The Clarity of Vision
In working with individuals, organizations or communities, achieving clarity of vision is essential. Effective helpers do two things; they help envision a better future and a better process. In short, we envision the ends (outcome) and the means to achieve it (process).
Some people have a rather limited view of the world of possibilities. Some people grew up in conditions of abuse or family repression, and that’s all they know. Others grew up in families where nobody went to college. Some people are accustomed to pain and suffering and cannot imagine a world without it. We can never underestimate the importance of presenting alternatives to the personal, organizational, or collective status quo. A vision of a better future, or even examples of what it might be like living without oppression, without abuse, without hunger, can be empowering.
The second role of the helper is to formulate, with partners, values and ground rules for the work together. What values should guide the collaboration? If we’re working in a group, do we choose to make decisions by consensus? What ground rules do we follow? It is best to decide together. Setting the parameters and expectations together builds ownership and commitment.
To craft a vision of a better future we need to stimulate people’s imagination. Provocative questions can help. We can try to answer together questions like: what would it be like if our children finished college? What would it be like if we lived without fear of crime in our community? What would it be like if we lived without fear? What would it be like if everyone had health insurance, or housing? Brainstorming answers can be stimulating. Examples from other communities or other lives where people enjoy safety, housing, health care, jobs, and racial harmony can also be energizing.
What about values for the process of working together? For some people this is a surprising exercise. Nobody asked them before how we should solve a problem, let alone how we should work together as a team. In many instances, this would be the first time they are asked their opinion about how to resolve an issue, or how to approach a problem. We recommend asking about what an ideal process would look like in their minds. We can reassure partners that there are no wrong answers. We can write on a board or flip chart their answers and decide by consensus the ground rules.
We can ask the group what it would mean to promote self-determination, caring and compassion or respect for diversity in the process. Some might say that everyone needs to be heard, that there should be rotating leadership, or that people should share the load. Once the group generates a vision for how they want to work together, you can revisit it before every meeting.
To be inspiring, a vision has to be realistic. Pie in the sky breeds disillusion more than action. In addition, a vision has to be owned by the community, organization, or individual. It cannot be your vision imposed on somebody else. We have to be cautious not to come to the scene with a cooked version of our vision. Similarly, we have to let people struggle to come up with their own vision without too much help from us. We needn’t rescue them. Visions have to be realistic and participatory. The same applies to the process of working together. The group needs to own its ground rules.
In working with a community organization, my colleagues and I felt that the process was not going well. We had discussed sharing the leadership but no one from the organization had stepped forward. By default, my team was running the meetings, until one day I provoked a mini-crisis and asked the partner organization if they were really committed to the process. The question created some discomfort around the room, but it revealed important information. It turns out they didn’t like our approach. They didn’t like the way we were leading the process and were somewhat passive about it all. Once I asked the simple question what’s wrong, they told us that they were frustrated by the way we “university people” were conducting the meetings. It was all too abstract for them. They wanted more action. They wanted to get out to the community and start “doing something.” We were “too much into planning.” I challenged them to articulate their vision for the process and they did. Until that point, they had felt that they couldn’t challenge us “university people.” Once permission was granted to discuss the process, they expressed their misgivings and decided to take matters into their own hands. I was only too happy to see that they took ownership of the process.
A common pitfall in creating visions for the future or the process is the pursuit of perfection. Some people want to have a perfect vision or a perfect process laid out before they proceed to action. Others, in turn, like our partners in the previous example, want to get out there and “do something.” It is important for the vision not to block action, if that is what people want. At the same time, it is important to realize that without a vision, or some planning, actions can too easily reproduce the same status quo we so hard try to change.
Dr. Isaac Prilleltensky is an award-winning academic and author. He is also a coach, consultant and a researcher. His latest book, co-authored with his wife, Dr. Ora Prilleltensky, is How People Matter: Why it Affects Health, Happiness, Love, Work, and Society (Cambridge University Press, 2021). Press here to order.