—Luke Carlson, CEO and founder of Discover Strength
Have you ever been told you need to be more of a visionary leader? If yes, what did that mean to you?
Per Luke Carlson, We have mistakenly thought a visionary leader is someone who knows where they want to go and has great ideas, but that’s not what visionary leadership is. Instead, it’s about sharing and inspiring your vision through-out your organization.
If you can ask the following questions, and obtain similar answers from those within your organization, Carlson feels you have demonstrated visionary leadership.
Do you think your colleagues and direct reports would have similar answers? What more could you do to increase alignment?
We’ve previously shared the below, but understanding the “what” and “why” of your organization, and ensuring your strategies are linked with your vision, mission and goals aids with visionary leadership.
Assess and share if your organization is:
Customer focused – Your focus is on CUSTOMER needs and relationships and is usually higher cost, less volume Ex. Tesla
or
Operations focused – Your focus is on PROCESSES and is generally volume driven with lower costs and high volumes. Ex. fast food restaurants
or
Product focused – Your focus is on the PRODUCT where expenses are geared towards research and development ex. Microsoft
Having a clear and shared vision, and an understanding of the type of business you are (or want to be) will provide guidance for growth and obtaining desired results.
Per Luke Carlson, We have mistakenly thought a visionary leader is someone who knows where they want to go and has great ideas, but that’s not what visionary leadership is. Instead, it’s about sharing and inspiring your vision through-out your organization.
If you can ask the following questions, and obtain similar answers from those within your organization, Carlson feels you have demonstrated visionary leadership.
- What are our core values?
- What is our core purpose?
- What is our strategic niche?
- What is our big, hairy, audacious goal? (BHAG – coined by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras)
- What is our 3 year goal?
- What is our 1 year goal?
- What is our strategy?
Do you think your colleagues and direct reports would have similar answers? What more could you do to increase alignment?
We’ve previously shared the below, but understanding the “what” and “why” of your organization, and ensuring your strategies are linked with your vision, mission and goals aids with visionary leadership.
Assess and share if your organization is:
Customer focused – Your focus is on CUSTOMER needs and relationships and is usually higher cost, less volume Ex. Tesla
or
Operations focused – Your focus is on PROCESSES and is generally volume driven with lower costs and high volumes. Ex. fast food restaurants
or
Product focused – Your focus is on the PRODUCT where expenses are geared towards research and development ex. Microsoft
Having a clear and shared vision, and an understanding of the type of business you are (or want to be) will provide guidance for growth and obtaining desired results.
Sincerely,
Mike and Jan
Creating organizations that value a growth mindset can create contexts in which more people grow into the knowledgeable, visionary, and responsible leaders we need.
–Carol S. Dweck