Welcome Visionary

. . . This is your story

FUTURE

You seek possibilities and solutions.

Your unique point of view is formed by your blend of the three foundational priorities of mind: Past (Certainty)Present (Probability), and Future (Possibility). The result of this blending of priorities is your thinking style and it defines the value you bring to every aspect of your life. It is what motivates you and it shapes your personality. It is also at the root of most of our differences in the way we each think.

Your thinking is oriented towards chasing after the many opportunities that lie in front of you. You become energized by these possibilities you see and your energy is infectious, often sweeping others along with you. You’re always coming up with new ideas, finding solutions and driving change with your ideas of the way things could be. You intuitively understand how people ‘tick’ and benefit from trusting your gut; it’s rarely off. You only continue to invest yourself in something as long as it holds your attention and you feel hopeful that you can get what you want from it, the result is that many things lie unfinished. Not necessarily a bad thing!

You will always be driven by Possibility often imagining the next big thing, remember, intuition is your ace card. Use this ability as your foundation and align your efforts with what you do so well.

As a Visionary, you have

  • A contagious enthusiasm and openness towards others
  • A willingness to tackle challenges; often delivering very novel solution
  • A desire to stir things up, change things and make your ideas known
  • An attraction for things that reflect your creative, spontaneous nature
  • A knack for finding solutions to sticky or impossible problems
  • A flair for selling yourself and your ideas

Your Archetype badge

Maximize Your Strengths

When you recognize future opportunities before most people would, use all your creativity and drive to take advantage of them before they’re gone.

  • Do follow your dreams. While some people may think you have your head in the clouds, you see something magical and there’s true wonder in that magic.
  • Do think about how focusing a little more of your attention on what’s happening around you now may help you achieve every task you’ve set for yourself. Being a dreamer is great – making those dreams a reality is greater.

Growth Opportunities

Focus more on organizing what’s happening in the present moment and use what happened in the past as information to help you make smarter choices.

  • Don’t let people who need facts or figures stop you from achieving the greatness you know you’re capable of. The future isn’t waiting for you – it’s your playground and you know that you need to actively go after it if you’re going to succeed.
  • Don’t forget to stop every now and then and take a look back. Is there anything you can learn from your past? While you might not think it as important as what’s waiting for you up ahead, you might be surprised to see patterns you’ve been repeating that could be changed to your advantage.
IN FLOW

How you are in the world

When you let go of your irrational fears and over sensitivity to other’s judgment, you can fly. You have a level of confidence that sometimes borders on cockiness. You know the strength of your skills, and that when you flow, you’re capable of amazing things. When your skills are unleashed, your flow creates an almost spiritual quality to any experience.

Your flow is linked to intuition, not facts. You catch the scent and follow your nose. Thanks to your cockiness, you know that despite past facts and present rules, you need to follow your heart when you’re inspired, even if it doesn’t seem like the logical or necessary thing to do.

Challenges are an important part of your flow. While others might find challenges restricting, you thrive on them. You work best proving that nothing is impossible. You use your skills to bring all the elements together to meet any new challenges. Sometimes, too many challenges. Ever feel like Atlas, carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders? Remember that the success of your flow has nothing to do with taking on more challenges than you can handle. Maybe you need to commit to completing one new challenge before moving onto the next. You flow best when you’ve got nothing like facts or a plan holding you back.

The catch-22 is that without some facts and plans to tie the energy together, your flow might hit the brick wall later down the line. If you could add the awareness of finding all the information you need to be informed, or the awareness of putting a plan together, you might find your overall flow much more fluid.

WISDOM

What you bring to the world

Stupid is as stupid does. This isn’t something you learned from books – it’s something you learned from experience. It’s these life experiences that have moulded your outlook and created your street-wise wisdom. The complexity and fluidity of life doesn’t follow a plan and can’t be summarised on the page. It has to be lived. To see the next opening before anyone else. To truly integrate the organic process that is life. This is your wisdom.

What the books say and what the rules say are left for other people in your world. Your wisdom is about taking each case as unique, about “feeling” what’s right and wrong rather than being told. It’s a flexible, liberal wisdom that you use to manage life: the wise old person who intuits the future by reflecting on a life that’s been lived, not studied. But then again, if you could add book smarts to your repertoire, you’d be a sage as well as a seer. Your street-wise wisdom gives you values that are shaped by experience. You’ve got an open-mind about how things are, something you’ve earned by traveling (both physically and mentally), and meeting and savouring the different people of your journey.

Your open-mindedness is not closed down by the rules or traditions that constrict people with other kinds of awareness. In fact, you might find yourself clashing with them. It’s like you’ve seen the light and can’t understand why others won’t. But remember to keep patience with those who don’t share your liberal wisdom and open-minded values.

PERCEPTION

How you see the world

What is truth? In your heart, you know that truth is empirical. It’s flexible rather than solid. It’s a complex tapestry of various shades and patterns. This malleable view of truth is the by-product of your practical street-wise training.

Did Joe and Bob commit the same crime? Yes? Then they’re both guilty, right? Mmm… perhaps not in your eyes. There were different conditions, different reasons. There were different “whys” and “hows”. And the truth is a melting pot of everything, including emotions and other intangibles, rather than just the cold, hard facts. Cold hard facts! What are they? Cold had facts and $5 will buy you a café latte, but that’s about it. Thankfully, there are people like you who take a more organic approach to what the truth is. If the rigid truths of others were all we had, we’d be living in an Orwellian nightmare of absolutes.

If science has proven anything to us over the years, it’s that there are no absolutes. There are only “probables” until new truths prove otherwise. Your adaptive truth can really handle these changes. But great as this flexibility is, make sure you don’t forget to see these “probables”. Don’t fall into the trap of making up the truths that suit you in order to have things your way. Never forget the expression on Bill Clinton’s face when he addressed the nation and told us what he believed “the truth” to be!

IN RELATIONSHIP

The Visionary is the idea person and drives passion

We all have relationships, they’re a natural and important part of most people’s lives. Why is it that even in our most intimate and important relationships we struggle, at times, to make things work, to understand each other, to see eye-to-eye? The simple fact is that we do not think the same way. We each bring our own point of view and use that to further what is important to us in the moment, whether it be in our private life, our work or with friends.

Knowing how we think—specifically our archetype—helps us to hear with more compassion. To listen and hear beyond a person’s words. To understand where they are coming from, what they need, and where they are trying to get to in conversation with us.

Find Out How Visionaries Relate With Each Archetype

Choose your friend or partner’s archetype below to gain insights into your relationship.

Past: Truth-seeker

Pros
When you both agree on a vision, they can help do the research that makes certain it’s a real possibility and not wishful thinking.

Cons
Without some present planning to keep things organized, you might be lost in coming up with new possibilities and having them shoot these down with research. They may hold you back; you may be leading them out of their comfort zone.

Present: organiser

Pros
Working as a team, you can realize a brilliant future together and make plans for it.

Cons
You’re not naturally the planning type. They seldom ponder too far into the future, but prefer to take control over what’s happening right now. It’s going to take understanding and compromise to see your way to a common ground.

Future: Visionary

Pros
You both share an understanding of the dynamics of a Future thinking style. You both love new ideas and experiences, seeking new opportunities.

Cons
You both have strong visions, and sometimes they may conflict. While you’re willing to compromise, there are limits, and your vision will have to be met.

Past-Present: Curator

Pros
In an ideal world, you’d compliment each other’s thinking styles. You’d bring the vision of a possible future, they’d help research the evidence and make plans for it.

Cons
We’re not living in an ideal world, so they may grow tired of your future-based need for new and exciting adventures just as you may grow tired of their need for playing it safe and planning everything.

Past-Future: Researcher

Pros
You both share a need for envisioning all the possible futures available to you. If you can factor in their need to have some facts to back up your decisions, things can work well.

Cons
You don’t always need those facts, though, and neither of you is a whiz at planning what to do now. When you let them down once, they will remember it forever.

Present-Past: Engineer

Pros
If you can communicate your needs, you’ll complement each other. Your vision of the future and their planning and need for the safety of facts can lead to very fulfilled lives.

Cons
Chances are you won’t see eye-to-eye without great empathy for each other’s way of doing things. They may find you flaky and ungrounded. You’ll probably find their strict adherence to rules and constant need for information to be a drain on your exciting pace.

Present-Future: Navigator

Pros
You share an understanding of the Future thinking style; both of you are looking for new experiences.

Cons
They get to the Future thinking style by first going through the control and organizational needs of a Present perspective. Just as you’ll have trouble dealing with their need for plans, they’ll have trouble with your need to jump from one opportunity to the next.

Future-Past: Explorer

Pros
You both look to the future for new opportunities and can share a rich life of exploring new experiences together.

Cons
While you’re willing to go for it, you may find they’re more cautious, always wanting a little more information. You may feel frustrated by their need to gather facts.

Future-Present: Leader

Pros
You both share the joy of new experiences and ideas. You both hunger to seek out the best life has to offer.

Cons
They need to have some control over where they are and what they’re doing. This means organizing, structuring, planning—things you don’t naturally do and find slow down the flow. Conflicts can arise when you both want things your own way.

Past-Present-Future: Connector

Pros
This could be harmonious. Connectors will understand where you’re coming from, even if they don’t agree with it.

Cons
You may find them too wishy-washy and diplomatic. Do they always have to be so understanding? Having a Future thinking style means you have fire in your belly and they’d better be able to keep up with that.

IN COLLABORATION

Visionaries Champion Innovation

  • You champion innovation, focus on solutions, and help others begin to think outside-the-box.
  • You inspire others and remind them of the bigger picture.
  • You help the group adapt to new circumstances.

The secret to happiness and success is knowing where to to look for the value in ourselves and others. When you’re aware of the value your colleagues bring—especially when it’s different from your own—you can partner with them to drive your mutual success.

The 10 Archetypes Collaboration Styles

Past: Truth-seeker

Truth-seekers help the group develop a deeper understanding of its mission.

Truth-seekers teach people how to reduce the risk of failure and measure progress realistically.

Truth-seekers’ skepticism and independence militate against “group-think” and blind conformity.

Present: Organiser

Organizers keep their teammates focused on outcomes.

Organizers ensure that goals are realistic and the group doesn’t take on more work than it can handle.

Organizers hold people accountable and make sure they honor their deadlines and commitments.

Future: Visionary

Visionaries champion innovation, focus on solutions, and help others begin to think outside-the-box.

Visionaries inspire others and remind them of the bigger picture.

Visionaries help the group adapt to new circumstances.

Past-Present: Curator

Information and organization are both important to Curators.

Curators are likely to manage the group’s data, adding to it with their own thorough research.

Curators caution and practicality provide a solid foundation for decision making. They help the group avoid unnecessary risks.

Past-Future: Researcher

Researchers ensure that the group makes decisions with full knowledge of the risks and consequences.

Others come to rely on their experience and wisdom.

Researchers are good at detecting when rules and structures become too confining for the group.

Present-Past: Engineer

Engineers create efficient systems: organizing information, people, and the flow of work.

A team player, Engineers help the group stay focused on its collective goals.

Engineers promote accountability, reliability, and trustworthiness, helping bring projects to completion.

Present-Future: Navigator

A Navigator’s attention to trends and changing markets is a valuable contribution to the group.

Navigators encourage others to act in a timely manner.

Navigators combine vision, action, and a knack for organizing. People say that they are natural leaders.

Future-Past: Explorer

Explorers help the group set goals with a “grain of salt,” insisting that their vision be backed up with solid facts.

Explorers counsel against snap decisions.

Explorers find it easy to motivate others because they’re confident that their goals are viable.

Future-Present: Leader

Leaders make sure the group grabs new opportunities before it’s too late.

Leaders are more open to change than most Present thinkers, and understand the benefits of deviating from a plan.

Leaders are inspiring but pragmatic.

Past-Present-Future: Connector

With your unusual ability to engage all thinking styles, Connectors have a clear understanding of group process.

Connectors sense when members are focusing on only one thinking styles and a minority perspective is being pushed to the margins.

Connectors serve as a mediator, help resolve conflicts, and keep everyone focused on constructive interaction.

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