The cornerstone of my coaching and leadership development programmes is the crafting of your Personal Leadership Vision. Why do I do this?
Just like you, my clients are already leaders in their organizations, and very accomplished and successful. However, they come to me because they want to do and be more. They want to lead better and more powerfully. They want to have greater impact on their teams and lead their organizations to achieve more. What they have done and who they were in the past has brought them to this point. To be even more, they need to be clear on what that “more” is. Just like you. Hence the question I ask:
“Who do you want to be as a leader?”
Your personal leadership vision is different to the organization’s vision. The organization you lead should have an articulated vision which you share widely and use to inspire and focus everyone on the team. Your personal leadership vision will describe who you aspire to be regardless of the organization you serve. It will define you as a leader in any context – an organization, a nation, your community, your family. Your vision becomes a beacon, a point of focus, and an inspiration to keep lighting your way.
Stephen Covey, author of “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” said: “Personal leadership is the process of keeping your vision and values before you and aligning your life to be congruent with them.”
I am sure you have read many books and articles on leadership styles and completed many assessments that tell you who you are in terms of this, or that style of leadership. Your personal vision is more than assessments and comparisons to definitions of the “ideal leader.” It is about who you want to be, how you want to lead and interact with your team, regardless of studies, assessments and any other “shoulds.” It is a journey into your heart to discover your deepest desires.
Owning your leadership means owning your own vision, and no-one else’s.
Of course, you will draw inspiration from leaders you admire. But don’t aim to be just like them, because they lead in different contexts of culture, geography, gender, age, time and circumstance. Be your own leader, suited to who you already are, and who you want to be.
Before we start on the work, let’s get clear on what a VISION is. You will find as many definitions as there are consultants! But the one I use for myself and my clients is that a vision is an “aspirational state of your desired state of being, sometime in the medium to long term.” It should be compelling, exciting and challenging, and take you outside of what you might call your comfort zone. Some say, and I agree, that there should also be an element of fear – “Could this really be me?” you should ask. It will take courage to find out.
Here are my 5 Steps to Creating A Personal Leadership Vision
STEP 1: Who am I as a leader?
- In a quiet moment and private space, write your vision of who you aspire to be as a leader. Think about 5, 10 years’ time and how you see yourself leading then. Use free writing, without editing. When I first did this for myself, I wrote 4 pages! Write until you are tired and feel empty.
STEP 2: Create a Vision Statement:
- Based on what you have written, create a concise Leadership Vision Statement:
- I am a …. (lots of adjectives) leader
- Who …. (indicate how you will lead)
- Write this in the present tense. Why? Because there is power in the present. The past is gone, the future is uncertain, only the present exists. So even though you are not this leader yet, writing it in the present tense brings power and conviction to your statement.
STEP 3: Identify Your Key Behaviours and Impact:
- What do I do to live this vision? Decide on 2 or 3 behaviours that this leader (you) will do consistently. These behaviours should be specific and easily observable. People should look at you and SEE the leader of your highest vision for yourself.
- “So that …” indicate the impact of these behaviours on those you lead and influence.
STEP 4: Embody Your Vision:
- Stand and read your Vision out loud. Be dramatic! How does it feel? Where do you stumble?
- Make changes and keep reading it out loud until it feels right – until you get goosebumps, your heart soars, and you feel unstoppable. Until the moment when you say: “WOW. This is ME? Yes! This IS me!”
STEP 5: Use your Vision Statement:
- Print and post your Vision statement in at least 3 places where you will see it throughout the day – perhaps your bathroom mirror, your bedroom wall, your front door, your office
- Each morning, before you head to work, read your Personal Leadership Vision out loud, with conviction
- Refer to your Leadership Vision whenever things are not going right, or you are feeling low. This will bring you back, or forward rather, to who you aspire to be.
- Share your Personal Leadership Vision with others and ask them to hold you accountable to it.
I love this quote by A. W. Tozer:
“Refuse to be average. Let your heart soar as high as it will”
This begins with you getting clear on your vision and then living it.
