Last Saturday, being the all-consuming celebration of freedom that it was, saw our group of friends parked on the beach all day. We grilled, played games, threw the frisbee, and generally had a day of it until the darkness overcame our game of Cosmic Encounter and the fireworks began. We also utterly failed at putting up a self-designed tent. On the third, my visiting brother and I, decrying the evils of an E-Z up (the primary evil being its $120 price tag), declared our independence from such frivolities and journeyed to Home Depot to purchase materials used in construction of our own version of the snap-up shelter. Made from PVC, fishing line, drip line stakes, and a tarp, this beacon of freedom would rally our partygoers in shared pursuit of the glory of thrift. We’d get shade, we’d support the ideals of individualism, and we’d feel pretty dang awesome about our ability to back-yard engineer. Nothing could go wrong.
On the surface, the setup was simple. During testing, we clocked about 130 to click in all the PVC struts to their couplings and raise the frame; believing it trivial to add the tarp, we surmised that our architecture was sound enough for the next day’s activities. When the fourth did roll around, my roommate and I confidently used the PVC to stake out (no pun) an area of the beach for our usage, then went to go collect the various chairs, blankets, and foodstuffs we would need for the day. By the time we got back, a few people had already shown up and were trying in various ways to set up the tent – and failing. The factor my brother and I hadn’t counted on was the wind, much gustier at the beach than at our apartment complex. The tarp, too large for the frame, was getting broadsided and breaking the PVC struts out of their couplings. Everyone involved had a different idea on how best to attack the problem, and consequently nothing was getting done.
Thus I stepped in, and with all the consummate skill bestowed upon me by numerous years as an engineer, began pushing my own silly agenda for how best to set up the tent. Clearly, since it was my idea, I would know how best to troubleshoot the failing design. I began retying the tarp, resticking the stakes, and generally attempting to bring the frame and the tarp more in line with my perfect vision. Others were warning me about how my methods had already been attempted to no avail, but I simply thanked them for their input and continued. It was then when a smart young friend of mine who had just returned from the Middle East brought me back to reality with a single sentence: “You tell me what to do and I’ll just let you be the guy with the vision.” This was of course the role I had unconsciously set for myself from the very beginning, but my friend’s acknowledgement brought it to the forefront of my attention.
Short of having a “vision” for the tent, however, I had simply plowed ahead with it because, more than anything else, I wanted to be right about it. I wanted the tent to work because of the aforementioned ideals of individualism, and because my pride as an designer and an analyst was at stake (again, no pun). What I had been trying to pass of as pursuit of a “vision” had simply been arrogant pride. I have been wondering since how often in my leadership capacities at Westmont I had mistaken the two.
What constitutes “vision”? How do you know when you have a “vision” and when you’re simply passionate about something? If I now numbered off the times when, having accepted a goal, I was able to step back, flawlessy approximate the best possible procedure for accomplishing that goal, and follow through seamlessly, I would be done immediately with a count of zero. Much more numerous are the times when I perceived a way I could acheive the goal, convinced those whom I could that I knew the best path, connived the rest into supporting it anyway, and set off, letting others make mistakes for me and claiming the whole time that I had it “under control.” In these cases, “vision” was simply a convenient tool to bring people under my fold.
Without getting too much more introspective, I would like to ask the 3.5 people that read this blog what their thoughts are on “vision.” (I will continue using quotes to differentiate from sight, unless a better system presents itself) As “visionaries” become more and more prevalent in our society, do we need to become better and better at discerning, at having true seeing? How will we know the correct vision, and more importantly, what will enable us to know when the wool is being pulled over our eyes? This is a bigger issue than I think most people give it credit for, and more than a tent is at stake (still no pun. Well, maybe that time).
First of all Mike, I just have to tell you that I admire the fact that you actually tried to construct your own tent; not many people are that brave.
Second, to address the question of vision, I have to admit that I struggle with this issue as well (although I think about vision in different ways). I often get stuck with no vision at all; this happens to be one reason my sophomore art project failed miserably. I often see the future in terms of how it affects me, not in a larger sense of Westmont, country, or even family. My life story seems spread out in my mind as a line, with everyone else intersecting that line at certain points. It takes a conscious effort for me to change that view, to expand my vision and look at it from different perspectives (which is one of the reasons I love my major).
Thirdly, I don’t think I’m intelligent enough, and not up to date enough on politics, to expand my vision to look at our country’s leaders. But I will question you on “correct” vision; there is a point at which we need to question the correctness of any vision, for leaders affect people in different ways. I’m not saying that a correct vision is impossible, but I don’t know if I can agree that there always is one.
Finally, I just want to say that I really like reading your blog so you should write in it more. I’ll be waiting for another update ;0)
Mike, I don’t think that there is one true “vision”, but many more or less helpful “visions” which perhaps get at the truth from many different angles. There are of course misguided or deceptive visions of reality which to a greater or lesser extent attempt to “pull the wool over our eyes”. Maybe more thoughts later.
Erika and Ben,
When I say “correct ‘vision’,” I mean the vision that best approximates truth. It is my belief that, for any given situation, there IS one or more Best Way(s) To Do Things. Any choice one makes in such a situation is a judgment call on what set of actions will yield the Best Result, based on whatever standards the person has decided best approximate the Best Standard.
This might be a potential application of “WWJD”-esque thinking. For example: A leader is tasked with organizing an event, utilizing a team of workers to fulfill a set of setup, maintenance, and take-down tasks. One set of factors by which the leader might decide which worker to assign to which task is: overall competency of the worker, particular strengths of each worker, estimated time to complete each job. This leader has apparently chosen a standard that values ability to complete a task.
Another leader in the same situation, however, might use a different set of factors to make the same decision: how each worker might react to being assigned a particular task, which particular groups of workers get along, how groups of workers might build relationships and learn. This leader has apparently chosen a standard that values a more relational, synergy-oriented ethic.
Which leader has a better “vision”? I tend to subscribe more to the first than the second. But I can easily imagine that there IS a relational aspect to such decisions that I am simply not always equipped to handle. It is possible that a third standard, combining the best aspects of the first two, exists. This is where I would invoke “WWJD” – or perhaps more pertinent to this example, “How Would Jesus Organize.”
Because of my belief that Christ provides the only perfect example of human action (aforementioned Truth), I am inclined to believe that whatever standard by which he made his decisions was the Best Standard. Thus, it’s not difficult for me to imagine that were he to be in the position of organizing an event, he would be able to formulate the Best Way To Do Things; the best combination of raw human efficiency and synergy-based relationships. Jesus’ reasoning behind his decision here would constitute the “Correct Vision” for this particular scenario (and, by extension, every scenario).
All I (or anyone else) can ever do in such a situation is approximate as best I know how what will be the most faithful course of action to my pursuit of Christ. Maybe this is what Ben is talking about in “many more or less helpful ‘visions.’” Any number of approximations may be made, but some are perhaps closer to perfection than others.
Mike -
I think you are right when you say there are different emphases that can be put on a vision; your example was a comparison between a vision based on social needs and a vision based on efficiency. And from what I know about you, its no surprise that you tend towards the efficient vision; I probably would too if there was a time constraint. But I think leaders especially need to have the social vision in mind as well as the efficient one (I’m thinking leaders in a small sense – organizers, pastors, bosses, etc.) A good leader is someone who can not only manage a group of people, but have the people want to follow the leader’s instructions. I tend towards the more feeling side of the spectrum, maybe because I’m an ENFJ.
Whenever I look at the leadership skills displayed by Jesus in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, I’m always surprised at the strong leadership he shows. Jesus knows what he wants; he commends people when they live up to his standards, and reprimands those that don’t. Plus he never worries about when/how things will get done, which is something that I need to work on myself.
I think one of the biggest problems faced by the Church is: how do we be strong leaders while not being overbearing/fire-and-brimstone/overstepping personal boundaries? If we follow the example of Jesus to the letter (public exposure most often), Christians face the danger of legal consequences to bad publicity to discrediting themselves. But there is also the tendency for Christians to pull back into their shell and retreat to the safety of their own lives. I’m a big fan of community and I love it when friends ask me to keep them accountable and vice versa.
So back to the subject of vision! I still don’t know if there is any “perfect” vision; only God knows the perfect answer to that question. But, I know that I would believe that the vision I see for a project or organization would be pretty good (at least in theory). We all have different things in mind when we lead, which is why it seems like I always have conflict with other people on group projects. Theory is only theory; reality is a different story, because we can always try new theories and see how they work on different sets of people and situations.
Thoughts?
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