can let all the questions prevent us from moving forward. A God-ordained vision always has more questions than answers at first – don’t let the “how” questions discourage you. Record those “how” questions and create a plan to address all those questions one at a time. As you do this, your vision will get clearer and much easier to articulate. When that happens, be ready for the momentum to kick in for your team.