There\u2019s an old line about every journey, even the ones of thousands of miles, beginning with a single step. Leadership, as a concept, really isn\u2019t any different. It all begins from a single place — but oftentimes, getting to that initial step can be hard for many leaders.<\/p>\n
Bob Dunham, the CEO and Founder of the Institute for Generative Leadership, has said that leadership happens when a leader declares a future that people commit to. Vision is about declaring a future, and that is exactly what leaders do.<\/p>\n
OK … so can we pack it up and go home on this blog post? Are we done here? Hardly.<\/p>\n
If we know the what of vision — declaring a future that others commit to — then we need to understand the why and how of vision. As Kouzes and Posner wrote about in Leadership Challenge, though, leaders can\u2019t command a vision. They can only inspire it.<\/p>\n
Why will people stand in line, crawl through a slimy mud pit, and jump through hoops of fire just to be lead by the right leader? They do it because they want to be inspired. That is why.<\/p>\n
If we know the what (of vision) and the why, take a deep breath and let\u2019s start on the most challenging aspect for many: the how.<\/p>\n
How do leaders inspire a vision of the future? It has to do with a single element we all have. In fact, it is the primary catalyst driving our every action and inaction. It works its magic on us with every breath, every thought, every conversation, and yet goes mostly unnoticed.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m talking about the phenomena of Care.
\nThink about it, you can\u2019t really be ambitious about doing anything unless doing that thing somehow helps you take care of what you care about.<\/p>\n
You can\u2019t fight for something, unless something you care about worth fighting for. You don\u2019t protect something, unless something you care about appears to be under threat. And you cannot be inspired by and be doggedly determined to realize a vision for the future unless you see how that future allows you to take better care of the things you care about (better than any other possible futures).<\/p>\n
The problem is: most of us don\u2019t know where to start, because we don\u2019t know what we truly care about. \u201cCome on,\u201d you say, \u201cI know what I care about.\u201d When is the last time you asked the question, \u201cWhat do I care about… really?\u201d If it takes you more than 5 seconds to think about it, you might not know. I\u2019m just sayin\u2019.<\/p>\n
Many managers can talk a good game about their vision, but when it comes to taking care of what they care about, \u201cOh that? That happens outside of work.\u201d What about when it comes to collective action? Surely amongst their peers they will be inspired reach higher, go farther, right?<\/p>\n
Not so much. Put a bunch of managers in a room together, and they fall into a culturally learned lock-step corporate beat, and they legislate against care. \u201cSuck it up, work nights and weekends, make sure you bring your laptop with you on your vacation, skip that yoga class, and annihilate the competition…\u201d Ra ra ra…<\/p>\n
Take the common example of senior managers crafting the new vision at off-sites with little to no input from the people on the front lines, yeah they ones who are expected to execute and realize that vision — The result? A bunch of transactional and cascading talking points where vision is force-fed down to the masses, not inspired. Care is seldom listened to or even invited to the party.<\/p>\n
Left open to interpretation, the front line concludes that management is out of touch, misguided, and possibly even has malevolent intentions. They believe that somehow becoming a manager obligates people to sell their soul – disregard care, kill innovation, and extinguish any remnants of human spirit that might be lingering in the halls.<\/p>\n
Think about this: when is the last time a boss asked you, \u201cWhat do you care about?\u201d<\/p>\n
When is the last time you asked it of others? Is anyone listening to care anymore? Were they ever?<\/p>\n
You cannot inspire a vision if you don\u2019t listen for care, and if you want to inspire greatness in others, you better start listening. Great leaders do. You can start by listening to your own care and then listening for the care in others.<\/p>\n
To make this more broadly applicable, let\u2019s approach this in terms of a quick exercise I learned from Fred Kofman, now VP of Learning and Development at LinkedIn. You can try this with yourself and\/or with a colleague. Here\u2019s how it works.<\/p>\n
The next time you think about a hobby you have or someone shares an interest they have, take the conversation one layer deeper, and ask, \u201cWhat about X do you really care about?\u201d Listen for an answer, and then take it a layer deeper… \u201cAnd if you achieved that, what would you have as a result that is even more valuable than what you achieved? Continue in this line of inquiry until you arrive to the point where they say something to the effect of, \u201cWell that\u2019s just it… There\u2019s nothing more than that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Let me use myself as an example. I may be talking about my love for surfing, and you might ask, \u201cWhat about surfing do you really care about?\u201d I might answer, \u201cWell, I care about the combination of exercise, being immersed in nature, and adventure. You might ask me again, \u201cIf you had Exercise, Nature, and Adventure, what would you have as a result that is even more valuable than Exercise, Nature and Adventure?\u201d I answer, \u201cBeing a part of something bigger than myself, something I care about, and something that requires me to be courageous in order to do.\u201d You may ask again, and I answer, \u201cFeeling fully alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
At this point, when you ask me further, I respond with, \u201cWell that is it, there is nothing beyond feeling fully alive that would matter more to me.\u201d Eureka! You have discovered something I care about at my core. Show me a vision of the future where I can feel fully alive, and you can have me. Get it?<\/p>\n
Now you are touching the heart of leadership. Your answers will reveal the types of care that inspire people to eat nails and break through brick walls for their managers, their teams, and their companies.<\/p>\n
If you can help people see a vision of the future that takes better care of their deepest cares (better than other possible futures), they will follow whole-heartedly. Don\u2019t believe me? Try me… No really, try me!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There\u2019s an old line about every journey, even the ones of thousands of miles, beginning with a single step. Leadership, as a concept, really isn\u2019t any different. It all begins from a single place — but oftentimes, getting to that initial step can be hard…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":689,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n