“The most pathetic person in the world is someone who has sight but no vision.” – Helen Keller

Vision is the backbone of any successful organization. If you were to look at some of the most earth shattering achievements the human race has ever accomplished, there will always be a vision worth following somewhere in the background.

We spend countless hours developing vision. From late nights laying awake in bed to endless round table meetings with the teams we lead, vision is one of the most uttered words in our vocabulary. Well, at least it should be.

There is a disconnect in many organizations when it comes to vision, however. After all that time spent developing a vision worth following, it can be easy to communicate it once and then frame it on a nice hanging wall picture. Then, we just expect it to stay at the forefront of our ministry all by itself. We as leaders need to be relentless in repeating the vision often so our teams can remain energized and inspired.

Inspiring people with the vision is a tough challenge for many leaders. As leaders, we eat, sleep, and breathe vision . . . we hear it all the time. We can often feel kind of crazy repeating the vision over and over because we know it so well. However, the people that we serve don’t hear it all the time. If you want to inspire the people that you lead you must repeat the vision often. Here are some thoughts that will help you inspire the people you lead to a greater good.

• Repeat the vision often: When you constantly repeat the vision, people will know it. It doesn’t take long for “vision drift” to occur if it isn’t on the forefront of peoples minds. The more often you repeat the vision, the more connected people will be to it.
• Live it out: If a clean and organized environment is part of the vision you have for your organization then your office better be clean and organized. If strong communication is part of how you view success then you, the leader, should be an effective communicator. Live it out! Words without action will inspire no one.
• Reward success: When someone in your organization gets it right, let everyone know. Share success stories, compliments, and impactful moments with the rest of the team. As leaders, we always hear the good stuff, but the people we serve don’t always get the same. Make it a priority to inspire them by retelling those stories. It really builds momentum.
• Let every “miss” be an opportunity to grow: You will not hit a homerun every time. I know in my experience though I never really learn something through successes. It’s when we fail that we are really given a chance to become better. Call every success a success and every failure an opportunity.

Only when a strong and inspiring vision is lived out daily and repeated often can it truly take the place of importance it is meant to have. Do the hard work to make that vision stick! You won’t be disappointed.