The leader and collaborative group that is honored and respected for their capacity to convey a compelling vision of the future needs a viable vision. One of the great ironies to be faced emerges when the vision has been realized, abandoned or ignored. If there is no longer the need for a vision, then we certainly don’t need a visionary leader—and don’t need to continue meeting. The visionary leader and collaborative group confront Irony: don’t be too successful. Without an unfulfilled vision there is no need for hope or commitment to the cause. We confiscate our future and walk away with nothing new about which to dream.
We can point once again to Winston Churchill as a notable example of this decline in collective support for a visionary leadership. During World War II, Churchill not only exhibited courage—he also articulated a compelling vision regarding the future of England (and all of Europe), that helped to increase the resolve of English citizens to fight against the Nazi regime and Hitler’s equally as compelling (though horrifying) vision for a new Europe. When the Germans were defeated, England and Churchill not only lost an enemy—they also lost their compelling vision for the future. While England (and all of Western Europe) were certainly better off after World War II than they were during the war, there was not a new Europe. The United Nations didn’t solve all international problems. This was not the war-to-end-all-wars (as was proclaimed at the conclusion of World War I). Many writers have documented the existential despair that followed World War II, when people had to return to a life that had not improved, despite the visionary statements of World War II leaders like Churchill, Roosevelt, De Gaulle—even Stalin.
What about the role of vision on a smaller plain—in a group or organization? We propose that the same ironic challenge exists. The vision must remain viable. Community groups and organizations are often in crisis when they achieve some success and have realized a dream. What do we do now that we have completed this five-year plan? We have obtained this grant and have initiated our new programs, but nothing has really changed, and we are still hustling for more funds. Why do we need either the old experts or a new set of experts given our present circumstances? Is there really anything worth fighting for that can benefit from expertise?
It is critical that a new set of goals be established before the old ones are realized; it is equally as important, however, that achievement of the old goals be honored and celebrated. An organization that simply moves from one five-year plan to a second five-year plan is just as vulnerable to exhaustion and disillusionment as an organization that never realizes its dreams (because they have been set too high). We must appreciate the achievement of current goals and must linger for a moment to honor the old dream and vision before moving forward to a new sense of the future.
The old experts and visionary leaders face irony at this point. The “experts” no longer have much to say that is relevant or “up-to-date.” Anything older that two years is now passe in our fast moving, technology-driven world. Yesterday’s knowledge is today’s remnant of the past. Ironically, it is precisely the success of an expert in moving a system forward that makes their “reality” no longer relevant. Similarly, the success of a visionary leader often leads to the need for a new vision (and new leader). The half-life of a vision is now shrinking, and visionary leaders are readily thrown on the trash-heap.
Often times, the dispensable expert and visionary leader must embrace the Irony and step aside for the new expert and vision—given that they have finished the task and await a period of rest and reflection back on what has been achieved. At other times, old experts and visionary leaders can move beyond the Irony by becoming the updated expert and new visionary leader. They find renewed energy and commitment while collaborating with others in generating expertise and formulating the new vision.
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