I get to speak and present in so many great places and for so many awesome groups that it’s just not fair. But sometime the tables get turned on me. I have often said that when the student is ready, the teacher appears. Clearly I am talking about those ‘Ah Ha’ moments we all have when someone says something you have listened to before but not heard and then finally, you, the student are ready.

Bob Starr the chief administrative officer of DTI was presenting Leading with Vision. I had spoken already and now I was just hanging out at the DTI meeting. Good friends, good stuff. Then the ‘Ah Ha’ hit. Like a tsunami. Bob had three people leave the room. When they returned he had them perform a task while we, the audience, made observations of what the participants said and showed emotionally.

He handed each of them (the first two) some wadded up paper and said, “I don’t have a ball but pretend I do,” handed them the paper and said, “just wind up and throw this at the target.” Wow. You should have seen the body language and facial expressions. What target? What are we aiming at? Where should I throw this? Confused an embarrassed, they both eventually just threw the wad at someone they knew to be funny. Then the third participant came out, Bob gave her the same instructions and had a dart board target on the screen in front of her. She asked, “is there a certain part of the target you want me to aim at?”  Wowser again. What a different body language - confident and sure.

Does your team know where you want to go? How you want to get there?

If not, why not?

Sharing your vision with your team is a first critical step in leadership. Just do it. It may make all the difference in your ability to get there.

About the author:Murphy is the vice president of educational services for Mercer Advisors, director of professional relations for Quantum Dental Resources, and consults and lectures for dental laboratories, manufacturers and dentists throughout the United States and Canada through Funktional Design Group. He can be reached at mtmurphydds@gmail.com or mark.murphy@merceradvisors.com.