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Vision and Leadership
We hear about vision everyday , and I think that most people do not really grasp what that means in the hundreds of contexts where it is used. It is even possible the people who use the word, mostly in business articles and speeches, do not fluently understand what is meant by vision. Simply stated, it means more than basic eyesight, or what ability level one possesses based on genetics, damage, or over use. Vision is not your goals or your mission.
We want a leader, whether it is a corporate/organizational leader or political leader to be someone that all of us will follow. If you think you are a leader, look behind you. If no one is following, you are not a leader.
More importantly, people who follow someone as a leader must have a reason to follow. They need to "buy in" to the leader's vision. This means that people must accept the leader before they can accept the vision.
So the word, vision is important. What really comes first, the acceptance of the leader, or the acceptance of the vision. I believe it is the leader. People have to believe that their leader is going to perform according to what their wants, needs, and desires happen to be that day. If they do not believe that will happen, it does not matter what the leader says.
To get people to a point where they want to follow you, your vision and what you will do to effect that must be on the table immediately. It is vital to the process of leadership that what you are going to do for those whom you are leading mirrors your vision, and your image simultaneously.
Vision cannot be something like telling people that you just want to help them along, or that together we are going fight and win. No one knows what those platitudes mean, and they are disingenuous to say the least.
Your vision cannot be a cliche, or a basic belief platform. It must be something you believe with all your heart, and is evident in your speech, actions, and temperment. Otherwise, your insincerity will be obvious and people will ignore you.
Vision must be something that is tangible, but not yet reached. It cannot be stated in a goal such as, we want to make a lot of money this year. It needs to be stated in a format that tells everyone how the objectives will be achieved without a numbered list. Instead of "more money," you could say, "We will help people live their dreams in record numbers, and establish more client relationships ever before in the history of our firm."
The manifestation of vision in a leader is getting the people who are following you to perform their tasks toward achieving your organizational goals because they want to be successful. The vision part is that you can see the success before it occurs in reality. It is similar to walking into a house that needs to be repaired, and visualizing a beautiful model home.
If you are passionate about your vision, and what your organization is doing to reach its goals, you can ask people to follow you and they will.
Check this presentation on Motivation and Direction:
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