What does it take to be an Inspired Leader? In our seminar, 3-Centered Leadership, we share the five characteristics that assure Inspired Leadership. The first of the five characteristics is Vision.
What is vision? Vision is having the clarity of direction as to where you and the organization are going; the energy, passion and enthusiasm that inspires commitment to follow you; and the ability to anticipate and discern the “what, how and when”and to articulate it so that everyone’s efforts in the organization are focused on achieving the direction charted.
Warren Bennis states that “vision acts as a force within, compelling a leader to action. It gives a leader purpose, and the power of the vision and the leader’s devotion to it work to inspire others – who, sensing purpose and commitment, respond.”
How clear and compelling is your Vision?
Do your employees follow you out of fear or duty or because they are aligned with and inspired by your Vision?
More often than not, we find that employees aren’t clear about leadership’s vision and they yearn for it. They want to follow and be inspired but too few leaders know how to do it.
Inspired Leadership is about seeing beyond the obvious and finding new, innovative ways of doing business and constantly developing and refining your vision for what it will look like to achieve that vision. Once you get clear on the vision, you’ve got to help employees tie what they do to the achievement of the vision. It has to be personal and compelling for others to get on board. That’s your job as a leader!
After that it’s about paying attention to the people you are leading to gain clues about what they need, what can be done to help them become better at what they do and who they are, and inspiring them to reach beyond themselves for new growth opportunities. In the end, the company that grows together, achieves great things!
