In our work with visionary leaders who are focused on being the disrupters and not the disrupted, we’ve seen that being a visionary can be a bit of a double-edged sword. Perhaps you’ve experienced this yourself or have seen recent business news items that illustrate this issue.
It’s common to lump visionaries into one of two stereotyped camps: either they are the magically charismatic visionaries, or they are the visionaries who are out of touch with the day-to-day, focused solely on the future and frequently incomprehensible to employees and others. But these stereotypes are not the rule.
The surprising truth is that successful visionaries are all around us. These transformative leaders focus not only on the strategic merits of the vision; they also focus on the leadership aspects of gaining trust and commitment from the key stakeholders who are essential to bring the vision to life.
Keep in mind that elements of your vision that may seem inspiring and intuitively obvious to you may not be acceptable or clear to others. That’s why the bolder your vision, the more important it is to take steps that can lead to greater engagement and productive action. To find out our recommendations for addressing this issue, download and listen on-the-go to Growth Igniters® Radio Episode 123: The Surprising Truth About Visionary Leaders.
