The importance of vision in successful leadership of transformations

Vision plays two distinct and connected roles in successful leadership. Visionary leadership is one of the six leadership styles identified by Daniel Goleman and many organisations, teams, and transformation programmes recognise the importance of a compelling vision that helps drive success.

Visionary leaders emphasise the provision of long-term goals and mobilise people towards a vision, that they believe in.? They tend to have strong self-confidence and empathy with their team members.? They are catalysts for change and inspire their people to move towards shared dreams. ?They can explain how and why people’s efforts will contribute to achieving the vision and they tend to have a positive effect on their teams and the overall culture.

This style is most useful when a change is needed, especially during a significant transformation, or the team requires clear direction. It has the most positive impact on the business climate of all of Goleman’s styles. Visionary leaders should guard against being seen as pompous or out-of-touch, and listening to the expertise in the wider team is always sensible.

Recognising that visionary leadership is most important during a transformation, it is worth considering what makes a successful transformation as this will link us to the other role for vision in leadership.

There are three main elements to leading a successful transformation, all linked to a vision of what success looks like. Successful transformations start by establishing a compelling direction, a vision for the future, and then developing the strategies for how to get there.

Leaders within the transformation then need to align people by communicating the direction, building a shared understanding, and getting people to believe in the vision. They can then inspire, influence, and persuade their team to follow that vision.

Finally, the leaders need to motivate and inspire their people to enact the kinds of changes required to deliver the vision that they have articulated. It sounds so simple, but there are many varied views on what makes a compelling vision that many leaders get stuck before they have really started.

There is a view that any organisational vision statement should be short and sharp, and capable of being spoken in one breath. Unless the leader also happens to be a classically trained singer, I don’t agree with that view.

We should consider the vision as being a “postcard from the future”, describing in rich detail what success looks like at that moment in time that has been chosen. The vision should also be the team’s “Navigational Headmark”, it will be the guiding light in challenging times, and the foundation of great decision making.

John Kotter, arguably the world’s leading expert of change, states that the compelling vision should be capable of being delivered in 5 minutes or less. That makes it so much more than a short fragment that might be painted in foot high letters at reception and should not be confused with purpose or mission statements.

Purpose is the underpinning “why” for the organisation and the mission statement should explain what is to be achieved and what outcome or benefit will be delivered because of successfully delivering that mission.

This is the point where visionary leadership and the vision come together. The vision captures what a successful future looks like, in enough detail to provide the guidance that each team member can use as they play their part. The visionary leader takes that vision and communicates it, often and through a variety of channels, to inspire and influence each of those team members to play their part in delivering success.

What does your vision of success look like? How do you use it to inspire your team to deliver success?