The Importance of Vision

Having just joined yet another non-profit board of directors, I am amazed at how many organizations have no vision. How do they hope to prosper and grow without one? When I met with the President of this board and our Executive Director, I asked several questions. First, what is the organization all about -- why do we exist and what do we do? That, of course, is the mission of the organization. I had read the mission statement only by going to the web site and doing so. Our board "planning retreat" made no mention of it. Nonetheless, I was already familiar with the mission. But my second question was more pointed: where do we want to go? Already a member of three other boards, I have neither the time nor the desire to attend more meetings that will ultimately result in the status quo. The bottom line is that the organization has no stated vision and is, therefore, going nowhere definite.

Further discussion with these two intelligent, dedicated ladies convinced me to stay with the board -- at least for now -- to try to help alleviate this lack of direction. And the Executive Director promised to send me a copy of the organization's Strategic Action Plan, which I did not know existed and am willing to bet the other 20 or so members of the board do not, either. After receiving the plan and reading it carefully, I believe someone put much effort into the document but that it remains just that -- a slick but lifeless document -- not the dynamic, "living" strategic plan I believe is needed.

So why the title of this blog? My experience illustrates that many organizations and the people in them simply fail to understand the power and importance of vision. Many people in this world are leaders and even more are followers. Being either is quite acceptable. Followers become dedicated followers, however, when they are inspired by leaders and become committed to achieving a worthwhile vision. While there are certainly people happy with status quo and relative "sameness," most people love the challenge and adventure of growing and achieving higher goals. Without a clear vision, leaders deprive their followers of this inspiration. In short, people -- whether leaders or followers, like to win. But they have to know where the game is going and what the plan of action is in order to achieve the victory.

As a leader, please don't deprive your followers of the vision they need to succeed and grow.

Seeing the whole picture

Although I am not a particularly political person, our new administration provides an excellent example of leadership in action. Therefore, I will continue to use President Obama and the national leadership as such for a while. After all, one of the privileges of living in this country is that we get to speak freely about our leaders, whether those comments are laudatory or critical.

I have to say that I am fairly impressed with the actions the President has taken to date. He seems to be diligent in following through on some key campaign promises and consistent in providing the change he espoused during the campaign. I see that as a good thing -- it indicates integrity and courage. Concurrently, however, he is also making some mistakes, as we should expect from any human.

Let's talk about cabinet appointments. So far, several key appointees have ultimately withdrawn their names from consideration for the posts for which they had been chosen. Why? In at least two instances, because of tax issues. This situation brings up a couple questions in my mind. First, did the President's aides not check on these individuals' tax compliance during the vetting process? Didn't someone take the time to ask Tom Daschle if he had any skeletons in that particular closet? I would expect that issue to come up in the process, especially after the first occurrence. It seems to me that one embarrassment for the administration would serve to learn that lesson, preventing the situation from recurring. But no, we have to go through it again! Learning lessons is a critical element of leadership. Is no one paying attention?

Now let's look at whether or not the focus is correct. Maybe the President is looking at the wrong problem. If so, no solution will be found. We can concentrate all our efforts on solving problems, but if we, as leaders, are not focusing on the correct problems, the solutions will fail to provide the desired results. Is it possible that we are seeing such a situation now? President Obama is focusing on staffing his cabinet, which I understand must be accomplished, but is the problem that he keeps choosing inappropriate personnel or that our nation's tax laws and regulations are so complex that no one truly understands them? While I do not even pretend to have the answer to this question, the recurring situation does make me believe that some intelligent people are trying to solve the wrong problem.

This tendency to focus on seemingly obvious solutions to complex problems is quite widespread. In many cases, I have been requested to provide training solutions to issues that were not training problems. As good as the training might be and as thorough as I am in delivering it, the problem will still exist. (In my own defense, I have to say that I try very hard to avoid these situations, preferring to help my clients to see they can solve whatever the issue is more effectively through other means.) As leaders, we must engage in some root-cause analysis to make sure we are not spending resources on solving the wrong problems, and help others in the organization do the same.

The election is over... now what?

The election is over. Your candidate won or not, but we’ll have no more political ads or campaign promises for a while, and the questions about who will lead the country have been answered.

One thing about the election that I would like to say is that it was an excellent example of our system of government working as it should, as it was designed. Whether or not any of us agree with the outcomes of the presidential race or any other race is now irrelevant. What we witnessed during the campaigns, the election, and through the inauguration in January is the peaceful transfer of power from one administration to the next -- as we have done for over 200 years. No other nation, or certainly very few, can make that claim. So whether you are a Democrat reveling in the victory, a Republican fretting at what the next four years will bring, or an independent, take pride in knowing our system works as it should. It is certainly less than perfect but far better than any other on this planet.

I think the biggest shock and disillusionment over the next few years will come not from the McCain supporters, but rather from the Obama supporters. We need to understand that presidents don’t pass laws, Congress does. And Congressmen and Senators quite often have their own agendas. Campaign promises serve to get candidates elected and rarely come true. That is not to say that President Obama will be vastly different from candidate Obama, only that life as we know it in these United States will not become perfect on January 21st. It will take all of us – the Administration, Congress, and the citizenry – working together to make our nation a better place to live. And that is how it has always been here.

Finally, as a student and avid professor of leadership, I have to say again that the election is over. Beginning on January 20th, Barack Obama’s official address will be ‘Mr. President.’ As a nation, we have elected him as our head of state. We have had our say about who would lead us and the majority chose him. Consequently, we owe him our support, our counsel when we disagree with him, and our loyalty. After all, our loyalties are not to the individual, but to the office and the nation. I read an editorial this morning talking about the inevitable first international crisis that will occur after he assumes office. The author believes that will be the first true test and indicator of the new President’s abilities to lead. Let’s hope it goes well.

Currently working with a relatively small community bank on some leadership training, I have run into a fairly new challenge. I have no trouble connecting with new leaders and helping them become better in their leadership skills. I do it all the time. However, the group I am now working with includes a young lady who more or less refuses to be a leader. In our first of five sessions together, she more or less stated as much, saying she does not like giving direction to her tellers because it creates conflict. They give her the cold shoulder every time she tells them she needs them to do something.

It sounds to me like she simply does not want the responsibility of leading. I even asked her why she accepted the promotion to Head Teller, to which she never really replied, at least not directly. I think the bottom line is that she saw a raise in pay and took the position without considering the ramifications. Now her branch manager is frustrated because she won't take action, she is frustrated herself because of expectations being thrust upon her, and her subordinates are walking all over her because they know they can.

As I have said many times, leadership is not for the feint of heart. It takes courage to stand up for your subordinates while still getting them to do what you need them to do. It also takes the realization that you, upon accepting a leadership role, become one of "them," rather than one of us. This is especially true when promoted from within, as this young lady was.