Vision: How Leaders See The InvisibleLearn Management Articles on management-info.biz. Vision: How Leaders See The Invisible article will help answer your questions on Management Articles.We at management-info.biz specialize in Management Articles. Management Articles at management-info.biz provides the most up to date news and articles. If you have questions please do not hesitate to contact us.
Vision is a strange concept. It's much more than just a goal or purpose. Goals simply state what we aim to achieve. Visions paint a fuller picture describing our most cherished dreams, hopes and possibilities. 1. Seeing Possibilities. The ability to see possibilities that others don't see is one of the hallmarks of great leaders. Where most of us see just a consignment of goods, leaders see an exciting product that can change someone's life. Where most of us see an office with space for desks and filing cabinets, leaders see a place where teams can do groundbreaking work. Where most of us see people with names and titles, leaders see budding organizational champions. As George Bernard Shaw said, 'Some people see things as they are and ask 'Why?' I see things that are not and ask 'Why not?'' 2. Clear and Compelling. Management writer Warren Bennis was fascinated by the ability of leaders to see what the rest of us can't see. A few years ago, he carried out a study of 90 top leaders in the United States. They included the first man to set foot on the moon, Neil Armstrong. What Bennis discovered was that, despite their different backgrounds, disciplines, and circumstances, these people all had one thing in common: a clear and compelling vision of what they wanted to realise. To them, the vision wasn't at some point in the future. It was right in front of their eyes. 3. A Vision Without Limits. The truly great leaders don't put limits on their vision. They go for the biggest dream they can imagine even if it is only realized at some time in the future when they are no longer around. There is a story about the filmmaker Walt Disney who died six years before the opening of the first Disney World. At the opening ceremony, two Disney executives were sitting together. One said, 'Too bad Walt couldn't have been here to see this.' The other replied, 'You're wrong. Walt did see it. That's why it's here.'. While most of us see no more than three months ahead, outstanding leaders can see several years ahead. Elliott Jaques of Brunel University believed that one person in a million can see 20 years ahead. The Japanese industrialist Konosuke Matsushita even has a 250-year plan for his business. 4. Drawing Others In. Leaders do more than have a vision of what is possible; they articulate it and draw others in. They do this through metaphor, images, and by triggering the innate desire of all people to be part of something big. Compare the visions of the two leading soft-drinks companies in America in the 1920's. One was a Boston-based company called Moxies. Their stated aim was 'to sell herb-based drinks'. Nothing to get excited about there. The other company's vision was 'to quench the thirst of a nation'. That company was Coca Cola. Today, nobody remembers Moxies. 5. Action. Without action, visions are just dreams. They are creations of our imagination, no more. But with action and the ability to see the steps from where we are now to where we can be, dreams become reality. In Shell UK, managers are taught to develop a quality known as 'helicopter vision'. This is the ability to see across three time zones of the future, as if in a hovering helicopter. From here, you can see the near plains, the middle range foothills and the distant peaks. Being able to see all three zones at once harmonizes your tactical actions, your operational planning and your overall strategy. There is a clear map to the realization of the vision.
We all dream but few of us remember our dreams let alone act on them. But leaders are different. They make a difference to our daily lives and our collective lives. They do this by capturing our dreams, nurturing them with care, and in the fullness of time helping us bring them to the glorious light of day.
|
More Articles:1. More Computer Consulting 101 Hiring Tips (Part 2 of 2) By Joshua Feinberg Does your company need to retain the services of a competent computer consulting firm, but you have no idea how to really evaluate “competence”? In the first part of this two-part series on Computer Consulting 101 hiring tips, we looked at why small businesses find it so difficult to hire good computer consulting companies, as well as four basic questions that you must be addressed when searching for a new computer consulting vendor. Now in this second and final installment of this two part se… 2. Well-Defined Processes – How to Create By Chris Anderson Interested in learning how to reduce development time, save money and stay in control? Business professionals can learn how to create well-defined processes with the easy-to-manage Process Approach of Plan-Do-Check-Act.Real Tools for Real Business ProcessIn MBA courses, students come across a lot of buzzwords and the theories behind them. And in the textbook, the terms look and sound great. But after they finish with their classes, they think to themselves: so now what I can I do with all of t… 3. Sales Compensation: Creating Performance Clarity A prospective client called several days ago and asked: 'What should I pay a great performer and what should I pay a salesperson who doesn't meet expectations?' Assessing sales compensation effectiveness from the perspective of expected market pay levels is far too limiting. Sales compensation should be evaluated within the context of the entire performance and pay range for the job performed and results delivered. Furthermore, sales compensation plans and pay levels should be created or critiqu… 4. Sticking to It: The Art of Adherence How many times have we been told the formula for maintaining a healthy weight is to eat a balanced diet and exercise regularly? Everybody knows the formula, although sophisticated marketers package it in many creative ways. So if we all know what the formula is, why is it so difficult to apply it to our lives? The secret to losing weight is not in knowing the formula - it's in applying what we already know. Most organizations understand how to develop a strategy, but many fail to successfully e… |
||||
