What you will learn in this topic:

Define and communicate your vision

Build trust in your leadership
Improve your emotional intelligence
Motivate employees to achieve your vision
Lead with a global mindset

Myth #1: Leaders are born, not made

Some people believe that leadership is an innate gift, the rare talent of a charismatic few.
But that's a misconception. Leadership relies on core skills that can be learned.
What leaders do is relatively straightforward: they influence others to achieve a common
goal.
In the workplace, leaders get results not by doing everything themselves, but by working
through others. Leaders set a direction for the future, and help people work together to
achieve it. They help people fulfill their potentials as both individuals and groups.
Leaders rely on:
Communication skills to speak and write persuasively
Interpersonal skills to resolve conflict, gather feedback, and manage their own
emotions
Motivational skills to inspire people and bring different groups together

Myth #2: Leaders rely on formal authority

Do you think of a leader as someone who issues orders? Another common myth about
leadership is that it relies on rank and rules.

Today, leadership isn't about commands from the executive suite. Organizations tend to
be flatter and less hierarchical than in the past; many leaders operate with little formal
authority. Instead, a leader gets diverse groups of people to overcome conflicting beliefs
and to work together to achieve a common vision.

The most effective leaders use advocacynot formal authorityto get their work
accomplished. *

They know how to:

Listen to and grasp multiple perspectives

Use persuasion to build diverse coalitions of supporters

Seek outside expertise and feedback to refine their vision and strategies

Formal authority works best when it's used sparingly. There are times when it's
absolutely necessary, however. For example:
 Fast decisive action is required to handle a crisis.

Your group is in danger of violating laws or core company values.

After significant debate, your group remains divided on a course of action. The
leader needs to make a decision to break the stalemate and move everyone
forward.

Myth #3: Leading = Managing

Leadership and management require distinct but complementary skills. Management

activities bring order and predictability to a situation, while leadership activities steer
organizations in new directions.

To be an effective leader, you'll need to master both skill sets: *

Linda A. Hill Professor, Harvard Business School

To excel as a manager, you need to master three imperatives: managing yourself (by
earning others trust), managing your network (by building a diverse set of mutually
beneficial relationships), and managing your team (by uniting people as well as meeting
their individual needs).

Myth #4: Leadership depends on personality *

Many managers mistakenly assume that leadership style is a function of personality

rather than strategic choice. They believe that people have only one leadership style
the one that best suits their temperament.

Savvy leaders recognize that leadership is contextual. They switch frequently between
leadership styles to best addresses the demands of a specific situation. For instance,
they might gather group feedback about a potential new product line using a democratic
style. They might adopt an authoritarian manner to introduce a new protocol for handling
customer complaints. It's common for leaders to use several styles in the course of a
single week.

Handle with care: the coercive and pacesetting styles*

You will likely encounter two other leadership styles in your career. But take caution in
applying them; both should be used sparingly, if at all.
Coercive. This "do what I say" style demands immediate compliance. Of all the
leadership styles, it is the least effective in most situationsalthough it has some
application in turnaround situations and crises and with problem employees. However,
using this style can damage morale, motivation, and creativity.
Pacesetting: A leader sets extremely high performance expectations for herself and
others. A focus on doing things "better, faster" sets a standard everyone else is expected
to match. This works best for highly skilled and motivated people. Other people,
however, may feel overwhelmed by relentless demands. Their self-esteem and morale
may drop. Ultimately, organizations with pacesetting leaders may suffer because weary
employees leave.

There are many myths about leadership. However, effective leadership is based on core
skills you can applyno matter who you are, where you work, or what you do.
To lead others successfully, learn how to:
Define your vision so others will follow
Foster trust, the most effective means of influencing others
Cultivate emotional intelligence so you create constructive relationships
Motivate others so they want to make your vision a reality
Adopt a global mindset to handle the diversity, complexity, and uncertainty of
business today

Gill Rider President, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development

What do you believe is most important about leadership? How will you actively teach
these beliefs to others as you fulfill your role as leader?

What a vision is

Leadership starts with vision. Your vision is a concrete, purposeful idea about an
improved future. It may be small-scalesomething you'd like to improve in your
departmentor a broader change that could affect many people.

A good vision is simple and meaningful. It engages people's hearts and minds, and helps
them make positive change.

Vision is also a powerful weapon in dealing with the distractions, tensions, and
fragmentation that are part of all workplaces. When conflicts arise, use your vision to
refocus people around the desired goal.

A vision is a leader's most important motivation tooland the first person it should
inspire is you.
Neil Gaydon CEO, Pace Plc.

For a successful transformation, managers must live and breathe the change they
encourage.

Why you need a vision

A vision:
Clarifies the direction for the future. By establishing a clear direction, a vision
helps people make decisions and move forward confidently.
Motivates people to take actions that support long-term gains despite short-
term pain. The changes required to support a vision are often difficult. People may
be asked to learn new skills quickly or work with limited resources. An effective
vision helps to overcome people's reluctance to do what is necessary by providing
a sense of urgency, as well as inspiration, for the future.
Improves efficiency. If you establish a clear vision, people around you can often
figure out what to do by themselves. Without a guiding vision, people will
constantly check with others for direction, wasting valuable time and energy.

Mission statement, strategic goal, or vision?

Companies use many different tools to express their values, including slogans, strategic
goals, and mission statements. But as the overarching view of an improved future,
the vision drives it all.

Consider how city planners described a major engineering projectthe creation of a new
roadway tunnel system:
Steps for defining a vision

Step 1: Conduct research

To be credible, your vision needs to be built on relevant knowledgeincluding
competitive conditions, internal opportunities, and cultural trends. In the research phase,
you:
Collect facts about the problem or opportunity you've identified.
Consider your organization's values. How can your vision reinforce the shared
ideas and values of the organization?
Determine the benefits of your visionnot only to your unit, but to the whole
organization.
Work with colleagues across the organization to get valuable information,
input, and early support. Find out what they want. Make sure that key perspectives
are represented.

EXAMPLE

Jake has been hired to manage an older hotel in a city neighborhood where property
values are rising. He thinks the hotel's revenues could increase significantly if the
business better served the neighborhood's newly fashionable character. He has some
ideas for changes he wants to make, but no clear vision yet. He begins his research by
meeting with the hotel's concierge, sales manager, and food and beverage staff. He also
has lunch with the head of a neighborhood improvement association and residents of
several luxury apartment complexes nearby. He learns that:

The food and beverage staff feel their talents are underused.

The community considers the hotel stodgy.

Local residents long for more places to socialize.

Nitin Nohria Dean of Harvard Business School

How to craft a compelling vision for your team or organization? Ask everyone around you,
What are our biggest challenges? and What should our priorities be?
Step 2: Draft a vision statement

Use your research to draft a vision statementa few concise paragraphs that summarize
the improved future you envision. An effective vision connects with people's core drives
to achieve, to connect with others, and to find purpose and meaning in their work. Aim
for a vision statement that is:

Easy to picture. Your audience should be able to imagine what the future will
look like.

Compelling. The envisioned future is so much better than the current state that
people will gladly undertake the effort and sacrifices necessary to attain it.

Realistic. The statement comprises feasible goals that are attainable for a
hardworking group of people. Even if your vision is ambitious, it will be effective
only if your stakeholders believe that the outcomes described can actually occur.

Focused yet flexible. The vision limits itself to a manageable and coherent set
of goals. Provides general guidance that's not so specific that it can't be adapted to
changing circumstances or new information.

EXAMPLE

Jake uses insights from his meetings to draft a vision statement:

"We want to be the most exciting destination in the citythe place everyone talks about.
If we do that, we'll be attracting locals in addition to overnight guests and will grow our
food and beverage revenues substantially. To achieve our goal, we'll need to generate
more media attention."

Step 3: Gather feedback

Share your preliminary vision statement with a wide variety of stakeholders. Gather input
on what they would improve. Be sure to:

Listen attentively to all questions and concerns. Failure to listen now can be
disastrous later. If people don't feel that you have heardand addressedtheir
concerns, they may be unwilling to support you at a critical juncture.
 Conduct more research, if necessary. As you receive feedback, new questions
may emerge that require more research. Revise your mission statement to address
any new research and then re-test it with key stakeholders.

EXAMPLE

Jake shares his draft vision statement with neighborhood property owners, select
members of the hotel staff, and a media consultant. His staff is concerned about how
quickly they'll need to make changes. They also let him know they want the hotel to feel
like an exciting place to work, with plenty of chances to be creative.

Step 4: Finalize your statement

Make sure your ideas are expressed in clear, powerful terms. Because you'll find yourself
referring to it often, the simpler your vision is, the more effective it will be.

EXAMPLE

Based on feedback, Jake revises his vision statement:

"Over the next 12 months, we want our hotel to become the destination for stylish locals.
To achieve this, we will:

Hire a public relations firm

Join a community-business alliance

Hold an employee contest to come up with new event ideas that will entice
residents to visit our restaurant and bar

Generating media excitement and community interest will dramatically increase the
hotel's food and beverage sales and boost revenues overall. If we work together, we can
reinvent our hotel as dynamic place to workand play."

Jake's statement is both compelling and realisticit provides a time frame and steps
employees can imagine. It also explains the benefits staff will reap, which will help
motivate them to work harder to achieve his vision.

Communicate your vision

Once you have a vision statement, it's time to communicate it to your audience. Ongoing
communication is crucial for motivating people to make your vision a reality.
Your audience consists of anyone who will be affected by the outcome of your vision:
supervisors, peers, colleagues in other parts of your organization, and direct reports, as
well as suppliers, shareholders, and customers.
When you began creating your vision, you sought feedback from select individuals. Now
your job is to connect with a wide audience.
To effectively communicate your vision:
 Show your passion. You won't "sell" others on your vision unless you
demonstrate your own enthusiasm and optimism. It's not just the words that
matteryour body language and tone are also powerful motivators.
Talk and listen. Communicating your vision isn't a one-way proposition. Instead,
information should flow both ways. People who feel that they have a voice and a
stake in the vision will be more committed to it.
Be consistent and willing to repeat yourself. You are competing with a lot of
other information for your coworkers' focusrepetition reinforces your message
and consistency underscores your commitment.

Matthew Taylor Chief Executive, Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts,
Manufactures and Commerce

Your organizations mission can inspire people to achieve great things. But to leverage
the missions power, you need to regularly discuss it with your employees and explain
how the mission affects their work.

Tips for presenting your vision

There are a wide variety of communication technologies available for sharing your vision
to a group. While email and video can be powerful, there's no substitute for face-to-face
communication.
To increase engagement when talking to a group:
Be as natural as possible. Don't read from a script or stand behind a
podium. Instead, walk around and gesture where appropriate.
Keep your eyes on the crowd. Watch the audience for nonverbal clues.
Don't forget to make eye contact.
Pause for emphasis. Many people speak faster when they're nervous or
excited. Pauses help counteract this tendency.

Watch the political scene

Like it or not, organizational politics will likely play a significant role in determining
whether your vision is adopted or abandoned. All leaders face resistance at some time.
Pay attention to office dynamics to understand who could hinder you or help you, and
plan accordingly.
To navigate politics, be sure to:
Build broad coalitions. Gain support from a diverse range of influential groups
who can provide access to resources, knowledge, and talent.
Staff important roles carefully. Choose only people who are competent and
loyal to the vision for critical positions.
Choose an appropriate pace for change. Consider the climate of the
organization before making your first move. Sometimes a bold first action might
be best for energizing the group. At other timesparticularly if there are technical
or political barriersyou may need to take small initial steps to win trust.
 Use social media to create broad support. An internal websitecompany
intranet or wikicreates a virtual gathering place where leaders can address
concerns, communicate their visions in innovative ways, and get feedback from
people at different levels of the organization. *

Gabriela Perez Senior Vice President, Strategic Growth Initiatives, Best Doctors, Inc.

Use your social capital to create alliances with key influencers within your company. This
relationship building will pay off when you need support for your ideas.

Changing direction

Sometimes unforeseen circumstances mean you can't implement your original vision
you need to change direction.

If you're a leader in this situation, be as candid as possible with your team. Explain what
changes need to be made and why. Then ask for support.

Communication is an ongoing part of leadership, not a one-time exercise. As your project

moves forwardor faltersmake certain that you are visible and committed. Be sure to
keep people updated on the progress that's made every step of the way.