The Leadership Seven Article

“Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point. ” ― C.S. Lewis

Courage is a necessary condition for the consistent and successful application of the capabilities outlined in the Leadership Seven. Casting a vision, communicating, coaching an employee or volunteer, seeking feedback, and adhering to moral and ethical standards, all hold courage as a necessary condition for execution. Each of these activities, by presenting personal, relational, and professional risks, can induce anxiety and fear. Overcoming and acting in the face of these fears requires courage. For this reason, courage operates as an essential catalyst to the enactment of leadership and is our first focal capability.

Unlike many of the Leadership Seven capabilities that may come naturally to some, finding, and building courage is a nearly universal challenge for leaders. Courage is rarely a default setting when confronting change, difficult circumstances, or uncomfortable decisions. Instead, we tend to shrink from risk and uncertainty, resulting in a “would be” leader paralyzed by inaction. For this reason, courage frequently represents an override of our hard-wiring and requisite condition for action in the face of these anxieties or fears. In this way, your life and your leadership can only grow in proportion to your courage.

The opportunity cost of inaction for leaders, organizations, and our communities is massive. While inaction may insulate you from risk and create the illusion of safety and security, it comes at the cost of opportunity, progress, fulfillment, and personal growth. Ultimately, unlocking the totality of your potential as a person and a leader will require courage.

In the discussion below, we will examine courage in leadership, and how you might become more courageous.

When do Leaders Need Courage?

Bill Treasurer, author of Courage Goes to Work, describes three circumstances in which courage is required in. Each is reducible to a decision to act—to try, to challenge, to ask for help.

Courage to Try:

“Courage doesn’t happen when you have all the answers. It happens when you are ready to face the questions you have been avoiding your whole life.”― Shannon L. Alder

At some point in your business education at East Carolina, you were (or will be) taught the critical differences between leadership and management. Greatly simplified, good management is defined as the delivery of consistency and predictability in outcomes—that is, a manager’s goal is often codifying processes and practices in a way that assures predictable results. Good leadership, on the other hand, is about initiating and shepherding change and innovation, generally in the direction of some positive improvement in how well a team or organization fulfills its purpose. While both management and leadership require skill, leadership begins with a willingness to change—in short, the courage to say “I/We can/must be better”.

Beyond a general aversion to anxiety and fear, the human mind tends to fixate quickly on a point of view, and in the process, resists change. Look around and you will find no shortage of people rusted onto ideas, approaches to the delivery of a product or service, or simply a way of thinking or acting.

These individuals find challenges to these ideas and approaches as a challenge to their comfort. Rather than endure the discomfort that challenges to their convictions or patterns of behaviors creates, they will settle for less-than-optimal outcomes. When their comfort is the priority, leadership stops, and the opportunity cost of inaction begins to accrue in their lives. The leader recognizes that temporary discomfort is the necessary price of growth and progress—to them personally, and the world around them.

Considered personally, the idea of self-leadership implies a state of constant change, growth, and discovery—in short, a journey towards the best version you. This journey means you must find the courage to confront long-held assumption, skill-gaps, and well-worn patterns of behavior, and find the courage to try something new.

In the context of teams, groups, and organizations, initiating change and new ways of thinking and behaving introduces tension to not just your own circumstance, but the circumstances of others. For this reason, introducing change should always be done carefully, and only when there is a compelling and well-considered reason. However, finding the courage to try something new is the moment leadership begins.

Courage to Trust:

“To share your weakness is to make yourself vulnerable; to make yourself vulnerable is to show your strength.” ― Criss Jami

Perhaps the most important form of courage the humility to admit that you need others—you need their input and feedback, you need their talents, you need their energy, and you need their effort. Many of us are conditioned to believe that leadership is about providing answers—it is not. In fact, a more accurate idea of leadership is that of an asker of questions—for example: how can we serve our customers?; how do we increase the value of a student group to its member?; or how do we exceed expectations in the delivery of a class project? Leadership is not arriving to the circumstance with an answer and simply convincing other to implement your ideas. Leadership is about enlisting others to help provide the best answer these questions. This approach means providing people the freedom to contribute fully to “how” we might answer the important questions before an organization. In sum, great leaders express fidelity to finding the best answer to these strategic questions and unknowns, not to their answer to these questions. This approach requires humility and a willingness to be vulnerable and surrender control, which requires courage. Doing so produces not just better answers but builds the commitment and ownership in others that is so critical to implementation.

Courage is required to trust others. Asking for meaningful input and giving responsibility to others places you at risk, especially when it involves something important to you. This vulnerability and risk are frequently compounded by the fact that we all tend to think our ideas are the most brilliant, our experiences the most relevant, and our work the most exceptional. Entrusting others with responsibility for outcomes that matter to you is not easy. Leaders find the courage and humility to say, “I need help”, and then finding and trusting others to provide it.

The idea of the leader as an all-knowing authority are long past. In its place we understand leadership to be one of intellectual openness, humility, and an acknowledgement that the best leaders need only to provide the right questions, and then enlist others to help answer these questions.

Courage to Tell:

“I shall assume that your silence gives consent.”—Plato

The courage to tell involves the courage to raise difficult issues and tell the truth. Too often, leaders fear blowback, rejection, or damaging relationships when they speak up. So, they bite their tongues and hope the issue or behavior changes or resolves itself. Most often, the situation will persist, and your silence only compounds the difficulty of eventually addressing the issue. A leader recognizes that the kindest and relationship-honoring action is to address the issue early and clearly. This includes relational difficulties, performance and contribution issues, or behaviors inconsistent with shared values or damaging to the interests of organizational stakeholders.

Naturally, addressing these concerns should be done carefully and privately, when possible. More importantly, prior to “Telling”, examine your motive carefully. If your motive is anything but the restoration of a relationship, the success of the other individual, or the best interests of the organization, keep it to yourself. Defending the health of the relationship and organization is courageous. Sharing your every thought or judgement is rarely productive and is not courageous, it is reckless, exhausting and often damaging.

The courage to tell also includes a willingness to admit your mistakes and say, “I am sorry”. You will screw up. You will make mistakes. We all do. When you do, own both the mistake and any consequence that may come of it. You will learn that it is rarely the mistake or error that compromise a leader, but rather the decision to ignore, deflect, or cover up their mistake that destroy credibility and undermines trust. Conversely, a willingness to admit your failings support transparency, builds trust, and gives permission to others to be honest.

Responding to failure

“Failure isn’t fatal, but failure to change might be” – John Wooden

The courage to try, tell, and trust involves the risk of failure. It is true that when you step out courageously, you will fail eventually—new ideas will fail, people you trusted will disappoint you, and your voice may fail on deaf ears. The all-important question is our response and interpretation of this failure—is it simply an event, a moment in time, from which we can grow and learn? Or do we interpret it as a reflection of our worth and capability? The correct answer, of course, is that failure is an event that teaches us, and allows us to take on the next challenge smarter, and more resilient. No failure is permanent unless we allow it to be. Leaders feel the sting of failure in the same way everyone does, however, they choose to take the learning, and move on.

A Japanese proverb advises that we must “Fall down seven times, stand up eight” (Nana korobi, ya oki). In many ways, this adage describes the story arc of most great leaders. Many of our leadership icons- e.g., Steve Jobs and Abraham Lincoln, endured numerous failures. Indeed, our libraries and bookstores abound with stories of great leaders who endured repeated failure but found the courage to endure and try again. Rather than view these failures as life sentences, they learned from these events and moved forward more intelligently and armed with the lessons that only failure can teach.

Remember where we began this discussion—the price of inaction is unrealized opportunity, potential, and progress. So, focus not on the perils of failure, but on the future you compromise if you don’t try again.

Building Courage

“We are all of us not merely liable to fear, we are also prone to be afraid of being afraid, and the conquering of fear produces exhilaration.…The contrast between the previous apprehension and the present relief and feeling of security promotes a self-confidence that is the very father and mother of courage.” ― Malcolm Gladwell

Courage can be developed. You may notice that when you successfully confront and overcome a scary or novel circumstance, your fear is often replaced with a euphoria born of relief (and sometimes astonishment that you survived after all!). The next time may still be scary, but you now know you will survive and will invariably approach that circumstance with more courage than first. Therefore, the key to the development of courage is to act courageously. If you wait for courage to come before you act, you’ll never do anything. Courage only comes from doing the things we are afraid to do. Building the courage to try, trust, and tell will unlock opportunities for leadership and are a necessary first step in your development as a leader.

The most courageous leaders find their courage for the big moments in the reservoir of courage created by a thousand small decisions to act when others are still. Courage creates action. Action creates confidence. Confidence allows us to fulfill our potential as a leader.

Courage is a muscle that requires exercise and attention.

It is your Move….

How courageous are you?

Regardless of your stage of life, we can live fuller and more impactful lives if we give attention to the development of courage. As students, you are expected to try many new things. So, experiment aggressively. Ask questions. Speak up. Take chances. Try new things. Learn new skills. Explore new ideas.

Here are a few ideas that you can put to work immediately:

• Start small. Strike up a conversation with a stranger, make a phone call you have been delaying, answer a question in class. If you get a bit nervous thinking about it, it is an opportunity to express and build courage.
• Name your fears. Is it meeting new people? Speaking up? Suggesting new ideas? Public speaking? What about these activities scares you? Rejection? Failure? Think deeply about the root cause of the fear—naming and understanding it is the first step to overcoming it.
• Create a visible cue to act courageously. Write yourself a note. Put a sticker on your laptop. A post it on your mirror. Remind yourself and be intentional until it simply becomes a natural expression of your approach to life and leadership.
• Do something that scares you. If you are not routinely feeling the butterflies in your belly, you are unlikely to be growing.
• Reveal your fears and be vulnerable. Authentic leaders build trust sharing their fears with others. Identify a couple areas you are struggling with and ask for help.
• Seek feedback. Whether from a trusted friend, a mentor, or peer. Ask them how you can be better, and then act on it.
• Introduce yourself to some who is living your dream. Whatever your aspiration, find a person who is currently living that aspiration and ask for their help.
• Find opportunities to challenge the status quo. In the organizations you belong, where are their opportunities for improvement? How can you enlist others in making things better, faster, or truer to the team’s mission?
• Apologize. Who do you owe anyone an apology? Before the day is over, make the apology.
• Here are some questions for private reflection and action:
• What aspiration or dream for your life is on hold due to fear of change or risk? What steps can you take today, however small, to the realization of these dreams.
• What are the causes that matter most to you personally? Are you a vocal and active advocate for this cause? If not, what is stopping you? What can you do today to put yourself in a position to advance this important cause?
• What have you been hoping to try, and have not? Playing an instrument? Leading a student group? Joining a club? Develop a plan to do it.

Suggested Readings:

Ashkenas, R. (2014, July 23). Speaking Up Takes Confidence, Candor, and Courage. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2011/08/speaking-up-takes-confidence-c

Baldwin, J. (2014, July 23). Courage for Tough Times. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2008/05/courage-for-tough-times

Bregman, P. (2019, November 26). Great Leaders Are Confident, Connected, Committed, and Courageous. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2018/07/great-leaders-are-confident-connected-committed-and-courageous

Detert, J. R. (2018, November 6). The Right Way to Speak Truth to Power. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2018/11/cultivating-everyday-courage

Detert, J. R. (2022, January 7). What Courageous Leaders Do Differently. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2022/01/what-courageous-leaders-do-differently

Gladwell, M. (2013). David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants. Little, Brown, and Company.

Treasurer, B. (2008). Courage goes to work: How to build backbones, boost performance, and get results. Berrett-Koehler Publisher.

Treasurer, B. (2011). Courageous leadership: A program for using courage to transform the workplace participant workbook. Pfeiffer.

Focal Capability: Vision

“You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand.” —Woodrow Wilson 

Leaders cast vision—an idea that almost feels cliché for all the rhetoric related to the importance of vision to successful leadership. While many would agree that “vision” is vital to extraordinary leadership, it’s development and communication remain to most a mysterious and daunting responsibility. We know it matters, yet the process of developing and communicating a vision remains elusive to many.

A leader always looks forward, guided by a clear picture of a future they are working to create. A well-crafted and communicated vision provides clarity of purpose and provides direction. Let’s explore the essential elements and benefits of a compelling vision.

The Anatomy of a Vision 

Often, we perceive vision as a succinct sentence designed to fit neatly on the letterhead or above the reception desk. However, for a well-led team or organization, it is the product of an on-going conversation among team members related to three critical elements—the purpose of the organization, the current state of the organization, and how the journey from the current state to the vision state aligns to the interests and ambitions of the stakeholder. In the following section, we examine the role of each of these elements in creating a vision that motivates and directs.

Visions begins with “WHY?” 

“Life is never made unbearable by circumstances, but only by lack of meaning and purpose.”—Viktor Frankl

Every organization exists to serve some foundational purpose or reason for being. Generally, it is a problem that must be resolved or a need that must be met. A vision describes the organization’s aspiration to fully solve that problem or meet that need. It creates a picture of the future the organization is working to create—in short, a vision articulates the “why” of an organization’s existence, creating a picture of the future it aims to realize.

Leadership, at its core is directional; it exists not for its own sake, but rather to stimulate progress and advancement toward a desired future. When a vision describes the fulfillment, the “why,” or purpose of any effort, it gives form and direction to its leadership and is the basis for the imagined future described in the vision. For a bank, the “why” may be ensuring customer security or the creation of opportunity; a health system might focus on community wellness; a student group might prioritize connecting people, learning, and creating opportunity for its members. For the E.C.U. College of Business, it is creating

leaders and change-makers who contribute to creating, advancing, and driving innovation in our communities, state, and global communities.

“A change in perspective is worth 80 I.Q. points”—Alan Kay 

The “Why” provides perspective. In his seminal work “Man’s Search for Meaning,” Dr. Viktor Frankl concludes that “people can live with any what, if there is a sufficient why.” Said another way, when the purpose or goal of any endeavor is sufficiently worthwhile, people will sacrifice and find the necessary strength and means to make it a reality. A vision leverages the truth of Dr. Frankl’s observation by providing a worthwhile destination and meaning to the journey.

Consider two stone masons found methodically and patiently passing their days shaping rough stones into squares. When the first was asked what he was doing, he simply responded, “My job is to convert these rough stones into perfect squares.” When asked the same question, the second responded, “I am providing perfectly honed stones that will be used to build a magnificent cathedral that will endure for millennia.” Two people performing the same task. Two vastly different perspectives. While the first may take some satisfaction in the repeated creation of perfect squares, the second is surely tapping a deeper well of purpose and motivation by leading with the “why” of the effort.

John Scully, CEO of Pepsi during the period it grew to become world’s largest brand, was recruited by Steve Jobs to a fledgling Apple Computer with a simple question— “do you want continue to make sugar water or come with me and change the world?” Steve Jobs knew intuitively the disruptive potential of Apple and leveraged this potential future to not just recruit and retain the best talent but generate a consumer loyalty that is the envy of every consumer brand company.

Focusing on the ‘Why’ centers attention on the end goal rather than just the means. Regular reminders of vision remind all involved that the organization’s first loyalty is to the future it is trying to create, not a particular process, approach, product, or service. In fact, by definition, a vision implicates the present state. The vision becomes a benchmark, suggesting that any new idea promising to align better with the organization’s purpose deserves consideration. The prioritization of the ends we are trying to create, rather than the means (products/features/services), protects a team or organization from the surest path to obsolescence– falling in love with today’s approach.

Two organizations in the same industry and serving the same customer are in a race to better meet the needs of their customers. Simon Sinek points out that most organizations are so focused and in love with the “how and what” (specific processes, products, or services), that the “why” of their existence is lost. The inevitable outcome of this misplaced priority is team/organizational obsolescence as sooner or later another team/organization will discover new and better answers to fulfilling the “why”.

A vision provides the leverage and mandate to challenge and improve current approaches. It also liberates people creatively and allows them to explore new and different answers to how we most impactfully progress towards the vision. In a vision led team or organization, the future is not simply the past plus 3-4%– more is possible and the answers to the question of “how’ we get there is always open to challenge.

Visions induce healthy tension. 

Leadership focuses on catalyzing change—moving from the current reality to a hoped-for future. To do so, it is necessary to challenge the status quo, and that is never easy. We all know change isn’t easy, but it is essential for growth, innovation, progress, and true leadership. Motivating others to embrace the new or unknown means creating a healthy tension in others between the reality of the current state, and the promise of a better way.

While a vision describes what could or should be, without the clear articulation of the problem or gap a team or organization is trying to solve, the team’s position relative to the vision is unknown and tension is absent. For example, if your student group is working to eliminate food insecurity for adolescents, you should understand in clear terms the size and scope of the problem. Understanding that 9,300 children (actual number) in Pitt County face food insecurity every day adds a critical tension and urgency that the vision alone cannot generate. If our vision is to “eliminate food insecurity in Pitt County adolescents,” this number anchors the team in their reality and provides a clear measure of progress in their journey towards vision attainment.

Consider Sheetz, an innovative convenience food chain. Despite having a commendable vision for providing the friendliest, cleanest, and most convenient shopping experience in the world. However, the organization soon discovered that the vision alone was insufficient. It was not until they began to ask and answer the questions of how friendly, how clean, and how convenient they were that progress towards the vision was possible. When they asked the customers these questions, their customers were clear—at the time, the answer was “not very.” What they learned left the organization in tension. There was a sizable gap between their hoped-for vision and their current reality. A fundamental tenet of human behavior is that we move in the reduction of tension Because a vision remained fixed and the only relief from this tension could be found in improving their reality, which they now work on relentlessly.

Creating urgency and overcoming complacency means that painting a hopeful future isn’t enough. This picture of the future must be held in contrast to the hard truths of the current situation. Here again, we see the importance of courage to leadership—the courage to tell the truth about the current state is an inescapable responsibility of leadership and the catalyst for inducing healthy tension in people, teams, and organizations.

Visions are about others 

“The greatest leaders mobilize others by coalescing people around a shared vision.” –Ken Blanchard

Dr. Frankl emphasized the lasting and healthy purpose must be “other-centric,” meaning it focuses in benefiting others rather than oneself. Building on this idea, Simon Sinek, author of “Start with Why” and a familiar name to anyone with an interest in leadership and access Google or YouTube, builds on this idea and asserts that a distinguishing characteristic of a worthwhile vision is it is foundationally ‘other’ centric in its orientation. Aspiring leaders should reflect on all stakeholders impacted by the organization and ask how their interests are served by the journey.

Similarly, Kouzes and Posner, in their work “The Leadership Challenge”, include “casting a shared vision” as one of the five elemental behaviors discovered in their research to be common to incidents of exemplary leadership. Noteworthy is their emphasis on the importance of the “sharedness” of a vision. This sharedness is maximized when the interests and aspirations of key stakeholders are met through the

vision’s achievement. Rarely do leaders beckon others towards the path of least resistance as this is most often the status quo. Instead, they are charting paths where resistance is inevitable. Aligned interests act as a force multiplier by personalizing the pursuit and adding weight to the “why” which we know is critical to navigating the inevitable sacrifice associated with the journey to vision accomplishment.

In sum, leaders should think deeply about all stakeholders—the customers, investors, community, employees/volunteers/members, to name just a few possibilities, and work to understand and align their interests to the achievement of the vision.

Where to begin 

We conclude with a discussion of steps you can take to develop your own vision casting capability. The discussion of the anatomy of a vision above provides a framework for all of us in building a vision. Before we begin, acknowledging the parallels between visions and goals is helpful and can help simplify your thinking as your experiment with vision-casing.

The overwhelming consensus in research is that setting clear, specific goals boosts performance for individuals and organizations alike. A review of the scholarly literature on performance would suggest that if you do nothing else as a leader, set goals for yourself, your team, and your organizations. We also know that the more specific these goals are—i.e., the clearer and more focused they are, the more powerful the impact on performance. Further, we know that when goals are measurable, they provide a clear contrast to the current state and allow for the celebration of progress and milestones.

Think of the vision as the organization’s macro goal, while individual ans the team-level goals can be viewed as mini visions. Think of vision as an organization’s overarching goal and individual or team goals as sub-visions. Essentially, setting goals equates to vision-casting.

Developing a personal vision 

Everyone should have a vision for themselves that describes the person they are working to become. This personal vision should include a clear and detailed picture of your future self– spiritually, physically, vocationally, financially, recreationally, and relationally. A useful (and a bit morbid) way to begin the development of this personal version is by asking what you might hope to hear during your eulogy. What would you hope to hear if you were present? How would they describe your contributions to your family, your community, your organizations, and others? The answer provides the picture of your future self you are working to become and is the beginning of a personal vision.

Still missing, however, is the all-important tension with the current state. Therefore, the next step is to set the contrast with the present reality. Relative to all the adjectives, contributions, and accomplishments used to describe the idealized “future you”, where do you currently stand? If you are described as generous, how generous are you currently? If you are described as a developer of people, who are you developing currently? Answering these questions honestly is difficult for even the more self-aware individuals. You should seek out candid (and sometime difficult) feedback related to your current state. Doing so will provide the necessary tension so critical to informing your next steps and creating a lifetime of steady progress towards the you that you hope to become.

Developing a vision for a team or organization 

Every vision paints a future where a specific problem is addressed, or a need is met. Therefore, any problem of consequence represents an opportunity to cast vision. Few get to cast visions that transform industries or change our daily lives, but we can all leverage the power of a clear vision. Every leader, regardless of the scale of their team, has a responsibility to shape their collective vision. When embedded in a larger organization, they must ask themselves and their team the question: if the organization is to achieve its vision, what part does my team play in making it a reality? If you consider a vision as a portrait of the future, what portion of this portrait must we paint for it to be fully realized? Aligning the objectives of individuals, teams, and larger organizations acts as a catalyst, propelling everyone toward achieving the main vision. However, it means every leader in the organization is helping their team create a picture of the desired future. When these mini visions all point in the same direction, amazing things happen.

Here is a simple three step process any leader can undertake to create a vision:

1. Clear statement of the problem.
   • The problem should be present in stark and unvarnished terms.
   • What is the available evidence of the problem—ultimately, you are endeavoring to awaken people from their complacency. In effect, you are sounding an alarm.
   • What are the stories that describe the problem? Where is the need clear?
2. Clear picture of the future we are working to create.
   • • What is our “why”, our purpose, our reason for being?
     • What if we do something about the problem? What could the future look like if we are successful beyond its wildest dreams?
     • Useful group exercise to get a team thinking and the future they might create together: If the team/organization was featured on the front page of a magazine or newspaper in five years for its amazing accomplishments, what would the headline say? What would be happening in the accompanying pictures? Why does this matter? What is this future worth creating?
3. What is in it for the key stakeholders.
   • Recall the vision needs to pass the “others” test—that is, does it consider the interests of all stakeholders of the team or organization?
   • How are people benefiting in the imagined future? How are their lives healthier, fuller, or easier? How are their gifts celebrated?
   • What interests are served through the journey from current state to future state? What about this future inspires and motivates you? Others?

The answer to these questions is input to the vision. Over time, leaders and organizational members will find simpler and more direct ways of saying things. Rally cries can emerge from these contemplations.

It is your Move… 

Becoming skilled in leveraging vision requires a forward focus. It also requires deep thought about the “whys” of teams and organizations, and the imagination to develop a picture of a future worth creating. You can build this skill by giving it proper attention.

Start with Why? Why does the organization exist? What purpose does it serve? What problem does it solve? How does this organization enrich, or simplify life?

• Find the “whys” that matter most to you. Ask yourself what purposes matter most to you? Helping others, curing a particular disease that has impacted your family, leveraging technology, etc. Pursue a “why” that matters to you. Ignite your passion!
• Seek feedback. Feedback is an invaluable input to creating an accurate picture of reality. Who are your trusted sources of feedback? If the answer is not immediate, get to work finding trusted others to provide this all-important feedback.
• Practice vision-casting. Think of it as “leading out loud”. For the organization to which you belong, consider the future it is trying to create (its why) and the current reality. How can you express and highlight this tension? If you had five minutes to wake the organization from its complacency, how would you express this tension?
• Be a fan of the future. Stay abreast of future trends, including technologies, and the possibilities they unlock in terms of the fulfillment of the purpose of the organization. For example, think deeply about the implications of Artificial Intelligence on your life and your organizations. How does it equip you to better serve your purpose?
• Find the thought leaders. What are the leaders in any field or endeavor doing? Where are they headed? Where is the frontier in your field of study?
• I have a dream. Listen to Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech (link: https://hbr.org/2007/10/the-importance-of-vision), widely considered one of history’s great rhetorical achievements. Note as you listen that Dr. King describes both the desired future in clear and vivid terms but sets this picture in stark contrast to reality of the situation at the time (e.g., Stone Mountain, GA and the then Governor of Alabama refusal to comply with federal desegregation orders). The contrast these realities provide creates a tenson in people that endures.

Suggested Readings: 

Coleman, J., & Hedges, K. (2019, August 14). Are you pursuing your vision of career success – or someone else’s? Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2019/08/are-you-pursuing-your-vision-of-career-success-or-someone-elses

Frankl, V. E. (1992). Man’s search for meaning: An introduction to logotherapy (4th ed.) (I. Lasch, Trans.). Beacon Press.

Friedman, S. D. (2014, July 23). The most compelling leadership vision. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2009/05/the-most-compelling-leadership

Gergen, C., & Vanourek, G. (2014, July 23). What’s your vision of the good life? Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2008/08/whats-your-vision-of-the-good

Mayo, T. (2014, July 23). The importance of Vision. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2007/10/the-importance-of-vision 

Sinek, S. (2011). Start with why: How great leaders inspire everyone to take action. Penguin Books. 

Verganti, R. (2014, July 23). Having ideas versus having a vision. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2010/03/having-ideas-versus-having-a-vision