The Roles of Leadership

What defines leadership? Executives ask this question every time they choose a new leader or train their current leaders. Organizations must understand the fundamentals of leadership before making decisions about their leadership. Leaders are not created overnight. Becoming an effective leader involves considerable time and effort to hone the necessary skills and abilities. Training helps, but understanding the concept of leadership is critical.

From more than 12 years experience working with leaders in Fortune 500 companies and organizations around the world, Cornelius & Associates has determined that a leader must take on certain “roles” to be truly effective. The Role of a Visionary; The Role of Integrity, Honesty and Values; The Role of Releasing Potential and Energy; and The Role of Leading Change (Planned Change and Emergent Change).

While each role is unique, they are also interdependent. The skills leaders learn to perfect one role will also help leaders master the other roles. In the next few newsletters, we will explore these leadership roles- what they are and how to hone your skills for each role.

The Role of a Visionary in the Organization

Leaders must take on the role of a visionary. Trying to run a business without a vision is just as difficult as trying to piece together a 1000-piece puzzle without looking at the box cover. Both are nearly impossible. Not only does your organization need a vision, but that vision must also be communicated effectively to all employees for maximum impact. People need a glimpse of the big picture before they can truly understand their piece of the puzzle and how they effect others in that puzzle.

Most organizations already have a “vision,” often conveyed in a mission statement. First and foremost, leaders’ must gain input, insight and involvement from all key people in the organization in formulating the vision or mission statement. As a leader, your job is to internalize this vision and to communicate it in such a way that your employees are inspired to work towards that vision. Otherwise, the vision becomes rhetoric or just another “flavor of the month.”

The Importance of a Vision

Throughout time, leaders have seen the power a vision can have:

“Where there is no vision, the people perish…” -Proverbs 29:18
“I have a dream…” –Martin Luther King, Jr.

When your employees understand your vision, your organization’s vision, and their role in each, your bottom-line business results will improve. A vision helps focus employees, improves perception of the organization, and makes employees feel important and part of the business. A vision can also help employees make better, more informed decisions by keeping their eye on the bigger picture. Perhaps most importantly, employees who understand and participate in the organization’s vision are inspired, energized and feel ownership of that vision and the decisions management makes as a result of the vision.

However, if the vision is not communicated properly, none of these results will materialize. Here are some basic rules to effectively communicate a vision that address both vision content and vision delivery.

Vision Content

Rule One: A vision should have fewer, not many, points. Typically only 3-5 major concepts should be covered. Consider a mission statement that covers market position, market share, degree of innovation, increasing product time to market, pleasing the shareholders, and emphasizing employee development. This is not a focused mission. If you try to conquer too many objectives, you end up only accomplishing a little of each. Focus your vision with a few key points.

Rule Two: A vision should be shorter rather than longer; simple rather than complicated. The shorter and simpler a vision is, the easier it is to remember and internalize. Most mission statements can be cut back and made easier to understand. For example, here is an ineffective mission statement: “To develop a comprehensive human resource development system to realize the potential of our employees and accelerate the growth of talent in our company.” This statement is too long and complicated. It can easily be reduced to: “To realize our potential through personal development.” This second statement is not only easier to remember, but it is also much easier to interpret.

Rule Three: A vision should use vivid, not bland, language. Employees have an easier time rallying behind a vision that is vibrant and brilliant. This makes it easier for employees to actually see a picture of the company’s vision. Try to create a slogan or a battle cry for each key concept. For example, “Take back the shelves” is more vivid and expressive than, “Try to increase our share of the market from 12% to 33% over the next three years.”

Rule Four: A vision should convey a higher purpose. It is imperative that vision be greater than any one person, task or initiative. Employees must be able to look beyond themselves, beyond their department, and see the whole organization, and therefore what is good for the whole organization.

Vision Delivery

Rule One: A vision should be communicated by many sources rather than few. Employees must hear the vision from everyone: their peers, direct reports, immediate supervisors, department heads, and even the organization’s top leadership. The more sources the information comes from, the more retention increases.

Rule Two: A vision should be communicated on many occasions rather than few. Do not get in the habit of reciting your vision at the beginning of the annual meeting and assume that this is enough to keep it fresh in your employees’ minds. The vision needs to be communicated as frequently as possible.

Rule Three: A vision should be communicated through many channels rather than a few. Many organizations will post their vision statement on a plaque, display it in a visible area, and feel confident that employees are constantly reminded of the vision by the plaque. This is merely one of many possible channels for communicating a vision. Other good examples include posting it in a company newsletter, including it in the tag line of your email, and reciting it at the beginning of all weekly team meetings.

If you follow these rules, you will find your employees will internalize your vision and you will begin to see positive results. Leaders can develop a vision for their team, their department, their division, and their organization as a whole. To be an effective leader, one who has taken on the role of a visionary, you must create a vision or internalize an existing vision and communicate that vision effectively to your employees.

This is the first step in taking on the Roles of Leadership. Stayed tuned for the next issue of Impact, where we will explore the Leadership Role of Integrity, Honesty and Values in the Organization.