11 Traits of People with Vision

OK so while we’re on the subject of great leaders, I want to talk about people with “Vision.”

The people I meet who have vision are the most exciting,interesting and compelling to me. They are also the ones I really want to work with and be around.

In case you missed it, here is the original definition from my blog post yesterday “11 Traits Of Great Leaders”: #3 “They have vision. This goes with higher purpose. But it’s a little
more. They have a specific end in mind that’s not about the money,
prestige or power, either. They can see beyond the facts in front of
them. It’s not just about the facts!”

Like we discovered with the word “great,” yesterday, the word “vision” has many different definitions.

Here are my top eleven traits that make visionary people so fascinating, fun to be around and dynamic to work with:

1. They really listen and are always glad and really energized by the experience that they learned something: “Wow! I never thought of it that way before! Cool!” and “Ohhh that’s good! Where else can we go with that?” are two common refrains of a visionary person.
2. They are not afraid of the future, rather the possibilities that exist potentially in the future excite them. This excitement a visionary person can energize everyone around them, at any moment, at any hour. Yes, visionary people can wake you up in the middle of the night with their brilliant stroke of genius.
3.  They love the “All for One and One For All” philosophy. It isn’t “what’s mine is mine and what’s yours is mine too.”  Visionary people don’t always need the credit for that great idea solution or creation either.
4. They don’t get stuck in siloed thinking or solutions. They love going outside the box to find new and clever and unique solutions that no one else has thought of. Or at least not in that particular combination.
5. When everyone else is pulling their hair out, banging their heads against the wall and beyond frustration, a visionary person knows when to say one of the following three things:
1. “C’mon guys! The solution to this issue must be hiding in a very clever place! Let’s give it another go!” or
2. “Let’s back off for now, let this percolate awhile and while we do, let’s go out and have a beer, sing a few stupid songs and tell a few good jokes.” or
3. “Let’s ditch this direction. It sucks. What else have you got to put on the table?”
6. Visionary people love ideas. They love playing with words. They love putting two disparate ideas or concepts together to form a new direction or solution. They can be great punsters.
7. Visionary people love the process of learning and creation. The process, or the “getting there” of the learning is often more fun at times than even the destination. The, “we could do this! or this! or this! or even this!” can be thrilling. But it also can get a little tiring if there is a looming decision that has to be made or an eleventh hour deadline is approaching.
8. Sometimes visionary people need someone to help them narrow down all their different good ideas to two and then help them make a choice. But don’t expect a visionary person to be happy about that. They will still be thinking about and possibly brooding about the other twenty ideas we could not choose when we made the decision we did.
9. Visionary people are inherently optimistic, have faith in themselves and in others and especially in some “Higher Power” or the “God Of Creation” that holds the key to the light bulb going off in their or someone else’s heads. They just “Know” and have faith that everything is all going to work out somehow, some way, some time and they are content to wait until it does.
10. But visionary people can be a bit devilish and love to have fun in the process. They have no problem pushing the envelope to stir things up a bit in order to get everything moving. Even if that means dropping a rather contrary or controversial comment into the mix of the conversation or debate to see how it lands and where it takes the discussion.
11.  Visionary people love people and all the wonderful colors and perspectives and backgrounds they bring to any given challenge. They have an intrinsic hope in humanity and believe that given the opportunity, we will rise to our greatest potential and that everyone, down deep, has good in them. Even if you have to dig a little deeper in some cases.

So what do you find in people who have vision? Do you love them? Do they frustrate you? Do you wish there were more of them to play with and build things with and strategize solutions with you in your life?