Write the vision plainly
The prophet's watchtower
When Habakkuk receives a vision from God, the instruction is not just to have it but to record it clearly: write the vision, and make it plain on tablets, so that the one who reads it may run. A vision that stays locked in the leader's head, or is communicated vaguely, cannot be acted on by anyone else.
Paul put it in terms of a battlefield trumpet: if the trumpet gives an uncertain sound, who will prepare for battle? A muddled, fuzzy vision produces a confused, hesitant people. The leader's job is not only to see clearly but to communicate so plainly that others can pick up the vision and run with it.
“Write the vision, and make it plain on tablets, that he who runs may read it.”
— The LORD, to Habakkuk — Habakkuk 2:2 (WEB)
Make the vision plain enough that others can run with it. A vision only you understand can't be acted on by anyone else.
“For if the trumpet gave an uncertain sound, who would prepare himself for war?”
God told Habakkuk to make the vision plain so others could run with it. A leader formed here works to communicate vision clearly, not just to hold it. He knows a fuzzy trumpet produces a hesitant people. The inner work is the discipline to make the vision plain.
Communicate your vision plainly and concretely, so people can grasp and act on it. Test whether others can articulate the vision back to you, not just whether you understand it. Sound a clear trumpet rather than a muddled one. Write it down, simplify it, repeat it, until it can be run with.
Leaders assume that because the vision is clear in their own head, it is clear to others, and communicate it vaguely. The blind spot is an uncertain trumpet that leaves people confused.
Write your core vision in one or two plain sentences. This week, test it by asking someone to repeat it back — and simplify until they can run with it.
A leader can have a clear vision in their own head and still fail, because they never made it plain enough for others to grasp and act on. A fuzzy, uncertain vision — like an uncertain trumpet — produces a confused, hesitant people.
Is your vision plain enough that the people you lead could pick it up and run with it — or is it still mostly clear only in your own head?