By Holly Duckworth, CEO, Leadership Solutions International
This post is one of a series written by individuals who will be presenting sessions at the 2014 BoardSource Leadership Forum on October 9 & 10 in Washington, D.C. We hope you will be joining us.
What you visualize, you actualize. When was the last time your board stepped back from the business plan, agendas, and meetings to feel what success would look like? Never? If that is your answer, you are not alone. The best athletes in the world talk about visualizing each step of the race in their training regime, about how they will feel when they cross the start line, about what it will feel like to leap over the first hurdle and lunge across the finish. They visualize this over and over in the months before the race.
Why don’t we do this as boards of directors? I will tell you: It is not knowing that we can use the skill of visualization in our organizations, fear that we do not know how, and doubt that we will do it correctly.
Now is the time. What you visualize, you actualize. When you choose to overcome lack, fear, and doubt, you will be closer to success.
Push back from the board table and invite your board members to visualize success. Invite them to breathe a little, meditate if you will. Help them tap into their hearts, and ask them:
- What does the highest vision of this organization look like?
- What does my organization at its highest and best look like, feel like, and sound like?
- What must this organization become to realize this vision?
- What must this organization let go of to make this vision a reality?
- What must this organization embrace to build this vision?
- What other wisdom does our board bring to the organization that we should know now?
The joy of working on a board is belief you have the best hearts and minds around the board table. Leadership today is more than motions, votes, and budgets; it’s about engaging hearts and minds. Use these questions to visualize your board running a successful race that each day gets you a little closer to actualizing your vision.
Holly Duckworth, CAE, CMP, is CEO of Leadership Solutions International and a consultant, speaker, futurist, and facilitator. The session she is presenting at BLF2014 is titled "CTRL+ALT+Believe: Rebooting Thoughts and Inspiring Action in Your Organization.
