After over 100 years of research into leadership there seems to be only one thing that all the leadership researchers broadly agree on, and it’s this: A leader is a person with a vision that others willing follow.
This also neatly illustrates the difference between management and leadership. Managers keep the show on the road, leaders decide on the road to follow.
Logically then, the hallmark of a leader is someone with a vision for their own life which is strong enough for them to believe in and follow. Not every aspiring leader does this and, in fact most don’t. (Only about 20% of people who find themselves leadership roles in business do). It’s an interesting omission and one that anyone serious about leadership will be keen to correct for two key reasons.
Firstly, without a personal vision, the whole leading-by-personal-example piece takes a bit of a knock. People with a vision they are passionate about and committed to tend to convey a bit more credibility and authenticity and they tend to display more resilience and determination in times of difficulty. Potential followers tend to find a demonstration of these qualities in practice more persuasive than words.
Secondly, we need to genuinely understand the territory, both the mechanics of setting vision and goals and holding ourselves responsible and accountable for them, and the emotional territory of dealing with our successes and the frustration of setbacks, knocks and our own occasional daft mistakes. Only by walking the walk consistently through the territory of creating a vision for ourselves and managing ourselves through the various ups and downs do we develop the character and maturity to meaningfully lead and expertly coach others.
If this isn’t something you’ve given much thought to, no worries, now’s a good time to start and it’s neither painful, nor expensive nor time-consuming to do. There are a few simple but powerful questions that can help you focus your thoughts. The basic question is “What is my highest and best”. ‘Highest’ being the greatest accomplishments you could achieve in your chosen fields (in personal and work life), and ‘best’ being the personal standards and values you will adhere to in going through life (for example, positive disciplined, determined, and leaving everyone whose life you touched better than you found them). Another way to ask the same question is the ‘legacy question’: “When I go who do I want to be remembered by and what for?” both in terms of what I achieved and who I was. Another angle on the same question is passion: What am I passionately for; what do I believe in? A final angle is the ‘difference’ angle: What difference do I want my life and career to have made, to who, and how.
Deciding what our highest and best will be are the most important decisions we can make as leaders. They set the context for everything else they do.
Think it through, write it down, and put it somewhere where you will see it often. Look at it frequently and measure your action and progress against it and bit by bit you’ll close the gaps and make it real.
