Reflections on VITALITY™: Leadership at All Levels
ASPIRE™: Six essential leadership talents
Agenda or personal vision. Nearly 2,000 years ago, the Roman statesman and philosopher, Seneca wrote, "When a man does not know what harbor he is making for, no wind is the right wind." A leader without a vision is a liability for an organization.
"I got a vision," Big Boy tells his cronies in Dick Tracy (Collins, 1990): "A big boss has got to have a big vision." Big Boy probably would agree with Warren Bennis (1985) that "With a vision, the leader provides the all-important bridge from the present to the future of the organization.”
The importance of the leader's ability to connect for the organization's members its present (which includes the impact of its past) and its future is highlighted by William Bridges' (1980) description of the impact of major organizational change on individuals:
It is as if we launched out from a riverside dock to cross to a landing on the opposite shore — only to discover in midstream that the landing was no longer there. (And when we looked back at the other shore, we saw that the dock we left from had just broken loose and was heading downstream.)
The radiant eye atop the pyramid on a one-dollar bill is a fitting symbol of the leaders' vision. Supported by others at lower levels in the pyramid, leaders hold the best position for scanning the outside world, and for broadcasting the organization's vision.
Standards and values. The leader also brings both an understanding of the means to accomplish the vision, and a set of values which, when combined with the values and motives of followers, direct the activity of all. "The genius of leadership," for James MacGregor Burns (1978), "lies in the manner in which leaders see and act on their own and their followers' values and motivations."
Values promote and sustain the leader's standards of conduct and performance. Standards of conduct derive from the true leader's integrity. Standards of performance derive from his or her expertise.
Personality and aptitude. Despite Bennis' observation that "leadership is the most studied and least understood topic of any in the social sciences," some personality and aptitude characteristics have emerged as leadership prerequisites. They include:
an historical consciousness
flexibility
above average functional intelligence
tolerance for ambiguity and differences
inquisitiveness
physical and emotional stamina
the ability to tolerate unwarranted criticism, and to integrate useful feedback
loyalty to people and ideals
the ability to control thoughts and feelings when threatened
the ability to maintain a healthy self-respect and sense of humor despite hardships and setbacks.
Integrity. The word 'integrity' has two meanings, and the true leader embodies both. 'Integrity' most commonly refers to actions based on commonly held moral principles. At its core 'integrity' means centered, or without inconsistency. The leader demonstrates integrity not only through principled actions, but also through the congruity of his or her vision, values, standards, communications and actions. When we say that a leader has integrity, we mean that he or she has a clear sense of him or her self, and acts in an internally consistent manner.
Relationship skills. Commenting on successful leaders, Mary Parker Follett (1987) remarked: "Above all, he should be able to make his co-workers see it is not his purpose which is to be achieved, but a common purpose, born of the desires and the activities of the group." The true leader relates. He or she:
enrolls new members in a common enterprise;
communicates his or her vision for the group;
understands and modifies that vision based on the values and expectations of the members;
articulates the vision for the members to critical allies outside the group; and,
motivates and guides all to its accomplishment.
Expertise. Daniel Boorstin (1983) has written of Columbus that his "single-minded devotion to his Enterprise of the Indies...would have counted for naught...if he had not known how to harness the winds to carry him there and back."
Like Columbus, contemporary leaders must rely on supporters and staff to actualize their vision. These internal and external allies are sometimes supportive and cooperative, sometimes skeptical and resistive. Therefore, the leader must possess and demonstrate for all followers both content knowledge in the special area of their enterprise, and expertise in the role of leading.
Content expertise is necessary for setting, monitoring and enforcing standards of performance and accomplishment. The leader is more than a motivator of random activity, a cheerleader amidst chaos. He or she must know how to accomplish the organization's vision and know when it has been accomplished.
Whether in the corporate, voluntary or professional sectors, effective leaders help their organizations successfully navigate major change: generating and articulating a commonly held vision; defining the path to accomplishing it; enrolling and motivating others to achieve it; promoting innovation and excellence; and maintaining personal and organizational integrity.