Effective Leadership and Vision  

Where there is no vision, the people perish ~ The Book of Proverbs. 

The above quote is as true in business as in life … and as true today as it was 3,000 years ago. Without vision, there is nowhere to go, no direction to work towards. Organizations with no vision are run by people who think, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” They stay with what they’ve always done and get what they’ve always got. However, true leaders think, “If it ain’t broke, you aren’t looking hard enough!” These leaders are always looking for better and more effective ways to do things.  

True leaders change the organisations around them – they make a difference to the business. Leadership is about what you do and how you do it. It involves learnable skills that can be applied to the tasks that occur in every business. The characteristics of True Leaders are: 

They are untidy

Because they are constantly evolving their organizations and their teams, constantly improving and fine-tuning things, little is ever the same as it was. Some people are uncomfortable with this constant state of flux but this is where true leaders flourish. 

They lead by example

These leaders make a point of getting “down” with their team and doing what they’re asking others to do. David Ogilvy and James Caan are two English examples of these types of leaders. They come to work earlier and leave later than everyone else, they act rather than preach and, because of that, they usually have empathy with those who are struggling. They are great at listening and helping the fallen rise again, because they’ve done it themselves! 

They enjoy creating leaders

An army of sheep lead by a lion would only defeat an army of lions lead by sheep ~ Arab proverb. They are secure enough in their own leadership and their strengths that they purposely foster and train others for leadership roles, knowing that any organisation is not strong unless everyone in it is strong. 

They have a sense of purpose that others believe in

A team is a group of people who may not be equal in experience, talent or education but in commitment ~ Les Brown. True Leaders have a vision that:

1.    They share with others, and 

2.    Others believe in.

True leaders know that their organisation does not run by only their efforts and so they create a believable vision that everyone wants to join in and move towards. They are clear about what their vision is, they make sure everyone else is clear about that and they encourage others towards it.  

They understand that leadership is a relationship, not an action

They are action-oriented people, yes, but they also know that to lead, they must also relate strongly with the people they lead. They may change and adapt to changing circumstances but they always remain true to themselves and true to their expressed vision. By their constancy, they engender trust and a following.