I’m sure you are familiar with Gandhi's quote, “Be the change you want to see in the world” and Zig Ziglar’s quote “You must be before you can do”. You may not have realized it but both where zeroing in on what it truly means to be a leader with a vision. With the same sense of responsibility, I believe every leader must “become the vision they want to achieve”.

Effective leadership is about purposefully inspiring and energizing people to act in a direction towards a goal you helped them understand and believe is worthy and meaningful. That's why great leaders must possess the ability to create, communicate and become a powerful vision that will not only excite the minds of their followers but inspire them to go "beyond" their current boundaries. Three quick steps you can take to "become the vision" you want others to embrace and achieve are:

1. Own the Vision

One of my favorite bible verses states, "Where there is no vision, the people perish." (Proverbs 29:18.) I once had a leader tell me that he didn’t want to create a vision because “what if he gets it wrong, he might get fired”. To him it was “safer” to just wing it and embrace whatever happens as something he expected to happen all along. Now don’t get me wrong, he wrote a "traditional vision statement" (one of those one-sentence visions that you have to figure out on your own what it means exactly). It was a safe vision statement but no one understood it and he wasn’t explaining it. If you had to ask, you were the one who needed help, not him.

Okay, I don’t like to use this term and I don't mean it personally but “what a cop-out”. I think he failed to realize that the vision wasn’t about “him” it was and will always be about “them”. He failed to realize the “power of a vision” in getting people to do and create things they never dreamed of or thought they had the ability to create. Great leaders know that they must first possess confidence and a strong belief in their own abilities if they truly want to influence and change the present course and action in the organizations they lead. They must not only believe but be willing to speak of their belief and vision of a future state if they ever want to inspire and motivate others towards that vision.

2. Create a “Compelling Vision Story”

When championing a vision, leaders need to first practice what is referred to as "idealized influencing", leading with charisma, confidence and a clear sense of mission and purpose. They must demonstrate a strong commitment to their vision by purposefully generating enthusiasm and excitement within the organization around the future state. They must also work to arouse the right emotions and reactions within their followers to lead them to want to closely identify with and follow them as a leader. one way this is accomplished is through the creation and communication of a compelling “vision story”. one leader I knew was very good at crafting a vision that captured and motivated the employees to rally behind a common cause and goal that she saw as worthy. For example, in helping the organization emotionally connect with where she wanted to take the organization, she crafted (with the help of her leadership team) a four page detailed vision of what the future state of the organization could be like. She knew the one sentence" approach was not enough to move the mountain she saw before her. The vision story she created was written two years in the future and featured an employee walking around and observing a different kind of organization while describing in detail everything they saw and experienced in the future. They not only talked about how the work environment was "positively" different from their perspective but also from the view point of those they served within the organization as well, their internal clients. It was vivid and emotionally captivating, connecting employees to a future they could literally now dream about. This leader not only created a compelling vision story but became the voice of the vision in her daily interactions and in the process led her organization to achieve their goals and ultimately a new future organizational state.

3. Be Your Own Greatest Salesperson

Developing and communicating the vision is just the beginning. Leaders must also be able to continually "sell the vision", continually inspire and convince others to climb on board, stick it out, whether in good times or bad. In other words, they must become the vision they want to achieve in the eyes of those they lead. How a leader not only "frames" but also sees and becomes the voice of the future and the organizations purpose is critical for long-term support.

This can be illustrated in a story that has been passed down concerning three replies from three bricklayers when asked about their job. When the first bricklayer was asked what job he was doing, he replied, "I am laying bricks, one on top on each other". When the second bricklayer was asked what he was doing he replied, "I am building a great wall". However, when the third bricklayer was asked what he was doing he replied, "I am changing the world! I am building a new gateway to the West. A place where people from all over the world will have an opportunity to come and visit new places, meet new people, make new friends. I am building one of the most advanced travel facilities in the world. Millions of people will benefit from the work I am doing. This airport will change lives!" The difference in how each bricklayer saw their same job is an example of how important it is for the leaders to create, speak of and "frame" the future purpose and vision of the organization. The first two bricklayers where just doing their jobs, however, the third bricklayer was inspired and motivated because he was changing the world. He was sold on the future and was not afraid to tell everyone.

Becoming the vision means purposefully creating, communicating, inspiring and weaving the true essence of the vision into the day-to-day rhythm of the organization. It's about walking the talk in the present while speaking the truth of the future as a leader, day in and day out. It's about painting a picture of a brighter future today by being a role model and an example for others to follow on the path to a better tomorrow. The choice to "become the vision" is up to the chooser, you. As a leader will you just create the vision or truly "become the vision" you want others to create?