April 2005
Where Are The Great Visions? |
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One
of the most disappointing things about many people in senior leadership
positions is their unwillingness to formulate and articulate a vision
of their organization's future. Perhaps they don't feel it is really
that necessary. Or maybe they realize just how hard that work truly
is, and keep putting it off, silently hoping that someone else will
take it on.
Just
about everyone who writes, researches or lectures about leadership
proclaims the extreme importance of a compelling vision of the future.
And it also seems like most managers and executives tend to agree,
at least intellectually. So then, why is it so infrequently done
- at least very well?
Although
there are many ways to answer this, we have come across three sizable
obstacles than tend to frequently hamper the visioning efforts of
many leaders.
Obstacle
One: Accountability
When
leaders put forth a vision of the future, they now put themselves
into a position of being held accountable for its success. After
all, we expect leaders to deliver on their promises. And, we have
found that many leaders are not necessarily seeking more accountability
in their already overwhelmed lives, especially about things too
far down the road. They already feel accountable enough, just related
to today's results.
But
the taking on of more accountability, by itself, is seldom the complete
issue. Rather, it is the kind or accountability that vision represents.
Visions are about the future, about things that have not happened
and are not sure bets to happen. Often they are based on technology
or relationships that do not even exist at the time the vision is
conceived. Being held accountable for something like selling existing
products and services to identified customers and targeted prospects
is one thing. Being held accountable for delivering something that
today is considered impossible, or at best, infeasible is another
matter entirely.
With
all the emphasis placed on accountability, it is not surprising
that some leaders choose not to put forth much of a clear picture
about the future. As much as people work to shape the future, there
are always outside forces that are beyond their control. Bottom
line: it is very risky to start promoting an ambitious vision that
will be considered a rock-solid promise, in an environment that
can change in the blink of an eye.
Obstacle
Two: Time
Time
here is not what you think. It has nothing to do with the apparent
lack of time leaders have to think about and then consistently communicate
their desired destinations in the future.
Time
here is related directly to accountability. It means that not only
do people hold leaders accountable for delivering on their visions,
but they also hold leaders accountable for delivering on them -
right now.
Think
about this on the world stage. It seems like countries in the Middle
East have been going at each other for centuries. Whether the causes
are historical, religious, cultural, geographic or economic, they
run deep and do not have easy solutions. Although most American
Presidents have taken steps to further the peace process, not very
many would run an election campaign on a foreign policy vision of
peace in that part of the world. Based on experience, peace will
not happen overnight, no matter how much we might like it to.
Consider
the similar impact of time on big issues closer to home such as
health care, social security, homeland security, or energy. Our
instant gratification society wants solutions developed and implemented
right now. So candidates running for office might make a lot of
noise about them while campaigning, but they seldom put a definitive
stake in the ground around them. They know challenges like these,
even if great progress is made, will not be making much of an impact
on voters by the next election. And winning re-election certainly
seems to be the most important goal of any newly elected President
or congressperson.
It
is similar in business. Positive results from grand visions of change
are frequently expected to occur almost immediately. If you are
a little too slow in reaping profits from new markets overseas or
a new industry segment domestically, what might skeptical employees,
a cynical media, and an impatient Wall Street likely say about your
vision of international growth or strategic diversification?
It
makes one wonder if today a John Kennedy could get away with taking
ten years to put a man on the moon, or a Ronald Reagan taking eight
years to bring down the Berlin Wall.
Obstacle
Three: Getting It Right
The
remaining barrier that inhibits leaders from creating and articulating
an ambitious vision is the expectation that they have to get it
right. People are not always so forgiving when something big does
not turn out as expected.
Earlier
this year, HP had apparently not yet made its expected numbers from
its acquisition of Compaq; and CEO Carly Fiorina got to resign.
(It is hard to say right now if that was a more factor of the time
obstacle just discussed or a flawed original direction.) And although
a verdict is a long way from being reached on Iraq , think of how
much more of a beating George Bush would have taken had the election
there earlier this year been a dismal failure instead of the success
that most agree it turned out to be.
That
is the trouble with dealing in the future. One does not know precisely
what it takes to get it right. Mistakes are bound to be made, especially
on bigger, more breathtaking visions. And sometimes the decision
to pursue a vision is correct at the time it is made, but intervening
factors over time make the original decision appear to have been
misguided.
I
remember hearing Steve Forbes talk a couple of years ago about a
decision they had made at his company to expand operations into
Asia . Everything looked promising as they began the implementation,
but something unexpected occurred-the SARS outbreak; which set the
operation back substantially. I do not recall all of the specific
details about what they were planning in Asia , but I do remember
Forbes saying that the timing could not have been worse. No doubt
about that! Yet, in spite of how extraordinary the circumstances,
when it came to the bottom line, some could say their decision to
launch the operation in Asia at that time was a financial blunder.
Perhaps many believe that Forbes should have known, or at least
figured that something like SARS would happen.
You
cannot "Monday morning quarterback" the future. You can do all kinds
of "what if" analyses followed by in-depth scenario planning and
still end up making mistakes. The fact is, only on rare occasions
will leaders get everything right. But do they ever hear about it
when things don't go exactly as planned!
Final
Thoughts
So
how many of you look forward to being held accountable for delivering
something big that has never been done before, in a way that is
pretty much mistake-free, and in an expected time frame that is
virtually unreasonable to boot? Like it or not, that is the world
in which leaders live. But the fact that they must contend with
a seemingly unfriendly environment does not relieve them from their
duty to provide vision. It just makes it harder.
On
the brighter side, we have actually found that most of the top leaders
with whom we have worked do have a vision of the future. And many
of those visions are quite impressive. So the issue is not so much
whether the leader has vision, but to what extent she or he is gutsy
enough to communicate it, promote it, live by it and stick with
it.
A
vision cannot be just the private domain of the leader; it must
be shared by all. Getting others to see a different future and believe
in it is tough work. However, when this happens, leaders become
more confident in and committed to their dreams and much more public
about them. They then become even more willing to consistently demonstrate
very visible support to the direction they desire to go, in spite
of the obstacles that will inevitably get in their way-perhaps even
making them look foolish.
A
leader's work is change-to shape and achieve a desired future. The
real leaders know there are risks associated with taking a stand
for bold visions, and they take them anyway. They accept accountability,
the fact that some things just take time, and the truth that they
will be wrong at times. What they don't tolerate is the status quo,
allowing their organizations to drift by avoiding commitment to
a course of action, or caving in every time a critic fires a dissenting
comment or opinion.
If
you are going to be successful as a leader, you have to be willing
to let others know what new, exciting future you are convinced should
be created. And you must realize that this future cannot be achieved
simply by safely inching along or attempting to slowly tack against
the wind. It takes putting forth lofty goals and making bold decisions,
regardless of how unpopular or politically risky those might be.
Reflection
Questions
- What
picture of the future have you envisioned that you would truly
like to see become reality?
- Do
you want it bad enough to fight for it?
- What are you doing to get others
to see it and believe in it as much as you do?
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