In a world where immediate outcomes often define success, the value of a long-term vision is easily obscured. Without visionary leadership, however, you lose the heart, talent and creativity of people.

Immediate outcomes and short-range tactics are best handled by managers. Managing focuses on navigating the tactics necessary for achieving short-term results, while leading involves cutting through the noise, challenges, and daily fears to guide your team towards a brighter future.

Transitioning from merely managing into leading with a vision is no simple task. Daily distractions and emergencies constantly pull you from that focus. To move yourself into visionary leadership, you must first create the vision, then keep yourself and your team focused on achieving it, here’s how:

Create a Clear Vision

• Define a Clear Focus: Establish one clear focus to guide you and your team.
• Maintain Focus: Keep the clear focus at the forefront of conversations.
• Inspire Action: Motivate and inspire those around you. Keeping a positive attitude and fostering a positive environment are great ways to inspire your team.
• Provide Positive Feedback: Give daily positive feedback to those moving towards the vision.
  • Try it out: challenge yourself to give positive feedback to five different people every day.
• Trust in Your Vision: Trust that focusing on the vision will yield results.

Empower Your Team with Trust

• Empower Others: Allow your team to do their job. Give them opportunities to own part of the vision by having them define processes.
• Embrace Learning: View mistakes as learning opportunities and encourage a love of learning.
• Acknowledge Limits: Recognize that you can’t do everything.
• Celebrate Milestones: Mark milestones events on the way to celebrate progress, encourage the team and maintain focus on the goals.

Prioritize Focus on the Vision

• Prioritize Wisely: Say no to things that don’t support the focus.
• Encourage Diversity: Welcome diverse ideas and opinions to achieve the vision. Encouraging diverse voices starts with respectful leadership.
• Delegate Tactics: Leave tactics to those who design and manage them – your empowered team.
• Adapt to Challenges: Accept that problems will occur and know that you and your team are adept at handling them. It’s not about getting everything right; focus on getting the job done.

If you don’t lead with vision, inspiration, and belief, you have nothing to manage or achieve except mediocrity. Embrace the challenge of leading and inspire your team to reach beyond the ordinary. Transform your vision into reality by fostering a culture of innovation and commitment.

Lead from the front!

Bobbie Goheen