#1: Focus on elements at more than one depth
We spent miles driving through walls of trees, as well as expanses so open that if the earth were flat you could have seen to the edge. Neither extreme was the most interesting or made for great pictures.
Great views have a large depth of field with objects at varying depths. Your eye is drawn to the various elements that stand out from and complement one another.
Visionary leaders focus on elements at more than one depth and interpret what they see for themselves and others. They need to see clearly what is near, at the midpoint, and far away. This can be interpreted temporally - seeing today, this year, and the unseeable future. It can be interpreted organizationally - seeing the current organization, its emerging structure, and can only be imagined.
#2: See emerging beauty in the yet-to-be realized
The best views are those unspoiled by man or nature - where beauty appears untainted. But sometimes there is emerging beauty that is hidden to most.
The Crazy Horse monument in South Dakota is so far from completion that it doesn't capture the imagination - especially when one has just visited the iconic Mount Rushmore. Once you see the informational film explaining the project, its origin and its eventual objective, however, you see the emerging beauty in an unfinished sculpture protruding from the side of a mountain. You see the Native American chief astride his horse, pointing to his lands.
Inspiring leaders don't allow challenging circumstances, ready-at-hand excuses, or the attitudes of others to keep them from seeing the beauty around them. More than that, they are able to inspire others to see emerging beauty in the yet-to-be realized.
#3: See the connection to people
Some vistas should make for beautiful pictures but lose their meaning when they are disassociated from the people who experienced them together. It is people that give meaning to the world around them. That's why we kept encouraging (read "coercing") our children to step into the pictures.
Transformational leaders know that calling gains meaning as it serves and impacts people. Beauty really is in the eye of the beholder and great leaders know how to attract eyes, move hearts, and influence minds so that the people of an organization are transformed through the connection of their work to the lives of others.
#4: Are drawn to the personally compelling
It never ceases to amaze me how different people are from one another. My daughter's favorite part of the trip was San Francisco. My wife's was Yellowstone. Mine were those moments when I saw unfiltered joy on the faces of my family members - when even the most cynical teenager couldn't keep delight from seeping forth.
Reproducing leaders find their calling compelling. They believe in something because it stirs them - perhaps in ways that few others are stirred. Along the way they attract others to their calling and are able to release new leaders to carry on the vision.
Here's a picture from our trip that, for me, captures all four elements:
- There are objects at varying depths that attract your attention;
- There is emerging beauty in a dry landscape waiting for seasonal rains and in a shoe tree that continues to evolve;
- There is a connection to people - one shoe was inscribed: "To my friends from Ohio;" and
- I found it compelling - our youngest alerted us to it after we had passed by. We were a few miles from our destination for the day and I just wanted to be done driving, but something in his voice told me that he thought he had seen something special and that drew me to (uncharacteristically) retrace our path so we could see it. It was a moment of shared joy - which was the real reason for our trip. A reminder that unplanned moments on the journey may be more significant than the anticipated destination.
At Julian Consulting we work with leaders to envision, inspire, transform, and reproduce (you know what I mean). Call us TODAY for assistance in achieving those objectives.
