Leaps of Faith Over Fear!

It is my belief that leaders are ordinary people with extraordinary vision and the ability to share their vision in a way that others make it their own.  However, vision is not enough.  It never has been nor shall it ever be.  In order to maximize our effectiveness as leaders, we must develop an understanding and proficiency with moving beyond vision to action.
I have met people that I am convinced would be exceptional leaders if they were able to move beyond their vision and ideas into actually making something happen. Unfortunately, this is more common than we would like to imagine.  Has this ever been a problem for you?  I believe the thing that most often holds us back from moving forward is fear.  It may be fear of failure, fear of ridicule, fear of risk or even fear of success (one of the most common fears, believe it or not).  The type of fear is important only in analysis.  Fear itself is what we must conquer.
"Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration." wrote Frank Herbert.  No matter how important or world changing your ideas and vision are, if you allow fear to prevent you from moving forward, your ideas become nothing but ash blowing away in the winds of time.
Also important to realize that in avoiding that which you fear you frequently cause its very manifestation, transforming what begins as a nagging mental ghost into a paralyzing reality.   J.R.R. Tolkien wrote, "“A man that flies from his fear may find that he has only taken a short cut to meet it.”  How better then to face your fears and push through the hesitations, holding fast in the knowledge that what your fear are rarely based in reality, just a perception of what you imagine the result of action will be.  Action on your ideas and vision create a circumstance in which fear, although never completely abandoning you, becomes an inconsequential bystander, more ineffective with each consecutive action toward the manifestation of your ideas and vision.  “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”  Nelson Mandela knows about pushing through the fear by acting on your vision.  Through this conviction, a new nation became real for millions.
It is up to each of us as leaders to believe in our extraordinary vision and act to make it a reality.  If some fear builds inside your mind, sideline it by pushing forward and doing everything in your power to make a difference.  Eleanor Roosevelt admonishes us to "do one thing everyday that scares you."   It won't be long until you will be able to ignore the fears you feel and create something wonderful.  Those you lead will be inspired by you to push through their fears too, and isn't that what leadership is?
Now, go.  Act.  Do good work!

Looking Beyond the Horizon

    

 I have been thinking a lot lately about the difference between managers and leaders.  Both of these roles are important and share some characteristics, primarily the goal of getting things done.  Yet, there are some very important differences.  Today, I wanted to muse a bit on the differences in vision.
     Managers are by definition very task oriented.  There are given a goal by a higher manager, and that goal is the driving force behind what they work to achieve using the assets available, i.e. employees, budget, time, materials, etc.  The objective is to finish the work that must be done in order to accomplish the goal within the set time parameters, be that an hour, a day, a year, or whatever the time limit is.  This is one of those areas where there is some overlap with the qualities of a good leader.  Getting something done.  However, as relates to vision, the manager sees only the project and those items that effect it's positive completion.  By it's very nature, this means the vision of the manager is short, reaching only to the end of the project.  Sometimes, especially in today's workplace, the manager may be juggling a variety of projects, by the vision he is restricted to needs to extend only to the end of any given project.  Project done, vision shifts.  It is rare indeed that the manager can afford to broaden his vision to encompass the greater ramifications of any project.  The manager's job is to accomplish the task at hand with the resources available by the project deadline and then move on to the next project.
     Leaders cannot afford to have this kind of short range vision.  Although a leader too has tasks to accomplish with given constraints that are similar to those of a manager, the vision of the leader needs to reach far beyond any one project or goal.  The leader must be aware of the broader implications of any particular project; how each project piece fits into the jigsaw puzzle of greater goals and a larger sense of what the success or failure of any particular project means to the larger goals of the organization or team.  This is why it is important that leaders have a longer vision.  The failure of one part of the puzzle does not mean overall failure, in most cases.
     Whereas the failure of a particular accomplishment may mean a goal is missed or a particular level is not achieved during a set time, the leader sees that the failure is often temporary and that perhaps the overall mission has been enhanced by the totality of the goals set in the long range vision.   In other words, a goal may have been missed this year, but the feasibility for success during the next cycle have been enhanced by the overall performance of the organization or team.  Leaders can afford such vision, managers (for the most part) cannot.
     In the operation of all organizations or teams, both leadership and management are crucial and often overlap.  In most cases, however, the role of each is in the length and breadth of vision.

"If you want to build a ship..."

One of the qualities of leadership is the ability to create, communicate and sustain a vision. Helping your people see beyond the simple what of your goals, but the why is incredibly powerful. If you can inspire those who follow you to own your vision, to long for what the goals you set will create for them and others, they will almost always make the extra effort to accomplish whatever you have envisioned. Empowering them to see the vision as their own, something they desire as much as do you, will set your team on a course of unexpected success and fulfillment. Antoine de Saint Exupéry, author of The Little Prince, is quoted as having said, "If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea." When you are the leader, learn how to make the wonders of the sea manifest to each of you followers and they will manifest a magnificent ship to get you all wherever you desire to be.
Until next time...