We’re usually taught that we are one or the other. Either a visionary or an executor. But who says you can’t be both? After all, when we learn to do both, we will add so much value to our churches and businesses. Although you may be naturally bent towards one way, I believe you can learn to be both. If you are a visionary/dreamer, you love to think the big picture. You’re always thinking and dreaming of the impossible. You get energy from big picture thinking and come up with groundbreaking ideas. But the issue you may face is executing those big ideas. The worst thing is to have great ideas, but no plan to follow through. The executor has the opposite problem. They love to check things off a list and pride themselves in getting things done. The problem? They may end up only ever getting things done but never dreaming of the bigger picture.
Whichever category you fall under, I’m going to break down how you can be both a visionary and an executor.
1. Create space for brainstorming/strategizing big picture ideas.
I suggest you do this for your personal life and your work/ministry life. Schedule a “dream meeting” with yourself or your team and give yourself time to think big picture ideas. The sky is the limit here. Ask God for blueprints and strategies to move your business forward and keys to success. He says “you have not because you ask not” and I wonder how many God ideas are waiting for us to ask and receive them? In this space, write down everything that comes to mind. If it seems impossible, it’s a good sign you’re heading in the right direction. Use this time to think outside of the box.
2. Create a plan of action
This is KEY. The problem with many is they love to dream but fail to put the plan in place to make it happen. If you have a plan, you are 99.9% more likely to follow through. You need a plan, and you will need steps to make the plan happen. As this article states: “Whatever your goal is, looking at the steps you’ll need to take and enlisting the tools and people you’ll need to help you get it done is a far more effective strategy than relying on sheer willpower.”
After you get an idea you want to implement, plan a second meeting to create your action plan. It’s important to bring others into it, set a deadline, and put in milestone deadlines along the way you need to achieve to reach the goal. Have it written down, ask someone to hold you accountable, and don’t stop making steps until your vision becomes reality. Whatever side you find yourself on, as long as you implement BOTH steps, you will be both a visionary and an executor.
