Vision and Leadership: Let's Make It Clear
“It is a terrible thing to see and to have no vision”. Helen Keller
We know that as leaders, our constituents expect us to lead with vision. The importance of this is obvious, but it can be hard to do.
Helen Keller had it right, it really is a terrible thing to see and have no vision, both in life and in a leadership role. What if you have a vague idea of what the future may bring, but you, as a leader, are more interested in getting results this quarter? Isn’t that what we work for? I recently heard Ram Charan speak and he admitted it is difficult to have leaders share their visions when we are driven by results: “People get paid for results not vision”.
So what do we do? I think sometimes we just get caught up on the word “vision”.
In the leadership program, The Leadership Challenge, - The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership, we aspire to “Inspire a Shared Vision” - a tall order for leaders who are confronted with a turbulent economy, employee discontent - or just apathy.
Its easy to get caught up in the “Inspire” and “shared” aspects of vision when you think about it as somehow outside of yourself. Yet we know that time and time again, inspired leadership comes from the inside out. A surprising tool that we learn from The Leadership Challenge is that in aiming for the future, you need to look back into your past.
This is more than pure conjecture: reflecting on the past makes your vision of the future clearer. Sometimes known as “the Janus Effect,” its the concept of leading with awareness of where you’re coming from, and being aware of patterns in your life, making room for a more refined vision, one that is easier to convey to others and follow through on.
This “Janus Effect” was observed in chief executive officers who were asked to both look into their future, and into their personal pasts - and to list out ten events and dates that had happened, or that they anticipated happening to them. Surprisingly, those who were asked to list their past events first, had a longer future time horizon than the executives that listed their future events first. (The Leadership Challenge, 4th edition, p 107.)
The suggestion here is that our understanding of the future is elongated when we first look into our past. How do we carry this into our daily leadership practices? Reflecting and moving forward are essential aspects to leadership; sharing that experience, recalling collective efforts and successes makes visions of the future stronger and feel more attainable. Perhaps a first step to looking at vision for yourself as a leader, or for your organization, is looking to what led you to where you are today.
Over 25 years of ongoing research, with data from over 3 million individuals makes The Leadership Challenge® the most trusted name in developing leaders.