Vision, Illusion, or Delusion – how are you starting your year?

Most of us start the year with big and bold visions for what’s to come. In this time of excitement and possibility, how can you make sure that your visions don’t accidentally devolve into something that can work against you or others?

According to the Oxford Languages Dictionary, vision is the ability to think about or plan the future with imagination or wisdom. Illusion is a deceptive appearance or impression as well as a false idea or belief. And a delusion is a false belief or judgment about external reality, held despite incontrovertible evidence to the contrary.

Or, the way I see it:

• Vision is a clear perspective of what is needed for change.

• Illusion is selling someone on an idea without grounding in reality, ultimately leading to false promises.

• Delusion is when your whole team or leadership believes in that illusion and continues to sell based on a false narrative.

Visions are inherently aspirational in nature and should be. But visionaries aren’t just pipe dreamers who come up with ideas in a vacuum and ignore their current circumstances. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. The most successful visionaries have a clear understanding of current reality, the steps they need to take to change it, and the gaps they need to fill to get there. And they know that connecting with others to share their vision authentically can help them find the resources they need to fill those gaps.

But what makes for a good vision and how can you avoid the illusion trap?

Can you hear me now?

One big reason that visions get muddled and turn into illusions is that only the visionary understands what’s being articulated. In our haste to express the nuances of our big picture visions, we can become bogged down in jargony, overly descriptive, or confusing language. Do you have a clear enough picture of your vision – and more importantly, clear language – to be able to explain it to someone who has absolutely no experience or background in what you’re trying to do?

Consider the following statements by two nonprofits that each support girls and their development:

World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts:

Our Vision is for: An equal world where all girls can thrive. By 2032 we will be a girl-led Movement where every and any girl feels confident to lead and empowered to create a better world together. Our Mission is: To enable girls and young women to develop their fullest potential as responsible citizens of the world.

Big Sister Boston:

Our mission is to ignite girls’ passion and power to succeed through positive mentoring relationships with women and enrichment programs that support girls’ healthy development. Ultimately, our vision is to create a mentor-rich community in which every girl has access to the individual nurturing, guidance, and support she needs to become a confident, competent and caring adult. We are a national model for gender-intentional mentoring for girls which can be replicated in other mentoring programs.

Which one makes you want to jump in and get involved? While both are extraordinary organizations doing great work, the Big Sister Boston vision is muddled and unclear, getting bogged down with what they do rather than why they do what they do and how they see change for the future.

Do others believe you?

A 2023 research study by McLean & Company found that 1 in 5 employees do not identify with their organization’s mission and vision statements, and 1 in 3 employees do not believe those statements reflect the work of the organization. Many cite out-of-date or unrealistic language as a big reason for not feeling connected to the statements that should be the driver and rallying call for their day-to-day work. In addition to making sure that your language is clear and easy for everyone to understand, have you made sure it is believable and relevant to what’s happening right now?

Visions will change and evolve over time, and it’s crucial for visionaries to make sure they are painting a clear picture so that everyone understands where they are headed at this exact moment in time.

How can illusions and delusions accidentally take over?

There are some big examples of organizational illusion and delusion, like Theranos, Enron, and FTX. All of these companies were fraudulent and engaged in willful deceptive business practices, and it’s hard to know why they operated that way. Perhaps their leaders were inherently bad people who always planned to deceive others. Or maybe they found themselves in over their heads and unaware how to break out of the spiral of deception. No matter the reasons, the resulting fraud and impact they had on their stakeholders is undeniable.

But devolving into illusion and delusion isn’t just for large scale companies or big issues. There are countless examples of people who have earnest intentions inadvertently presenting illusions to themselves, their teams, and the public.

Consider a small nonprofit I worked with who declared a big statement, put it out to the world, and then went about the task of trying to find a way to make it happen – and nearly undermined all of their great work in the process.  

This incredible mission-driven organization always led with purpose and had impacted 60,000 people in a dozen years. For year 13, the leadership announced a bold vision to the world – to reach 50,000 people in just one year. While big, this seemed like an attainable vision that everyone could tie their work and contributions to. The leaders hoped this would be a rallying cry for staff and would ignite others to become more involved with both their money and their discretionary effort.

Unfortunately, there was no strategic plan or understanding of the needs to get there, only a great desire on the part of the leadership team and staff. What they inadvertently were presenting to the public was an illusion – that they had the tools and skills to accomplish this vision. They didn’t set out to deceive others, they just weren’t organized enough to have a strategy and couldn’t articulate where they needed help filling in gaps.

As a result, everyone thought the organization was on solid footing and doing big things, but they were scrambling to remain sustainable and unclear of where their blind spots were. Staff were told to realign their annual performance goals to meet that big vision, which meant this quickly turned into a delusion because everyone internally believed hook, line, and sinker that there was a pathway to making that vision a reality.

Needless to say, not only did their vision go by the wayside, but the inability to deliver on promises left the staff feeling lost and disconnected from leadership and left funders feeling frustrated with missed targets. It was disastrous for the organization and forced them to go back to square one, focusing on their core purpose and rebuilding trust with key stakeholders by demonstrating their value.

It is so easy to get tied up in a forward-thinking statement and feel swept away by the power of big words. But as Lee G. Bolman, professor and author of Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice, and Leadership says, “A vision without a strategy remains an illusion.”

So, as you envision your year ahead, how are you making sure you’re not stepping into the illusion trap?

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