Hi Tanveer:

Your points are important for people to understand – A leader’s vision should be fluid and adaptable to changing circumstances, and the best vision is one that is improved upon by including other contributions to align and further expand the vision. Thanks for stopping by Tanveer.

Thanks for sharing this observation John. Your insights are one reason why succession is such an important issue. I think it was John Maxwell who said “There is no leader unless there is a successor.”

Thanks Poul…For what it’s worth, I actually think a leader is both. 

Thanks Mike

It’s ironic that you bring up the issue of vision and leadership as this was the basis of a conversation I had recently for the next episode of my leadership podcast series.  As such, this topic is one I’ve been giving some thought to lately.

I think the challenge we’re seeing in leaders and organizations no longer valuing the importance of vision stems from our continued drive to look only through the lens of short-term objectives; of meeting quarterly forecasts instead of defining where we want our organization to be 5-10 years from now.

Naturally, the argument made against vision is that the world is changing so fast how can anyone truly plan for the future.  Of course, the reality is that this is more an argument to stay on the sidelines while others take risks, out of the false hope that they can someone how tread water and still remain relevant.

In the last few months we’ve seen many examples of organizations which are now struggling because they lack a clear vision of what they want to accomplish (e,g, HP), of what got them where they are and how to continue building on that early foundation (e.g, Netflix) or who became so myopic in their focus over short-term objectives that they overlooked the real changes that mattered; those which have caused their market to evolve, making the offerings they made in the past no longer relevant or meaningful to those they serve (e.g., Kodak).

Creating a vision for your organization is hard, there’s no question about it.  But if leaders made the conscious effort to observe and reflect on those changes that matter most to their organization, create a general vision of what they want their team to accomplish in light of these changes, and then encourage their employees to help that vision evolve and mature, the process of creating this vision will not only be more successful, it will ensure their organization continues to remain relevant, healthy, and thriving in the years to come.

Always enjoy the thoughts and conversations you spur through your writings.

When “our leader” was replaced with another completely
lacking in vision and possessing not much more than the “company line;” the
letdown can be almost devastating—especially to the young and inexperienced.

There are pitfalls out there that can be hard to overcome
even when your wagon is hooked to a visionary. Your ability to survive a loss
of vision can be just as hard as developing your vision.