Methodical Visionaries
Recently I got a call from a teacher in another state who wanted to pick my brain for ideas about a class she is to teach. I had never met or heard of this person before, but we had a nice conversation. We have mutual friends who gave her contact information.
Near the end of the conversation I suggested that she might want to consider suggesting a change in the way their school does something. Specifically, I suggested the project they were attempting in 9th grade might be more suited to older students. Her response interested me.
She said, "I'm not a visionary person who tries to change things. I just try to do what I'm told in the best way possible." I respect her for being that kind of person, but I'm afraid I will never fully understand people like her. How can you not want to change something that could be improved?
People like the caller I talked with help make the world go 'round. They are the dependable folks who don't forget appointments, remember what they said to whom and when, discipline consistently, are often on hand to help others, always have a company-ready house, can follow the most meticulous diet and exercise regimen, and, as teachers--grade papers on time, follow up on violations of the finer points of school policy, and have their lesson plans done for the semester before the semester begins. I wish for more of that kind of stability and dependability in my own life. They are, in short, what Flylady calls BO's--Born Organized. I invariably feel inept around them.
I really hate being forgetful, negligent, and tardy--try as I might, not to be that way. I slip up--not habitually, but repeatedly. These slip ups are never proud moments. They require recovery-of-sense-of-self-worth time, and stern self-talk. Especially they require time reflecting on truth instead of the lies Satan is pleased to suggest at such times.
One of the truths I think of sometimes is that "Where there is no vision, the people perish." Often the most methodical are also the least visionary, and vice versa: the most visionary are the least methodical. Perhaps nowhere is it more clear that both kinds of people are essential to significant accomplishment than when the stakes are high, in terms of human well-being, Christian witness, or significant expenditures of time and money.
Furthermore, people at the extremes of the visionary/methodical continuum especially need to work at cultivating the skills that put them closer to the center on the continuum. Even when they are part of a team that includes other individuals that help bring balance to the whole, people are a lot easier to work with if they have already exercised their flexibility muscles enough to be able to consider an approach outside the scope of their natural inclinations.
I hope the school where my caller friend teaches has some visionaries on staff. And I hope she herself considers expanding her repertoire of possible approaches. Students will think it's all a lot more fun, and the orderly procedures already in place will assure that students are well-served in the meantime.
Near the end of the conversation I suggested that she might want to consider suggesting a change in the way their school does something. Specifically, I suggested the project they were attempting in 9th grade might be more suited to older students. Her response interested me.
She said, "I'm not a visionary person who tries to change things. I just try to do what I'm told in the best way possible." I respect her for being that kind of person, but I'm afraid I will never fully understand people like her. How can you not want to change something that could be improved?
People like the caller I talked with help make the world go 'round. They are the dependable folks who don't forget appointments, remember what they said to whom and when, discipline consistently, are often on hand to help others, always have a company-ready house, can follow the most meticulous diet and exercise regimen, and, as teachers--grade papers on time, follow up on violations of the finer points of school policy, and have their lesson plans done for the semester before the semester begins. I wish for more of that kind of stability and dependability in my own life. They are, in short, what Flylady calls BO's--Born Organized. I invariably feel inept around them.
I really hate being forgetful, negligent, and tardy--try as I might, not to be that way. I slip up--not habitually, but repeatedly. These slip ups are never proud moments. They require recovery-of-sense-of-self-worth time, and stern self-talk. Especially they require time reflecting on truth instead of the lies Satan is pleased to suggest at such times.
One of the truths I think of sometimes is that "Where there is no vision, the people perish." Often the most methodical are also the least visionary, and vice versa: the most visionary are the least methodical. Perhaps nowhere is it more clear that both kinds of people are essential to significant accomplishment than when the stakes are high, in terms of human well-being, Christian witness, or significant expenditures of time and money.
Furthermore, people at the extremes of the visionary/methodical continuum especially need to work at cultivating the skills that put them closer to the center on the continuum. Even when they are part of a team that includes other individuals that help bring balance to the whole, people are a lot easier to work with if they have already exercised their flexibility muscles enough to be able to consider an approach outside the scope of their natural inclinations.
I hope the school where my caller friend teaches has some visionaries on staff. And I hope she herself considers expanding her repertoire of possible approaches. Students will think it's all a lot more fun, and the orderly procedures already in place will assure that students are well-served in the meantime.
posted by Mrs. I at
8:11 AM
2 Comments:
There is little more frustrating in a group than a visionary who cannot and will not be bothered with implementing their visions...(I have been guilty of it and consider myself only moderately visionary, so I am not just pointing fingers). Is a true visionary incapable or lazy? =)I think my question really is, did God intend for methodical people to follow along and do all the legwork?
By
Anonymous, at 7/19/2008
Your comment reminded me of the lady I know who has said her gift is delegation. Some of your labels come to mind for what she calls her delegation "gift."
I do think visionary people often have to work hard at getting things to come together that can be almost an instinctive process for others. So in a sense they are less capable. They can just as surely be lazy also as anyone else.
Working at moving toward the center of the visionary/methodical continuum I think is a lifelong obligation. While we may never take particular pleasure in doing what comes least naturally for us, we can exercise it as an acquired skill and as part of being responsible people.
By
Mrs. I, at 7/19/2008
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