Everyone has the ability to cast a vision and most of us do it every day. We make comments about what could, or should be – suggestions about how to improve our life, our friend’s life, our life at work. Vision casting is a directional skill that allows us to recognize the need for change, and when to make it. Whether you’re leading a Fortune 500 company, a small business, or a group of volunteers, a leader must have the ability to communicate the team’s goal, in a clear, concise and compelling manner. Identifying a vision is simply not enough; it takes a leader with original ideas, that can answer tough questions, and who will focus confidently on the end result – that being specific, realistic, and attainable goals. If leaders hope to achieve trust when casting their vision, they must also adopt new tactics in effectively inspiring, coaching, and learning to negotiate. Only then will a team perform at a higher level.
"God didn’t make you a leader so that you could merely reside in a position, but God made you a leader to move people from here to there. To make people so discontent with the way things are." (Mancini, 2013).
Vision and Goals
In becoming an effective leader, one should consider the six steps of goal setting process, which begins with the aforementioned vision and goals, accompanied by objectives, tasks, timeliness and follow-up.
First, the vision of the company must be clear to you. In turn, leaders are able to clearly communicate it to others. The second step, the goals, captures active participation from the team to establish the framework of the vision. Objectives provide the clarity, and are the definable measurement towards the end result – the real strategy. Tasks are tangible. They are the means to ...
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http://www.willmancini.com/2013/08/vision-quotes-from-bill-hybels-global-leadership-summit-2013.html
Mancini, W. (2013). Will Mancini Vision Quotes from Bill Hybels Global Leadership Summit 2013 Comments. Retrieved from http://www.willmancini.com/2013/08/vision-quotes-from-bill-hybels-global-leadership-summit-2013.html
http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leadled.html
Leading to Leadership. (1997-2014). Leading to Leadership. Retrieved from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/le
Nanus, B. (1992). Visionary leadership: Creating a compelling sense of direction for your organization. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. http://quickbase.intuit.com/blog/2011/08/26/the-5-types-of-power-in-leadership/ Abudi, G. (2011). The 5 Types of Power in Leadership. The Fast Track. Retrieved from http://quickbase.intuit.com/blog/2011/08/26/the-5-types-of-power-in-leadership/
Pierce, Jon L. and John W. Newstrom (2011) 6th edition. Leaders and the Leadership Process.
Though a little dry to read at times, I found this book to be an excellent beginner’s guide to leadership. Although the idea of “corporate” can be a bit dull after a while, Bennis and Nanus continuously attempt to liven it up with real-life examples of their strategies put into practice. They make it clear that the strategies are not what they came up with out of nowhere, but have been determined from years of various case studies. One of my favorite aspects of the book is its ability to imbue an “I can do this!” attitude to the reader.
Inspire a Shared Vision- leaders believe that they can make a difference in getting others excited and drafting them into their dream and the future possibilities.
Yukl, G. (2010). Leadership in organizations. (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
“In order to be a good leader, there are two things to remember. Lead from the Front and always set the Example. From these two leadership principles, everything else will fall into place.”
Yukl, G. Leadership in organizations - 7th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2010.
Yet this is not easy, hard work is required to gain influence in any organization and earn the right to become a leader. He says just because you have a leadership position doesn’t mean you are a good leader. Look at Hitler a man of influence but not a “good” leader. Leaders must be God ordained leaders and cannot be appointed or assigned. You must work for it. You either spend your days wasted away or you are building up your
Whitener, J. K. (2007). Year of wonders: The wonder of leadership. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 9(2), 214-222,226-230,234-235. from ABI/INFORM Global.
Robert Clinton states “The central task of leadership is influencing God’s people toward God’s purposes” (Clinton, 1988). George Barna defines a Christain Leader as “someone who is called by God to lead; leads with and through Christlike character; and demonstrates the functional competencies that permit effective leadership to take place” (Barna, 1997). It is a shame we as Christians fail to recognize that Christ would have us be leaders in more than the church.
The managers must set organizational goals aligned with the company mission. This will provide a strategy for achieving those goals. For example, planning can be seen at every level such as creating goals for sales as well as for the customer experience (Higgins, 1994).
Goal attainment: Leadership involves goal attainment. It includes attention to goals and directs a group of individuals towards accomplishing a defined task or goal.
Kruse, Kevin (2012). "100 Best Quotes On Leadership." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 16 Oct. 2012. Web. 08 May 2014.
Northouse, P. (2010). Leadership: Theory and practice (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
Some people were born to be great leaders, and some were born to be great learners. I ask myself this question, “How was I created?” Was I born a leader or was I molded to lead? As I explain my philosophy on how I want to lead, I will first dive into my past to recognize and pin point my creator. October 27th
Bennis, W. & Nanus, B. (1985). Leaders: The Strategies for taking charge. New York: Harper Row.