“Where there is no vision the people will perish!”

Whether you are familiar with the Bible or not, you likely have heard this quote from scriptures: “Where there is no vision, the people perish….” Proverbs 29:18 KJV Yes, over the past few weeks I’ve been reflecting on this, not only in my own personal life, however, with others I know and serve. A question that comes to mind and I’ve asked other in the past is: “If you don’t know where you’re going, how can you expect your team to follow?” Yes, Leadership 101 tells us that “vision casting” is one of the most critical elements of successful leadership.

My mission statement is “to help businesses and individuals to clearly define what “success” looks like and build strategies to achieve this “success”. Thus, what I’m always looking to do is articulate a “clear vision” or definition of “success”. As some know, I’m more gifted as a “strategic implementor” than I am a “visionary”. So, I am personally more geared toward taking other’s vision, working with teams to build a strategy to support this vision, and inspired teams in the implementation of this vision. The key in all of this is that we must have the “vision” or the team “will perish”. Again, emphasis here is on “the leader” defining and articulating this “clear vision” to their teams.

This all being said, as I started to dig into Proverbs 29:18 further to include looking at the entire verse through other translations, I discovered something that reinforced what I’ve personally been sensing for some time. Let’s look at a couple other translations.

Proverbs 29:18 NIV: “Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint; but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction.”

Proverbs 29:18 MSG: “If people can’t see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; But when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed.”

So this verse which is often referenced in leadership principles, has a bit of a “revelation” beyond leaders simple having a “clear vision”. These other translations bring light to the “vision” needing to be “God’s vision”. So, it’s not enough for leaders to have a vision, they must know God’s vision for themselves and their teams.

Yes, for those who chose to look through a biblical worldview lens, you’ll likely note that I often question to “who’s agenda are you leading?” In fact, this is the “preliminary” title of the book I have in draft. What I’m discovering is that very few leaders are truly seeking to lead toward “God’s agenda”.

Oh, don’t let me mislead you! Yes, there are some leaders who are exceptional at casting vision and enrolling others in this vision. In The World, they appear to have much “success”. Things like money, possessions, power, and the they likes. However, what I’m learning and observing are the words of Solomon in Ecclesiastes: “It’s all meaningless” if it’s not “God’s agenda”!

So how do we know we’re leading to “God’s agenda”? Well, that’s a much bigger topic for another day. Today, I hope what I’ve at least caused you to stop and reflect upon is “am I even asking the question as to who’s agenda I’m leading?”