Currently I am working with my own school community to design a new, meaningful and inspiring vision statement. After exploring multiple school websites I have found it difficult to find one which is evidence of simplicity but reveals an underlying complexity. Last week during the IB Regional Conference Ben Walden led a plenary on ‘Inspirational Leadership’ where he used the Shakespeare play Henry V as a context to consider leadership. During the session, Ben emphasised the importance of vision and within this described how in many situations those who are supposed to be influenced by such a statement struggle to remember (forget about take any actions as a result of) the words as they are overly complicated and filled with jargon. Waldon shared the statement below on vision. I wonder what the most effective vision statement is that we can find on school websites?
VISION
Vision is the core of Leadership
Vision is seeing the potential purpose hidden in the
chaos of the moment, but which could bring to
birth new possibilities for a person, a company or a nation.
Vision is seeing what life could be like
while dealing with life as it is.
Vision deals with those deeper human intangibles that alone give
ultimate purpose to life.
In the end, vision must always deal with life’s
qualities, not with its quantities.
William Van Dusen Wishard
principalthinks 