05+Being+a+Visionary

= **Being a Visionary**  =


 * Text Support & Personal Experience:**
 * According to Lambert, "The vision is a touchstone for all other actions--the yardstick for questions and the reference point for conversations....Staff members should ask themselves what children and adults are doing that tells us our vision is alive and well" (2003, p. 50). A leader can use vision to better facilitate meetings, develop future goals, and sometimes even to defuse situations. As our district has suffered through budget cuts, we often have to revisit our vision for the school--as a staff and a full community. It is important to be confident that our vision is indeed a shared vision. One of our goals is often to keep smaller class sizes. When we make changes in scheduling or discuss staffing, we often discuss how this will impact our vision. Sometimes maintaining this vision calls for creativity and compromise, but having a shared vision has allowed us to remain diplomatic in many difficult times. ~Kate


 * There was a section in the text that really stood out to me as something that being a visionary is __not__. Lambert writes, "The other reason is that the laissez-faire principal makes decisions according to the situation at hand, without fitting it into a larger context; consequently, her decisions lack consistency and may even contradict each other" (2003, p.45). I believe leaders need to be able to look beyond the present and must always keep a larger context in mind. - Monica


 * Bolman and Deal (2003, p. 339) write "such qualities as vision, strength and commitment that are essential to leadership". Rarely, if ever, are great leaders revered without mentioning their vision. Without vision, a leader is just managing things. Every leader I have been happy to follow has given thought to where the organization is going, not just where it is in the here and now. And I think of every historical figure that moved things forward was a visionary - politicians like Abe Lincoln, MLK, FDR, scientists like Einstein, Edison, architects like Frank Lloyd Write or Maya Lin, and so on and so on.~ Laura


 * Lambert states, "The vision is the touchstone for all other actions--the yardstick for questions and the reference point for conversations." (2003, pg. 50) This statement holds true for short and long term goals/visions. I think it is important at the beginning of every school year to go over those long term goals/visions, and adapt new short term goals/visions. This way everyone in a school knows what to work towards. All other practices come into play with being a visionary....being reflective, being a good listener, being creative, mentoring, etc. When a person is a visionary, they can hopefully empower others to get involved as well. Visions and goals should also be revisited and evaluated many times throughout the school year.- Kelly