Podcast: Seeing the Vision and Having Clarity: Leadership Characteristic 5 for Driving Meaningful Change
Have you, as a leader, developed a clear vision of where you want the organization to go and fostered excitement among the workforce about how to achieve that future? Probably not, suggests John Dyer, podcast co-host with Dr. Mohamed Saleh of Behind the Curtain: Adventures in Continuous Improvement.
“This is probably one of the areas most leaders fall short in,” Dyer says. … “but without the vision, then you're just treading water.”
In this episode of Behind the Curtain, the podcast hosts continue their exploration of 10 essential leadership characteristics for leading meaningful change. This episode, the fifth of the series, highlights the significance of developing a clear vision.
Dyer leads the discussion with a quote attributed to a video from futurist Joel Barker: “Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world.”
Organizations too often fall into the first two camps, Dyer says. They act, such as working to achieve the monthly numbers, but they’re “never really going anywhere,” or they spend significant time developing a vision only to set it aside as though the exercise is the achievement.
Either scenario leads to disengaged, unmotivated workers and lots of busy work, Saleh says.
The podcast co-hosts delve into the hallmarks of a compelling vision. Says Dyer: “It absolutely needs to be inspirational and exciting for everyone—for all of your employees, for your customers, for your suppliers, for your shareholders, for the executives.”
Furthermore, they discuss:
- Why good vision should not include financial goals. (Growth is the result of a good vision.)
- Why developing the vision is only the first step in the process. (Step 2: The bones of the vision should be shared to get input from the larger organization. “Now, it's not ... the leadership team's vision. It's the whole organization's vision,” Dyer notes.)
- How a clear vision can set the state for breakthrough initiatives.