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I call these ideas, whether abstract or concrete ones, as vision. We then need leader who have a vision. This vision encompasses direction in answering not only short-run challenges, but more importantly, the long-run ones. As Oliver Holmes Jr. Wrote “The great thing in this world is not so much where you stand, as in what direction you are moving.” We need a visionary leader who can show the way ahead and who can lead us, as a nation, to that way.

This vision also can help our people to see what the future holds and what the connection of the today’s development with the future is. Put it in other way, the vision will display what future offers as a rational extension of today's development. Vision relates the past, the present and the future. It is not a dream, but it is a reflection of a breadth and depth of understanding that enables our nation to advance and compete.

A true vision must provide a clear image of a desirable future, one that represents an achievable, challenging and worthwhile long-run target toward which the nation can direct its resources. A vision of the future is more than just a plan or a goal. It is a picture of what the future should and could look like; plans and goals operate as vehicles for making that picture a reality.

Bennis and Nanus (1986, p. 89), two of the classic writers on leadership, describe how vision functions:

“To choose a direction, a leader must first have developed a mental image of a possible and desirable future state of the organization. This image, which we call a vision, may be as vague as a dream or as precise as a goal or mission statement. The critical point is that a vision articulates a view of a realistic, credible, attractive future for the organization, a condition that is better in some important ways than what now exists.”[1]

In his speech accepting his nomination as the Democratic party’s 1992 presidential candidate, Bill Clinton said, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” A true leader must posses a vision which will provide a leader with a sense of purpose and a sense of duty. Vision acts as an inner force compelling a leader to action. Without a vision, a national leader might think of her or his position as an opportunity to accumulate private wealth or/and fame. He or she will lack a sense of duty to promote a better nation. If the leader himself or herself does not a vision, how can he or she lead a nation? And how he or she can inspire the people to work hard to achieve a better nation? When people sense a deep purpose and personal commitment in the leader, they are more than willing to be led – they will follow the leader.

How a true leader should formulate his/her vision? The best vision is generated through discussion and debate or through a clash of ideas. During the preparation for an independent Indonesia in 1940s for instance, the founding fathers debated seriously and intensely the kinds of basic principles upon which the future state would be founded. They had sharp differences on the basis and the territory of the future nation. One group proposed Islam as the basis, while other groups favored a secular state. But in the end, they came up with a visionary consensus: A united Indonesia which is based upon the Principle of Pancasila. Two among them who were particularly deeply visionary were Soekarno and Hatta who then led the nation to its independence.

Just like the founding father learned and realized the true characteristics of a nation called Indonesia -- a diverse nation, and so a true leader should build his/her vision through his/her observation of the realities developing in the nation. These realities can be assets or liabilities in building a better nation. Those liabilities are the challenges that need to be transformed into assets. Having learned and comprehend these realities, a visionary leader consults them with various groups of people, reassess the vision and when it is comprehensible, then he or she communicates the vision to public.

The vision must not conflict against the nation’s Constitution, but it should have a direct link with the Constitution. According to the nation’s Constitution, among the basic aims of the state are to protect all the Indonesian people and their entire motherland, advance the public welfare and develop the intellectual life of the nation. The first task of a true leader is to formulate his or her vision in realizing the state’s basic aims. Only after that, plans and all political considerations of the plan come to follow. Politics must come after vision and policy, not the other way around.

Joel Arthur Baker said, “Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world.” The leader’s role is not simply to describe the vision. The visionary leader creates meaning for people: what does it mean for them to work for a better nation. He or she can do it by formulating a meaningful vision of the future and communicating the vision so that people want to participate in its realization.

In the US, when President John F. Kennedy in 1961 had a vision of putting a man on the moon in less than ten years, there were many apparent limitations, including not having the technology available to make the vision a reality. However, when the vision came alive to the individuals who worked on the NASA team, they discovered the technology that was required to make the vision happen in 1968.

Our founding fathers had a noble and remarkable vision. They struggled to come up with the visionary consensus. It is the responsibility of our current and future leaders to follow up this vision by formulating their own which are based upon the founding fathers’ visionary consensus. But more than that, they must be able to communicate their vision and energize the people to realize it.

[1] Bennis, W.G., & Nanus, B. (1986). Leaders: Strategies for taking charge. New York, NY: Harper and Row, Publishers.

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