Leaders have 5 key roles to play in any business:
Building bridges
Casting the vision
Humanizing the business
Directing the orchestra
Coaching the team
It’s important to realize that Leaders are responsible for focusing upon the “big picture” to make decisions that will impact the team. This means looking ahead down the road at the horizon, and evaluating the change in conditions that may cause changes to be made. If Leaders have a long-range view of the business, they are better able to anticipate changes, and communicate their plan with greater confidence to their team.
Looking at the Horizon
The summer that I turned 15 years old, I was enrolled in the Driver’s Education program through our local high school. Prior to this, for some unknown reason, I had never experienced being behind the wheel of a car. I recall getting into the driver’s seat, buckling up, and following the directives of the instructor sitting beside me in the passenger seat while two of my classmates rode along in the back seat.
I began to drive down the road, and I recall that I was extremely concerned about hitting something. In order to ensure I wouldn’t hit something with the car, I placed my visual focus on the road immediately ahead of me. To be exact, I was focusing on about 10-feet ahead of the vehicle.
The result of looking just ahead of the car was that I began significantly “overcorrecting” with the steering wheel. Noticing that I was significantly overcorrecting, Mr. Klumpp, my instructor, kindly asked, “Kathy, where are you looking?” I responded to him that I was looking directly ahead. Following up on this, he asked me, “Approximately how far ahead, would you guess?” I guessed it to be about 10-feet in front of the vehicle.
He said, “Ah…well, I noticed that you were overcorrecting, which is why I asked. I’ll tell you what, try picking your line of sight up to the horizon, instead. This way, you’ll be better able to anticipate changes in the driving situation. For example, if traffic begins to back up, you’ll see it in plenty of time to be able to adjust your speed to slow down, or to even make a decision to
reroute yourself. You always need to keep your focus on the horizon so that you’re able to make decisions ahead of time; rather than slamming on the brakes reacting to a sudden change.” He was an excellent teacher, I must admit.
This situation was a powerful life lesson as well! As a Leader, you’re figuratively in the driver’s seat – with your team serving as your passengers. As the driver, you are responsible for making critical moment-to-moment decisions that affect both you and your passengers.
“Casting the Vision” requires you, as a Leader, to be the one responsible for thinking ahead, looking for possible changes in the conditions of your business, and keeping your view on the “horizon.” In addition, as a Leader, to cast out your vision, you are responsible for forming a plan, communicating your plan, and also explaining when you make decisions to alter that plan
