Shaping The Future!

Dear leaders!

My daughter has been playing the violin for five years now. Every night, I sit down in her room while she practices her scales, studies, and various pieces. Last night, like every night, I was helping her with a concerto she is currently studying. She had problems with giving the right character to the piece. She was playing the notes, but she was not able to go beyond playing the notes. She was really struggling with that!

I then asked her if she had an idea of what the concerto was supposed to look like at the end. I asked if she was able to hear in her head what she had to play. She admitted that she had no clue. This was precisely her problem. She was trying to follow the indications written on the music sheet, but she did not have a clear picture of what the end result should look like. So, instead of struggling with the music, we then started to create that vision of the concerto and made it a fun event!

I think we can look at that event and place it easily in the context of leadership. At the basis of any action, there needs to be a clear vision of what needs to be accomplished. There just cannot be successful action without clear vision of the result. To be called a leader, someone needs to be able to create a clear vision of what needs to be accomplished. If that vision is not present, then there cannot be a concerted effort towards a common goal.

A leader can thus be seen as someone who is shaping the future! Having a clear idea in mind as to what the future should be, he or she can create a sound plan of action to successfully attain this goal. I personally feel that having a clear picture in mind of the future is what distinguishes good leaders from poor leaders. With a clear vision, someone can really move things and people to attain it. “Faith can move mountains” as they say. The vision becomes the power of the leader!

And you, dear leaders, do you have a clear picture in mind of what you are trying to achieve? Please share your thoughts with us by posting comments here!