“On a clear day you can see forever....” Can’t you hear Barbra Streisand’s powerful, yet melodious, voice intoning those words as clearly as her vision sees the past in the movie with those words as the title? While most of us possess no ability to sing so clearly, we often demonstrate our capacity to see the past quite well. As that old saw promises, hindsight is 20/20!

Oh, that we might perceive the future with the detail and assurance with which we can peer into the past!  Would it not be a blessing to step out into tomorrow with the same confidence with which we can assess yesterday? Yet, that is exactly the first characteristic of the leader! 

No matter what one’s endeavor, the leader must possess vision. He or she must have the capacity to set the imagination free, to let it soar on eagle’s wings. To lead others requires that one be able to rise above expectations to see what others may not perceive at first, to gain new perspectives, to think outside the box, to push established boundaries, to catch the dream that the opportunity might be seized. This is the beginning of leadership! The leader cannot lead without a vision! How can one lead if that person knows not where either the leader or the organization is going? To see the future’s path clearly is the gift leaders bring to the endeavors which excite them and others so much that

commitment, their own and that of those around them, flourishes, and the dream begins to take shape in reality.

Consider John F. Kennedy’s inaugural description of his administration’s New Frontier, how his visionary inclusion of sending human beings to walk on the moon and return safely to their families excited a host of young scientists, engineers, test pilots, and indeed the entire nation to make his dream come true. Think of General George Washington standing on the bank of the Delaware River one cold December morning, imagining how his ragtag army could cross that river on Christmas night and take the Hessians, professional German mercenaries hired by the British, by surprise, giving new life to the dying revolutionary cause. Reflect, if you will, how your own successes as a leader have been borne on the eagle’s wings of your own dreams!