Vision is the end value or the ultimate rationale for deriving any other values. As a concept it refers to a mental picture of what lies at the end of a road that has never been travelled or a dream just beyond an institution’s current reach (Calder, 2006). It is based on and reflects a company’s stated beliefs and values, and conveys the future status of an institution and the end of the journey. Yoeli and Berkovich (2010) view such a vision as an organisation’s compass that points in the direction the organisation should aim at and that reflects a desired ideal for the organisation’s activity. This implies that vision is a mental affair that drives institutional stakeholders to travel to a desired end on a challenging but defined path.
A vision should be set in a way that it is powerful enough to upscale the expectations, aspirations, and performance of relevant stakeholders (Calder, 2006). This depicts that moral courage or inspiration is one important element that followers usually expect from their leaders. This is because “inspiring leaders breathe life into people’s dreams and aspirations, making them much more willing to sign on for the duration” (Kouzes & Posner, 2008:3). As asserted by Calder (2006) a vision is grounded in an institution’s
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beliefs and values. Moreover, a clearly articulated vision would inform the major stakeholders of a given institution about what an institution values (believes in).
Furthermore, Fairholm and Fairholm (2009:86) explain the strong inter-relation between values and vision in that:
“The visioning provides the basis for both the leader’s action to inspire stakeholders and his/her self directed action. This task affects all other tasks the leader performs. Visioning emphasises the central values and possibilities that define the group and constitute its niche in society. The vision activates deeply held beliefs about what the individual and the society are all about. It is an invisible force binding leader and followers in common purpose.”
The implication is that vision in its own right is a central value that binds followers and leaders in a common purpose and motivates them towards a given end. Though vision and values are for both the leaders and followers, the leaders do have an important role in the process of envisioning and creating and cultivating shared values. Regarding as to how leaders can perform the role of envisioning, Kantaburta (2010) suggests that leaders shall communicate their vision to promote changes and seek support of the followers’ involvement. The leaders shall also do their best towards aligning people and supporting systems. Within the sense of envisioning, the concept of ‘moral courage’ is also embedded. This means visionary leaders are expected to empower their people to act consistently with the new vision and to help sustain their commitment to it. They need to motivate their followers because highly motivated followers help to work toward an inspiring vision.
Moreover, Kouzes and Posner (2008:7) suggest that envisioning can be conducted through mastering two things: imagining the possibilities and finding a common purpose. The authors contend that the future is always hiding within the present, waiting to be discovered by visionaries. They also note that envisioning requires paying attention to the little things that are going on all around you and being able to recognise patterns that point to the future. Visioning, with particular reference to the educational
context, answers how institutions see future possibilities for the academic community (Calder, 2006).
More than anything else, however, an institution needs to realise its vision through the efforts of its staff and must ensure that the vision has been endorsed and shared amongst the relevant members. The staff members must own the institution’s vision so that they are committed to its realisation. It is mainly the leader’s responsibility to adopt a vision and values that reflect the interests and ideological beliefs of the constituents. In line with this, Garg and Krishan (2003) contend that the only course for the leader is to build a vision that the followers are able to adopt as their own because it is their own. Sharing of vision must be more than securing the willingness of the followers to go along with the fact that the principal is pursuing a certain purpose (Haydon, 2007). Rather, it is coupled with sharing vision as a value and this is an aspect of envisioning. Hence, envisioning is a fundamental and universal value of a company that portrays the beliefs of a company and its constituents. This would help to unify the individual efforts of the followers and inspire them in such a way that followers are willing and committed to align their own values to the organisation’s espoused values.
A key element in envisioning, as noted earlier, is moral courage. Courage, according to Sarros and Cooper (2006:8), refers to “setting a direction for the long term and taking people along without being hampered by fear.” Accordingly, whether it stands out as a value in its right or is considered as an aspect of envisioning, courage is a key issue in VBL (Sweeney & Fry, 2012; Segon & Booth, 2013). Similarly, Taylor (2010) asserts that values-based leaders demonstrate courage and persevere to do the right thing. Moral courage exists at the intersection of three domains: a commitment to moral principles; an awareness of the dangers involved in supporting those principles; and willingness to endure the risks (Taylor, 2007; Daft, 2008; Taylor, 2010). This means that when a moral leader takes the courage of leading the followers on a journey that has never been travelled before, he/she is not blind to the risks associated with this initiative. Rather, the leader is conscious of the risks involved and is passionately willing to show perseverance along the way.
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To sum up, envisioning can be conceptualised as the leader’s mental state to emotionally connect the followers to the end value of the institution by creating and sharing a powerful vision. Within the concept of envisioning, courage is also embedded as an engine to drive employees from their current position to the future landmark of an institution. In general, envisioning and moral courage can be manifested in terms of some generic activities. For example, it can be reflected in terms of articulating an inspirational vision and imagining the future. As it is about creating a powerful vision that binds all to the common purpose, it involves: anticipating and considering what will happen in the future; anticipating future needs successfully; making plans and taking actions based on future goals; and creating a clear understanding about common destiny (where he/she and the staff members are heading to).
2.3.2 Alternative approaches to institutionalise values-based leadership, and