When we talk about leadership, we talk about a leader’s need for vision. A true leader, we suggest, is someone who has a secret window looking out onto the future.
But if this is our definition of a leader, then we are easily led astray by wild-eyed dreamers and false prophets, futurists who paint grand, seductive vistas wholly unconnected to reality.
Leaders who tell us the world is about to change count for little. We know the world changes; the trick is knowing when and how – and why it’s not changing in the ways we want it to.
Again, we’re talking about vision. And what a true leader sees, before any vision of the future, is a clear, unwavering view of the present.
Have you ever stopped to consider how little we know about what’s going on right now? Or how reluctant we are to call things what they are? I’m not just talking about political correctness. I’m talking about the way we hold ’summits’ to disguise political arm-twisting; the way we hold corporate meetings to put off making a decision; the way we make showy, aimless donations to the cause of the moment, instead of taking the time to actually care.
Being able to see the present isn’t magical or mystical, but it does require us to be brutally honest about ourselves and our world. That’s why it’s so important.
A leader is someone who sees four things:
- A problem we face today
- The reason the problem hasn’t been solved
- How we avoid confronting the problem
- One thing we can do now
You know this truth: the challenges we face are right here, right now. The barriers, the problems, the suffering – they are right here, right now. Not floating somewhere in the future waiting for a visionary to uncover them.
Too many people are afraid to lead because they can’t see the future. That’s their excuse for waiting. But we can all see what’s happening now, if we try. And that scares us sometimes. Because if we admit to having vision, then we admit that we are leaders and we ought to act.
Here’s where you come in. Look around you. What do you see that other people are trying to ignore? What’s wrong? What annoys you, irritates you, infuriates you? Or turn it around: what amazes you, inspires you, moves you?
What you see is the present. You see it differently from me and from your neighbor and from the lady on TV. And that’s good. That’s important. You have the kind of vision that matters.
That makes you a leader.
So what are you going to do about it?
24 Comments on “What a Leader Sees”
says:
Being honest with ourselves can be really hard.
You'll be happy to know I just did something about it – I worked on my AW site!
says:
I've been reading about corporate leaders a lot lately, so this article is quite timely. The biggest downfall of CEOs that have been at the helm of huge business disasters is an unwillingness to recognize the truth of the present. They get too caught up in their vision for the future that they fail to realize the problems in the present that are keeping it from happening.
As far as what I'm going to do about the way I see the present; I'm going to keep making myself a better individual. I'm going to keep writing for thesimplerlife.net. I'm going to keep coaching young hockey players to become young men. I'm going to keep teaching high schoolers social studies– and life.
says:
I think that having vision is an essential part of being a leader, but I think you may have sold short another aspect… courage. I have always observed that seeing things as they are (i.e. problems at work or in the government) is fairly common, but the willingness to be unpopular and take risks to fix them is rare. I think seeing is step one, but definitely the more difficult step is ACTING.
says:
Awesome, Melissa! I still can't wait to see what you've been working on.
says:
What I really admire about your outlook, Sam, is how you focus first on what
you can do with the time and resources you have right now. It's amazing the
opportunities that open up when you just do the little things, and
especially when those little things involve teaching and helping other
people.
says:
Dave,
I completely agree on the importance of courage and action. Thank you for
bringing that up. In fact, what I'm aiming for with this post is to address
what I see as one of the many barriers to action: the idea that before you
can act, you need to somehow have a grand vision of the future. My argument
is simply that what we see in front of us (which, like you said, is fairly
common) is enough to compel us to act.
And you're absolutely right about the rarity of a willingness to act. I
think “lack of vision” is one excuse that keeps us from doing what we need
to, but there are many others.
says:
Good article Jeffrey. Really like how you connect unique vision with leadership. Another (maybe optimistic) way of looking at leadership could be:
* What is something great going on today? Or What is something great we are doing?
* What is the reason it's so great?
* Why are we not great? Or how can we transfer this greatness to something else?
* One thing we can do now to get great or continue being great
I feel like a lot of time leaders get too focused on what the problems are instead of magnifying the areas of success they, or their organization are having.
says:
Jarred,
Thank you for highlighting the other side of the coin. It's true; we need to
solve problems, but we also need to nurture successes. I tried to hint at it
a little bit towards the end of the post, but probably didn't make the point
as well as I should have.
Thank you so much for pointing that out!
says:
Nice article. Fits with what I am thinking about at work this week. Leading the technical aspects of a large project, wanting to provide technical leadership that works.
says:
Jeffrey,
My philosophy is similar – I see problems in our society, and in the past have been overwhelmed by the idea of taking action to fix it. Over time, I've decided the best way I can make change is to start with myself, and with confidence and courage in that self, begin to talk about and model the changes I'd like to see start spreading. I tackle the challenge one step at a time, rather than look at a big vision of the future. I learned this when I was training for a 150-mile bike ride and realized that if I stopped looking at the top of the hill and just focused on pushing one pedal and then the other, I'd get there with a lot less mental strain (also something I'd heard about the sherpas in the Himalayas). Cool post.
Linda
says:
I believe it was Gandhi who said, “You must be the change you want to see in
the world.” I read that as an exhortation to begin now, with what's in front
of you in your life, instead of waiting for something bigger to come along.
That's one reason I believe it's so important for people to realize that the
vision of the present, being able to see what's here and now and act on it,
is what drives leadership – not some dreamy vision of the far future. The
best part: a vision for the here and now is something we all have, not
something we get to delegate to someone else.
In other news: a 150-mile bike ride … wow.
says:
Right on target for me. Vision for the present. That's all I can focus on for now, with an ideal dreamy future floating in the back of my mind. We'll get there. That bike ride was 20 years ago (though I still bike recreationally), and I guess I learned a lot from it. ;-)
says:
Melissa,
So true, the honesty piece. Essential for change. I love meeting people who are into self-examination. Good luck with your project.
Linda
says:
the 4 things leaders see are perfect to start now and be a leader.
It's incredible how easy it is to find something that's causing a problem around you now. Often it's considered bad to watch out for negativity but if you want to change the future, you need to watch the present like you said. It gives you directly the possibility to act. And that's what I gonna do now, thank you for your inspiration.
says:
That's the way it is with big experiences – the longer you have to reflect on them, the more lessons you draw out of them.
says:
The possibility of action – exactly! Go for it!
says:
Excellent article… you touched on something that I personally strive to live my life.
Being a leader is very scary, however once you decide to follow your own beat, being a leader comes easily but so do the challenges.
The most rewarding moments in my life are when I didn't listen to the naysayers and succeeded where most believed I would fail; now this is the sweetest feeling that can not be described, it needs to be experienced.
Reaching beyond our perceived limits brings home the gold!
says:
Concise and eloquent, a hard combination. Nicely done! Loved the thought here.
says:
I love what you say about perceived limits. I've thought a lot about perceived limits, and I've come to the conclusion that life is really about discovering the difference between our perceived limits and our actual limits. Most of the time, that difference is huge.
As a leader, following your own beat means having the confidence to act upon what you see happening (or not happening) in the world. The fact that you're already doing so says a lot about you. Keep it up, Sue!
says:
Thanks :) I'm flattered. Seth Godin is still the master of concise eloquence though.
says:
Do you know 'the' problem you face and what you can do 'now'? Great concise ideas presented here.
says:
Great article. Oftentimes, leaders are only thought of as those with leadership titles. There are so many unrecognized leaders among us that demonstrate their true leadership qualities daily and can be counted when it matters most.
says:
The ability to recognize those hidden leaders and put them in positions to
accomplish great things is a form of leadership in itself, I think – a form
of leadership we really need now.