17 Pearls of Visionary Wisdom from #LeadershipChat

By Lisa Petrilli

Steve Woodruff and I were very purposeful about starting the New Year at #LeadershipChat with a deep dive into leadership and vision.  You all know by now that understanding, creating and nurturing vision is a passion of mine and I was honored to get perspectives on the topic from such luminous individuals as those in the #LeadershipChat Community this past Tuesday evening.

We had more than 200 people from around the world – including a few in Australia – participate in #LeadershipChat and more than 1200 tweets were shared.  As I poured through the transcript of the event it was agonizing to pull from this tremendous treasure trove of insights just a few that I thought either represented the whole of the discussion or presented a new twist on the topic.

Without further ado, 17 pearls of visionary wisdom from the #LeadershipChat Community…

Starbucker:  Vision: Describing a goal in a way that inspires a team to want to jump on the path & drive straight to it #leadershipchat 

jeremywright:  Strategy. RT @knealemann: There is a chasm between vision and execution. #leadershipchat  –> LP (This really should count as 2 pearls because I love Kneale’s statement and I also love Jeremy’s insight!)

AngelaMaiers:  Leaders “impart” and “empower” us to believe in the vision through their actions not their words #leadershipchat

lesliefineint:  Your vision has to entice, excite and encourage others in order to be effective #Leadershipchat

Robert_Rose:  Visions emanate from “impossible dreams”. They inspire us to our optimum future… Then the visionary helps them become real #leadershipchat   –> LP (I am absolutely in love with this elevating statement)

raysadad:  @swoodruff Leaders are expected to have vision. Followers won’t hand you the keys unless they believe you do. #leadershipchat –> LP (Love this insight on followers; what do all of you believe?)

swoodruff:  @lisapetrilli I think vision is critical – joined to clear principles and a heart for people, that’s a powerful combo. #LeadershipChat

RichBecker:  Vision will fail you anytime intent, vision, philosophy, and values are not inextricably linked. #leadershipchat

jeremywright:  Vision doesn’t need to start at the top, but @note_to_cmo is right, it does need to be championed from the top. #leadershipchat

jeremywright:  While vision is yours, the hardest part is often letting your team own it, mash it up and even screw it up. #leadershipchat –> LP (Can you tell that Jeremy was on fire Tuesday night, and he and I are absolutely of like minds!)

JoeCascio:  Vision sets a long-term goal to work toward. It’s a picture of a desired future world. It gives perspective to decisions. #leadershipchat

kellimac4:  @LisaPetrilli Vision can extend far past what your eyes or even your mind can see – set it free in the right environment #LeadershipChat

DrTroyRoddy  If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll never get there. A shared vision is the Garmin for the journey. #leadershipchat

LouImbriano:  Wht makes Steve Job’s leadership vision so amazing: he stuck 2 it even when they threw him out of Apple. #leadershipchat –>LP (Because he owns it so completely; it’s virtually innate)

Robert_Rose:  And I’ll leave with this one on vision “The question is not what you look at, but what you see. ~ Thoreau #LeadershipChat –> LP (What can I say? Both Thoreau and Robert are thoroughly inspiring)

We were thrilled to have Steve Farber join us toward the end of the chat to leave a few pearls of wisdom of his own.  As you’ll recall, I mentioned Steve in my “The Secret Engine Behind Empowered Visions” blog post because his “Extreme Leader’s Mantra” is taped to my wall.  Steve added…

stevefarber:  Too many folks confuse “vision” w/ “vision statements” #leadershipchat

…and when I agreed and encouraged him to expound on that he said brilliantly…

stevefarber:  @lisapetrilli Vision is something 2 b lived and breathed. Not laminated. #leadershipchat

Again, these are just a few of the brilliant insights shared, hashed out, debated, bantered and built upon in this week’s #LeadershipChat.  I invite each and every one of you to join Steve Woodruff and I next Tuesday at 8:00 pm Eastern Time on Twitter for another inspiring discussion about leadership as we “gather and chat around our large, virtual, Tuscan table!”

If you were at #LeadershipChat on Tuesday and think I left out an important insight or tweet please let me know, and please share why it resonated with you.

Please subscribe so you don’t miss a post…Subscribe Here to receive posts in your in-box automatically. To receive posts via “READER” Subscribe Here – thank you – I’m honored to have you as a reader!

Photo is Pearls by Melica Sekulic.