The meaning of vision is not a license for dreamy fantasy or
overweening ambition.
It stands for the leader’s special responsibility:
- to see what is not visible to his or her people; to rise
above and survey the landscape
- to find ideas, resources and talent to feed into the
ensemble
- to help people understand the forces that carry them between
the past, the present and the future
- to see into people’s hearts and minds and imagine how they
best work together
- to direct, align and shape the enterprise to achieve
excellence.
This demands a mix of investigative and influencing skills.
The former may mean going under cover in your own organisation, or, at the
least, talking to people other than those who are closest to you and have a
good opinion of you. Leaders can be coached in what we call “decentering” –
seeing the world through others’ eyes – especially useful with one’s enemies!
The latter means techniques that enable the leader to clearly and coherently
shape the reality of his or her stakeholders: their beliefs, expectations,
wants and vision of the future.
The last
of these calls upon the most important tool in the leader’s repertoire – the
ability to create a credible and compelling narrative. This will have four
elements:
- Who am I and why I am here
- Who are we and what do we stand for
- Where are we going and why
- Why we must change.
These help people make sense of the world they inhabit, to
identify with the organisation’s central purpose, and to create positive
engagement.
But the most critical kernel
of vision is the first of the stories. This is the leader’s value proposition –
his or her narrative about their personal journey to now, the principles that
guide them, and the promises they make to their people for the future. This is
the real meaning of leadership vision.
