My favorite definition of leadership comes from Kouzes and Posner: “Leadership is the art of mobilizing others to want to struggle for shared aspirations.” That’s a great, dense package that generates discussion about the complexity of leadership. However, sometimes we … Read More
Last week, we talked about rubrics in general as a tool to develop vision. This week, let’s take that further to talk about a way to make your passion more obvious to your team. Examine all your own projects, initiatives, … Read More
We all need a starting point for discussions about vision, direction, prioritization, and hiring. That’s precisely why leaders love rubrics. Simple rubrics are easy to implement, and help make things clear. Consider using a scale of 1 to 3, or 1 … Read More
These posts, and thousands of books, explore ways to engage and lead others better. Let’s be clear; these techniques and skills work for the vast majority of folks. But not for all of them. We are plagued by “The Ten … Read More
Email can eat us alive. Here are some pointers to manage the inbox, based on my daily practice, rather than ideal “best” practices. I believe in “inbox zero.” Right now, my inbox is empty. My first step when I look … Read More
One thing I do to help leaders is teach them how to facilitate a SWOT activity. SWOT stands for: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. I’m going to assume that you already know the concepts behind SWOT (if not, we’ll make … Read More
Deadlines are kind. They give people a way to prioritize their time and efforts. Priorities are also kind. Not setting them becomes fertile ground for frustration. Without priorities, people are led to think one of two things: 1- All of … Read More
So many believe that leaders are “visionary”. It’s true – but a problem is this:
The concept of vision is “out there”, esoteric, hard to grasp. Aren’t visionary leaders somehow “special” in that regard? How can you “teach” vision?
A working definition of “Vision” as it applies to leaders:
Vision is a two-fold ability:
1) the ability to accurately see the current reality of the organization/situation, and
2) the ability to creatively see the possibilities of the organization/situation.