You see conversations about this on LinkedIn, there are a thousand business books that talk about it. It is studied in military colleges, the political arena, business schools and multi-national corporations. We think it is vital to the success of our country, our businesses and other institutions. We say we know it when we see it. Really? What differentiates a leader?
Here are some qualities I think are required:
Vision
Willingness to take charge/risk
Trust
Communication
Followers/Believers
Let’s start with vision
You are standing on the plateau, surveying the landscape. You see the competition, the hazards, the resources and talent available. You know what you have.
You also can see in your mind a picture of where you could go. There may be more than one option. It may be murky. Yet, you can create a plan to move forward.
How do you develop vision? Not every great leader just “sees it”.
They have regular conversations with people they respect about the future. Not the narrow future of just their company or just their world. They get input on what’s developing in social media, in other industries, in other parts of the world. They pay attention to major forces with strategic impact-the availability of energy, food, talent, cash.
They look for the places where there are high leverage points. They figure out how to take advantage of them. They do careful analysis or have the team to do that for them. They are not just responding to their immediate situation. Hopefully they have developed a game plan for 3-5 years out. That is vision.
Can you devote an hour this week to reflect on where you are going? Write out 3 things you need to think about, or do based on that reflection.
Next week: Willingness to take charge/risk.
Illustration courtesy of evolllution.com