Do you see it?

It's one thing to have a vision for a new idea. It's something else to share the vision with others. But perhaps the most important skill to develop is the skill of transferring the vision such that those with whom it's shared can actually take that vision, enhance it, and run with it.

It's not just the ability to first come up with the vision. That is certainly a gift which comes naturally to a small percentage of humans. In fact, in his 1962 book Diffusion of Innovations, Everett Rogers, a professor of communication studies, reported that just 2.5 % of the population are the innovators, or the creators of those visions.

The Early Adopters, the next 13.5% of the population, catch the vision early and are the ones to help share it. When the vision gets past the chasm - between 13.5% and 34% to the Early Majority - that's when the system tips, and the vision becomes integrated.

All of these segments are important. But it's the ability to not just share the vision but to transfer it to the Early Majority that might be the most underappreciated.

Part of the challenge in transferring the vision is putting words to the images and visualizations that emerge in the mind of the creator of the vision. While many times those innovators see the vision clearly, their skillsets may not include the ability to clearly articulate the steps needed to get it from their minds to the world. Speaking and listening are parts of that process. But at some point there needs to be a Eureka moment when a lightbulb goes off, and the receiver of the information just "gets it." There is a huge distinction between hearing, listening, and getting, and it's more a feeling than a tangible understanding.

Another challenge with moving the vision from the mind of the creator to the sharing to the transferring is the possibility of the original vision becoming either diluted or enhanced, based on the ability of the creator to clearly articulate it. Both scenarios can be impeded by ego, which prevents the spiritual dimension of creativity to be introduced. If the innovator allows ego to be employed, s/he may be frustrated that the original idea isn't being transferred in the way s/he saw it in her/his mind.

If the original vision is shared and enhanced, the ego could become bruised as someone else has additional ideas to add. The ability to give up attachment in order to maintain commitment to the WHY behind the original idea is the sign of a mature leader, one Jim Collins might call a Level 5 Leader.

In his work Good to Great, Collins identifies five characteristics of a Level 5 Leader:

1. They are self-confident enough to set up their successors for success.
2. They are humble and modest.
3. They have "unwavering resolve."
4. They display a "workmanlike diligence - more plow horse than show horse."
5. They give credit to others for their success and take full responsibility for poor results. They "attribute much of their success to 'good luck' rather than personal greatness."

We can only hope that Collins' 2000 research has impacted today's leaders such that they are much more aware of their impact on their organizations than when only 11 of the 1,435 companies he researched for the book were what he classified as Level 5 leaders.

When leaders understand that synergy is more important than ego, and that they have the ability to be a catalyst in the growth and maturity of their companies, we will truly have organizations of leaders, not just followers. That is where we will see the visions of the innovators being not just shared, but transferred and implemented.