3 Unique Ways To Develop Your Leadership Vision
Posted on April 05, 2024 by Emily Walton, One of Thousands of Leadership Coaches on Noomii.
Let’s explore 3 different lenses that help leaders build a comprehensive vision to chart the course for themselves and their teams.
What Is Leadership Vision?
Leadership is such an expansive and encompassing term that we aim to break it down into bite-sized segments to better understand its many parts. We talk about leadership traits, characteristics, mindsets, presence, and skills to try to describe it. One such skill that is essential to effective leadership is vision. Leadership vision can be defined as the areas a leader focuses on that sets the direction for an organization or team in the future.
Why Is Vision In Leadership Important?
We think of leaders having a vision into the inner workings of their teams, setting a strategic vision, and being visionary. Each of these uses of leadership vision requires a unique approach to ensure that the relevant details are considered and incorporated to chart a strategic path forward. In addition, the vision must be clearly communicated and readily understood throughout the organization to ensures that everyone is contributing in a way that drives the vision forward in the same direction.
How Does Vision Impact Mission And Strategy?
When a leader sets a vision for their team or organization, they lead their team into unknown territory. There will be uncertainties and setbacks, however, there can also be great rewards and payoffs. Realigning company resources to make the vision a reality has a direct impact on the company mission and the strategy for achieving it. Whether the vision is in alignment or not with the mission will affect the understanding and actions of the team tasked with carrying it out. Additionally, if the vision is unclear or poorly aligned, the organization will struggle to implement a strategy that brings it to life. However, a clearly defined vision that aligns with the mission of the company will chart a clear path for an effective strategy to make the vision a reality.
How To Improve Leadership Vision
Developing your leadership vision can be done, but it takes time, practice, and perspective. When I think about leadership vision, I envision exploring it through 3 different lenses to see all the relevant angles and details. Let’s explore them together.
Under The Microscope
Many leaders start their journey on a smaller scale with skill and expertise in a specific area. They understand the details of the work their team does along with the ins and outs of their direct reports’ jobs, their workflows, and existing processes. At this level, we are under the microscope. This allows leaders to zoom in and see the elements of their team including their talents, their use of tools, and their foundational knowledge.
If this is an area you want to grow in, a great place to start is “leading by doing”, which is different from “management by walking around.” Often, as leaders take on additional responsibilities, workers feel more and more disconnected from them. In management by walking around, managers can end up suggesting ill-advised solutions because they don’t fully understand the problem. However, in leading by doing, leaders and managers spend 5% to 10% of their time doing the same work as their direct reports, equipping them to provide relevant solutions and helping them better manage.
A View Of The Cosmos
Since leaders are expected to lead forward progress, they mustn’t exclusively look through their microscope lens. In addition to understanding the inner workings of their teams, leaders mus see the bigger picture. They must understand what is changing in the industry. As well as what is on the horizon. Lastly, they must identify how different teams can work together to create new solutions and innovate ideas to stay competitive. This is best done through the telescope.
Not only does a telescope bring distant and obscure things into focus, it can also help leaders see the relationships between things, such as a planet and its moons. In the same way, this type of vision can be crafted to help leaders understand the function of different teams, and their opportunities to contribute to shared goals, connecting dots that lead to innovative and constructive ideas
Creating Through The Kaleidoscope
The third lens often takes the longest to develop. Leaders who are true visionaries incorporate both microscopic and telescopic views. However, the real magic happens when they understand the details, can see the big picture, and imagine the possibilities. When this is achieved, they can see through the kaleidoscope. When looking through a kaleidoscope, shapes and colors rotate and change creating uniquely different images with every turn. Similarly, the leader’s kaleidoscope lens helps them to see the ideal solution for the unique circumstances they are facing. By evaluating from different angles, they can see various pictures take shape, morph, and shift until they find the optimal solution.
In Conclusion
Though leadership will remain vast and complex, these 3 simple leadership lenses serve as a framework for developing your leadership vision. The microscope allows us to zoom in to become familiar with our teams and their work and surface relevant solutions. The telescope allows us to see the broader landscape of the industry and the opportunities available to us as leaders with a greater perspective. Lastly, the kaleidoscope includes insights from microscopic and telescopic vision, along with the creativity to pursue new and innovative opportunities.
