Forerunners are a little used resource for real, positive change in organizations. Who are they? What do they do and how can we give them the space to let them help our organizations?
Clearing-out, taking roads less travelled, implementing new and better systems, getting lean and mean: important themes that generally lead to improvements in organizations. But the question remains, do they become nicer places to work in, creating more value, and more meaningful for staff members, customers and their environment? That’s the major challenge.
Who has this vision?
Is having vision exclusively top management territory? My definition of vision is, “an idea with the power to become reality”. If you feel involved with your organization, can think freely and want to set things in motion, then you already have a vision.
Anyone in the organization, whatever their position, can have a vision, small or big, practical or abstract. We call the people in an organization with a vision, the guts to speak out and the perseverance to go for it, a forerunner. These people bring challenge, life, meaning and originality to the organization. They are extremely valuable to the organization for getting things moving.
In other words, change. Organizations looking for change and improvement can’t do better than search out their forerunners, dialoguing with them, and where possible and desirable, giving them the space, in connection, to realize their vision, in the interests of everyone.
