The Utah Black Chamber’s Black Business Expo and Motown Show is tomorrow. It’s the first one I will miss since I founded the organization 15 years ago! I believe this one is going to be the best one yet! I am sad I am going to miss it, but I’m ecstatic about the chamber’s direction since I stepped down from leading it over a year ago. The vision I had for this organization is coming to fruition, and I believe there are three elements becoming a visionary.
First, I led this organization with passion. When I spoke, people listened. I never saw myself as an animated person, but my voice does elevate when I am excited about something. Through my voice, they felt my energy, my determination and saw my vision. Support continued to grow mostly because of my passion. The chamber didn’t show much impact in the first five years, but the community felt what it could become and came along for the journey.
I never intended to lead the organization forever. I wanted to set up the chamber for success and pass the baton to someone else to lead it. I gave myself five years to execute this plan. When the five-year mark hit, my vision for this organization grew bigger. I had stronger leadership from my board, the organization was making a larger impact and the chamber began growing into a community hub. Because of the chamber’s success, my influence grew as well. I never thought I would have the platform I have today. Once I began to realize who I have become and what’s possible, I felt like all the barriers of what I wanted to accomplish disappeared.
The biggest factor in removing those barriers was understanding the vision was bigger than me. Many of us feel the vision we have is dependent on our abilities only. What I learned from the process of growing the Utah Black Chamber is that my vision grew not because of the impact the chamber was having on the community, but seeing the buy-in of the vision from other leaders. This where you go from having a vision to becoming a visionary. A visionary knows that it’s going to take more than them, their skills and resources. If your vision is big enough, it’s going to take a village.
Lastly, because it takes a village, you have to be willing to delegate and let go. People thought it would be so hard for me to pass on the chamber to a new leader. Not only was it my plan the whole time, but as I grew to become a community builder, the chamber was one of the several aspects of my newly formed and bigger vision. When Dr. Sidni Shorter became the new President & CEO, I transitioned to a facilitator, supporting her and navigating her through the vision and identifying new leaders into other roles created in the other projects and organizations that I developed. Having a good leader in place gave me the confidence that I needed to continue to grow as a facilitator of a network of leaders within the community to carry out the vision I have set out to accomplish.
Passion, influence and becoming a great facilitator are the qualities of a visionary. It’s not about a position as a CEO, government official or a celebrity. I was none of those things, and I still don’t possess any of those roles. Martin Luther King, Jr. was one of the most influential people during his time, and didn’t begin in those roles. But he was passionate about his cause and his influence grew. While he maintained as being the voice of his vision, so many others stepped up and gave their voice.
We all have the potential to be a visionary. We all have dreams and goals that are in our minds. They are in our minds for a reason. Someone put them there, and they are not meant to just sit and remain a dream. Don’t limit yourself to what you’re capable of. Get passionate about your dream. Know you have a village that will support you. And if you feel you don’t have a village, then your passion will lead you growing one and building your influence. My encouragement to you is become a visionary. The community needs your ideas, thoughts, and we’re excited to see your dreams come to fruition!