Non-negotiable attributes of visionary leadership
Visionary leaders have a compelling vision for their business. They can see beyond the ambiguity and challenges of today to an empowering picture of tomorrow. Visionary leaders impregnate their team and the organization itself with this vision.
Fueled by inspirations, the organization charts its course to this new future. They aren’t authoritarian or dictatorial; they don’t seek control over their employees. Instead, they provide freedom to employees to determine the best path to actualizing this vision.
You can cultivate key characteristics to be a visionary leader that inspires your team to greatness:
1. Open minded: Although visionaries hold a big picture in mind, they are flexible on how they get there. They are receptive to new information and can hold multiple perspectives. This open-mindedness allows them to navigate difficult situations with a flexible mind, pulling from many resources and sometimes unrelated industries to arrive at creative solutions.
2. Discipline: A visionary leader’s actions speak volumes and affects other people. To this end, a visionary leader must be disciplined to ensure that the actions that are exhibited affect people positively. Character is the central processing unit, Charisma is the output, and self-discipline is the input. What your character shows on the outside as charisma is a result of the level of discipline used to fine-tune the output. If you are not disciplined, you will exhibit a bad character.
3. Imaginative: Visionary leaders have a childlike playfulness. They value their imagination and allow themselves to dream, exercising their mind’s eye to see beyond what’s in the physical world at the moment. They encourage others to dream big too.
4. Focus: A primary task of leadership is to direct attention. To do so, leaders must learn to focus their own attention. When we speak about being focused, we commonly mean thinking about one thing while filtering out distractions. It is normal to have many things demanding your attention as a leader. These things could be personal, family or societal. Your ability to place your priorities right will help you focus on what you need to achieve as a visionary leader. Some leaders have failed because they think they can handle everything around them. Those leaders are the ones we refer to as “jack of all trades; master of none”. Successful leaders know what to do and when to do them. Do not think that being a leader means you should do everything. Learn to prioritize things. With good focus, you will succeed as a visionary leader. Be wise and FOCUS!
5. Good communicator: A visionary leader has good communication skills. For the leader, communication isn’t just one-sided. In addition to sharing their vision for the future, a visionary leader is also an active listener. As more people “catch the vision,” leaders listen to their ideas and thoughts, incorporating them IGNORE INTO the larger goal. Visionaries involve others in reaching their milestones and help the team members meet their personal goals.
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