Mission and Vision 143
stories that provide images of hope and symbols of promise. For these reasons,
we respond to leaders who offer an authentic vision of possibility for the future
(Niebuhr 1963; Ricoeur 1984–1986).
Given this daunting context, what should be the content of a collegiate vision?
The notion that they must be miniature epics, boldly creative, or stunningly
unique is untrue. They are better known for their consequences. Visions provide
authentic and worthy aspirations that affirm, inspire, and energize the commu-
nity by unfolding the promise of its future. Their message should be vivid and
memorable, and recognizable in everyday decisions. When claims are made about
levels of attainment, it should be clear how the institution will substantiate them.
When, for example, the word “excellence” or its parallel appears, the reader or
listener should be able to say, “That means excellence in terms of these determin-
able characteristics and achievements.”
Just as we found in discussing purpose, so it is as well that a vision contributes
to a powerful sense of community. By definition a vision must be widely shared
if it belongs to the organization and not just an individual. A shared vision stirs
enthusiasm among a group of people and motivates commitment to common
tasks, though it will never capture the imagination of everyone. In the process,
connections are created among members of the community that reinforce the
vision itself, contributing to a sense of direction and momentum. As the group
executes the vision, a sense of pride and affirmation takes hold in the organization
and in the contributions of each person. To fail the vision is to fail each other.
Not surprisingly, a vision creates these mutually reinforcing patterns because
much of its basic content, especially in organizations like colleges and universities,
comes from the ideas and experience of the group itself. To be sure, leaders at all
levels contribute decisively to the vision, especially those at the top, which is
why they are there. They give it systematic expression in various forms. Or they
may enlarge and even transform it at various points in its development. Yet to be
shared, it must originate and take root in the organization. Its lineage, in fact, is
typically traced to authentic elements in the institution’s story. As Peter Senge
puts it, “Once people stop asking, ‘What do we really want to create?’ and begin
proselytizing the ‘official vision’ the quality of relationships nourished through
that conversation erodes. One of the deepest desires underlying shared visions is
the desire to be connected, to a larger purpose and to one another” (1990, 230).
As a vehicle of strategic leadership, a vision taps the deep human drive to
reach ever-higher levels of quality. A defining commitment to quality is pal-
pable in the work of most academic professionals and, as we have seen, is woven
into the person’s sense of identity. Although the professional’s drive for quality
can easily become brittle and self-regarding, its presence as a powerful source of
motivation is never absent. The search for personal fulfillment, academic excel-
lence, and professional recognition becomes a reinforcing dynamic of achieve-
ment, what psychologists refer to as intrinsic motivation. Once the leadership
process has been able to stir the human need to create something of lasting
significance, then a large part of the leadership task has been accomplished.