Pillar No 2 of the 12 Pillars of Leadership – Clear, Defined Goals

Your vision will become your mission once you have broken it down into “bite sized” pieces that you and your team can put into action. These pieces are your goals.

You will have long term goals (which is the bigger picture) and short term goals (where you want to go this week, this month and this year).

The long term goals are for YOUR files, and the short term goals are what you can share with your team. Of course you can also share a summary of your vision with them also.

Without a vision the people will perish – Proverbs 39:18

We have been discussing the concept that true leadership begins with a vision.

One Great Way To Crystallize Your Vision
One great way to clarify and sharpen the vision in your heart and mind is to take some time alone to think, meditate and write down your thoughts. It does not matter if what you are writing down makes sense. You can go back and edit and organize your thoughts later.

The key is that writing out the vision will clarify your thoughts and allow you to put them in order and discover the vision that is in your heart. This will also keep your vision sharp.

Pillar No 1 of the 12 Pillars of Leadership – A Strong Vision.

The very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision. You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet Theodore M. Hesburgh.

Without a vision there can be no leadership. You would have nowhere to lead your followers if you do not have a specific destination. A true leader will always have a clear vision of where he is going

Where does a vision come from? There are several experiences in life that can trigger a vision:

I am sure you have heard the term “born a leader” many times.

While some folk may have stronger tendencies to lead that others, I strongly believe that true leaders are more made than born.

The key is the heart’s desire to do something or their life passion. This passion is what drives them to learn, to train and to become.

There are many people who have risen to become great leaders who were ridiculed when they were younger. In fact some of the greatest “failures” have become the greatest leaders.

Recently I wrote a review on the book “Activating Your Ambition: A Guide to Coaching the Best Out of Yourself and Others” by Mike Hawkins. (Amazon Affil Link) This book sparked a renewed vision in me for the true meaning of leadership.

One of the keys that stood out for me was Mike’s summary of the difference between “management” and “leadership”. He defines the old style of management as “command and control” while true leadership involves releasing and inspiring team members to be their best.