Visions also invite, and perhaps challenge, followers to consider both who they are now and who they aspire to become. A noble vision forces us to ask provocative questions about ourselves; about who we have been, who we are, and who we want to become. The best of these visions—those that draw the highest levels of commitment—dare us to become proud of ourselves by accomplishing something for other people.
An example of how a vision can challenge a follower’s sense of who they are is found in the leadership experience of Ralph Pries. In the early 1980s, Pries became the CEO of Mediq, a six-year-old company that started by renting ventilators to hospitals and for home care. When Pries came on the scene, the company’s employees variously viewed themselves as members of functional teams; they were maintenance technicians, delivery drivers, salespeople, and so forth. Pries changed that by promoting the understanding that all of their work was about ‘‘sustaining life.’’ This new perception of their identity infused employees with a higher sense of purpose: ‘‘My work is not just about maintaining ventilators, it is about sustaining life.’’
Jim Wold’s teachers were improving student performance. Whirlpool’s technicians and sales force are making life easier and more enjoyable. The staff of Bloorview MacMillan is defying disability. Fielding Graduate Institute’s faculty and administration are creating ethical global change. NEC’s people are creating the iSociety.
A manager in a company that went through a transformation similar to Mediq’s said, ‘‘It is amazing how all the ridiculous things we usually do—all the turf wars, petty arguments, silly fights over resources—they all go away when everyone realizes that our work is not just about us but has some greater purpose attached to it.’’ The primary function of vision is to enunciate and draw attention to that greater purpose.