Highly effective inspiration tactic, now backed by neuroimaging study

A few months ago I wrote...

“I believe vision casting is a high-value leadership skill used to aim large groups of people at a specific, more ideal future.”- Me in Tips to realize vision by empowering autonomy

...and independently, a team of researchers from Case Western Reserve University wanted to “see what happens in the brain that either helps people grow or causes them to resist change”.

What they found was that trying to inspire people to “fix” their real self makes them less likely to change due to the self-critical thoughts produced by focusing on who they actually are right now.

Instead, their research suggests that helping someone produce a clear vision of their ideal self, and then believe in their natural desire to grow and choose their own adventure to become that person, makes them most likely to change.

Even though this study measured the influence of focusing on an ideal self on one individual at a time, I believe the influence of focusing on an ideal vision for a team, company, or community is no different and likely has the same effect on groups of people.