How was Gandhi able to lead India to independence from the British empire? How was Abraham Lincoln able to effectively abolish American slavery? How was Martin Luther King able to help lift our country from the depravity of southern racial segregation?
Traditional historians and pundits have sought to explain the successes of these fallible heroes with mundane analyses involving unique personal attributes, contextual historical antecedents, and emerging social trends.
But forget all that stuff. It’s irrelevant. Facts are always an afterthought…
Vision is the thing.
Transformational leaders are flawed humans, just like us. But, unlike most of us, they are gripped by a compelling vision. In this vision, they see a future in which the constraints and sufferings of the present moment will be completely unnecessary. Through this vision, they know that all humans are bonded eternally on a plane that defies reason, and that scarcity of any kind is always a matter of collective choice.
Vision isn’t rocket science, it isn’t brain surgery, and it isn’t wishful thinking. Vision is absolute clarity into the unseen order of things. Transformational leadership is the willingness to let that unseen order emerge by surrendering the rotting scraps of ego-comfort that would keep us in chains, that a transcen
dent new purpose might express itself through our humble human hands.
Authentic vision always breeds a deep sense of gratitude and awe. And I can gaurantee you that these great visionaries–Ghandi, Lincoln, MLK, Obama, and all of those who came before–have stood in wonder at the powerful forces working through them. What’s more, every single one of these transformational figures would be quick to remind us that we have the exact same power at our disposal, should we be willing to accept it
I agree, but of course vision isn't everything. If not for the millions of believed in the vision (and died for it), the examples you mention in the headline would not have achieved much. So what is it about these leaders that makes them able to convince such large amounts of people of their vision?
I believe that both Ghandi and Lincoln were able to marshall people partially because they were already part of a group, so you might say that having a structure in place, plus a vision is the key. People should look for structures they can make an impact on before trying to convince people of their vision.