Vision and Leadership - Tom Stevens Article

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Vision and Leadership

The conventional and over-celebrated view of vision is that it's something a good leader first must “have” and then convinces followers to adopt.

I do not subscribe to the conventional view.

Exceptional leaders don’t impart a vision, they cultivate the emergence of a vision – a huge difference. High achievement and success are more likely when an organization’s vision has a life of its own. While the seed for a vision can certainly originate from a leader, there is incredible power and energy when a group of people to discover their collective vision.

Discover is the right word, and discovery comes through meaningful exchange of personal ideas, views, and values until a shared collective image of the future emerges. Hint: this more than coming together for an afternoon and crafting a set of words everyone agrees represent a “vision” statement. A vision that has a life of its own provides genuine motivation, and is not dependent on any one individual. The latter attribute provides a safeguard to an organization that resists shifting course precipitously every time there is a shift of leadership.

The following are five critical actions that experienced leaders use to tap into the power of a shared collective vision:

Facilitate and Encourage Dialogue That Lets the Vision Emerge
Rather than simply impart a their vision, exceptional leaders assemble the right people and ask, “what is our vision?” Effective leaders create organizational structures and cultivate a climate where fierce dialogues can occur, and in fact are expected. They use meetings to focus dialogue on meaningful issues for the organization.
Articulate the Vision on Behalf of the Group
Once the vision has been discerned by the group, it is indeed a leadership function to articulate that vision. Leaders must be able to communicate the vision is so is clearly understood by all stakeholders. Leaders must also communicate the path to achieving the vision (or at least the next step), and how it is that people will benefit.
Encourage and Showcase Champions of the Vision
People who promote the vision can come from all ranks, and probably need to. Effective leaders lend the halo of their leadership position to champions for the vision, providing support and encouragement when needed and publicly recognizing the work of champions as a means to promote the vision.
Empower and Support Action that Moves the Vision Forward
A vision is valuable, of course, because is provides a means for people to align their work and know if they are moving in the right direction. A vision by itself is worthless unless followed by corresponding action. Leaders must allocate resources, smooth transactions across boundaries, and otherwise ensure action is taken that moves the organization forward so a vision becomes a reality. Seeking and celebrating early wins can be critical to gaining and sustaining momentum.
Influence the Culture to Embrace and Align with the Vision
All too often leaders underestimate the power of an organization’s culture, the default behavior and attitudes that happen without effort on anyone’s part. The culture is a strong current that either automatically pushes the organization in a way that supports a vision, or drains off a significant level of effort long before any forward motion is achieved. Leaders influence the culture by finding and rewarding elements of the desired culture that already exists. They influence the culture profoundly by living the vision, i.e. walking the talk. Southwest Airlines is famous for creating a culture where everyone pitched in, demonstrated by executives who would hand out peanuts or help stack luggage whenever they were on a flight, which also created stories that implied expectations for all employees.

"Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come," goes the well-known quote by Victor Hugo. Exceptional leaders know that the most powerful vision for an organization is one whose time has come. Exceptional leaders cultivate the emergence of a vision whose time has come, and ready the organization to act on that vision.

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