8 Advertencias y alarmas
8.1.2 Mensajes de fallo
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o question, your combination of Vision, Values and Roles plays an enormous part in your overall success. Where there is high congruence between the three, you will have a very strong Natural Mission. Where there is a total disconnect, you will be directionless and adrift.Roles Vision Values Roles Vision Values Roles Vision Values Roles Vision Values
A Brief Discussion of Congruence.
On the previous page, we set up four different real-life situations. Here’s a bit more commentary on each of the four.
Example 1. Great Mission, Direction and Purpose...
This is always the best combination, isn’t it? Huge VISION that contains all of your core personal VALUES... with a major empowering ROLE. A good example of this would be someone with the vision of curing a major disease such as Polio (Dr. Jonas Salk). From his bio, “Dr. Salk gave the world hope for freedom from polio. He gave the world hope for freedom from global destruction.” A huge vision—accomplished.
I would suggest his dedication came from his core values of compassion, curiosity, caring, precision and education. (He truly valued his research activities and loved living in the lab.) He created and empowered a ROLE (Research Doctor) that he was selflessly focused on.
Thus flowed a monumental VISION... for a huge ROLE... containing world-changing VALUES.
Personal Thoughts? Write down one area of your life where you feel complete congruence between your Values, Role and Vision for that role.
Example 2. Good Vision and Role, but not much of what you Value...
Let’s move on to a hypothetical situation where you are in a Role with a solid Vision... BUT... there is little of what you inherently Value in the Role. Let’s say you “got roped” into becoming the point- person for your neighborhood watch group. You love your neighbors, but hate attending meetings, hate intruding on others to get their signs out... and really don’t believe it’s going to make a difference anyway. But the Vision is solid: Protect the ’hood. The Role is clear: Ambassador!
I would suggest that there is not a lot of Natural Mission in your Role, because it is void of much of what you value... and has lots of things going that you DON’T value. Advice: Get out gracefully!
Personal Thoughts? Write down one area of your life where you feel a complete disconnect between your Values and a primary Role you are in. Is there anything that comes to mind where you can find additional value?
Example 3. Big Vision, matched to Values, but not matched well to Role...
Here is maybe the most “common” situation. You have a solid Vision... and that vision contains lots of what you Value. But you are in a less than empowering Role. For example, let’s say you want to put an end to domestic violence in Boulder County. You are passionate about this, as it reflects your deepest spiritual values as well as your values as a mother... and the best friend of a woman who is being battered. You must move from your role as “observer,” power up... then expand... your role as an Activist. You not only want to get involved, but you want to enlist the help of the entire community. You create, then empower the role of Advocate first... then political Activist... then maybe Chairperson of the Boulder Women’s Shelter. You scream loud. You raise money. You make a difference. In eight years, you educated 200,000 women... and helped thousands get out of a bad relationship. How? You took action by CREATING an empowering Role that expressed your Values in your over-arching Vision. You took responsibility for making your Vision a reality.
Personal Thoughts? Write down one area of your life where you personally have a big vision—a vision that contains most of what you value in life—but one where you haven’t yet put yourself into an empowering role.
Example 4. Total Disconnect between Role and vision and values...
This one is obvious on the surface. You are “kind of” in a Role that sounds good on paper... but is right for someone else. You have NO Vision for the Role... and even though the vision was explained to you by someone else who WAS excited by the vision... you are totally detached from it. To say you don’t care would be an understatement. All you can see is work, work, work and no positive rewards. Your heart isn’t in it, as you cannot even recite one value that is important to you in the vision.
Advice?
Unless you can find VALUE in the VISION, get out of the ROLE. Do it quickly before you do damage to yourself or others. Valueless, powerless Roles are not just a waste of your time, they are a big killer of your own hopes and dreams. Staying in such a Role robs you of time that you could use to pursue Class A Visions and Roles—those that contain what you value MOST.
Unfortunately, this situation is all too common. We get ourselves involved. We make some promises. We had a tiny bit of interest. We got dragged in by somebody else... and here we are.
We have all been in these roles before. I call them Imposed Roles as they are usually involuntary, and imposed upon us by someone else or out of obligation to a group.
Usually it all starts out simple enough: Our church is going to build five houses for Habitat this summer in Guatemala. Can you help?
You say, “Of course,” never dreaming that what they meant is that you are going to fly to Guatemala in the heat of the summer (you hate bugs, heat and humidity)... hike 27 miles to the village (no running water (your idea of primitive camping is a hotel without room service)…and actually build the houses (you have no interest or talent in this regard whatsoever).
Worse, by vote, you become the Captain for Christ team leader and are now “signed up” for four weeks of “prep meetings.” You hate attending, let alone putting on meetings.
No question, the Vision is a good one... for someone else who values Adventure, Giving, Building and Physical Challenge.
Did I mention that Comfort is one of your top 10 personal values.
What do you do? What can you do?
Suck it up and give it the best you’ve got... then graciously get out as soon as possible? I have, in fact, done this, and all I can say is that everything worked out fine... BUT... it was not what I should have done!
The right answer, for me, would have been to recognize the complete and total lack of Natural Mission in the Role, Vision and Values circles. I could have raised money, got the right people involved, diminished my Role to the point of “Cheerleader” not Captain, and empowered a completely different Role.
Personal Thoughts? Write down one area of your life where you feel a complete and total lack of congruence between ANY of the three: Values, Vision and Roles.
Look at the four examples again carefully. What have you learned about yourself and the relationship between your Vision, Values and Roles?