Leaders are called to be visionaries. Leaders are forward-looking, able to imagine possibilities beyond today to create greater opportunities tomorrow. For many leaders, that’s the easy part — looking across the horizon to a better future.
The hard part is engaging others to act on that vision. Too often, leaders grab hold of a vision and run, expecting others to follow. This lone leader approach fails — miserably, as the leader’s attempt to rally support is squashed by low morale and decreased productivity from his team.
Leadership may begin with vision, but that path to achieve it comes from taking some important steps first:
Find a common purpose. Whether you lead a team of employees at your office or you’re the head of your family, people don’t just want to hear your vision. They want to know how their dreams and aspirations can come true. Ultimately, your goal is to create a shared vision, one where others can see how they fit into the larger goal. You must show others how their specific needs will be served by pursuing this vision. You can accomplish this by: listening and discovering what is meaningful to them.
Communicate with clarity and passion. Most would say charisma is a necessary trait of a leader. A leader must have the personality to emotionally connect and move people into action. That’s part of it. But more important that charisma, is the ability to articulate the vision with clarity and in a way ignites passion. Clarity offers the “what to do” while passion gives the “why to do it.” People need both to act — direction and motivation.
Facilitate cooperative relationships. A shared vision enables people to come together under a common purpose, yet allows each to gain from the collaboration in different ways. Remember, to be a leader you must have followers. Also, to be a team you must have more than one person. If we could do it alone, why would be need leaders or teams? We must remember these fundamentals and focus on activity that promotes collaborative effort (and success), rather than individual achievement.
Leaders know that an organization begins with a vision. But a successful leader knows that a successful organization begins with a shared vision. When that collective vision is identified and communicated, others buy-in. They are more motivated, more productive and more likely to achieve the vision because it’s not just for the organization, it’s for them as well.
