Feedback Form
Home Features Mastermind Forums About Advertise Blog Network Contact Be An Author

Secrets of Visionary Leadership

Secrets of Visionary Leadership

From Manager to Visionary: Secrets of Visionary Leadership

The ability of managers and executives to lead has a direct effect on employee performance, productivity, motivation, and ultimately the company’s profitability. Effective leadership is crucial in any organization to help employees tap into their potential, improve performance, meet challenges and actualize the company’s objectives.

A leader is someone who holds a position of leadership – an executive, manager, CEO or business owner. According to one dictionary, a leader is one who is in charge or in command of others.” In many organizations the perception of a leader fits this definition, but in an increasingly complex business world and an economy facing incessant change, a leader must be much more than merely the guy in charge.” To make the company’s vision a reality and navigate today’s turbulent economic waters, our current model of leadership must evolve.

To actualize its vision, a company requires Visionary Leadership.

What is Visionary Leadership? A visionary leader is much more than just a manager, CEO or business owner. A visionary leader is one who motivates and inspires, one who brings out the best in his or her people and one who guides the organization to greatness. Companies whose leaders fail to do this can’t hope to survive in today’s economy. Are your leaders up to par?

What is it that makes a visionary leader?

When asked this question, most will describe the qualities that make a great leader; his or her behaviours, actions and the results he or she is able to produce. But these are not the things that make a great leader. Rather, these are evidence of a great leader.

The performance and results of a great leader are the expression of something much deeper. What really makes a great leader is not what they do, it’s what is going on behind the scenes that enables them to do what they do. Behaviour does not merely result from external circumstances – different people will respond to the same circumstances in different ways. Behaviour is the manifestation of what is behind the scenes in the mind, the cognitive processes that underlie all actions – our values, beliefs, drives, intentions, attitudes and perceptions. Visionary leadership is the manifestation of the values, beliefs and thinking styles of a true leader.

A leader that stands out from the rest will have particular beliefs, perceptions and mental maps that translate into actions and results. To be a great leader, first and foremost you must have the mind of a great leader.

Acquiring skills and knowledge and learning to mimic the right behaviours is not what makes the difference. A manager or CEO cannot produce the behaviours and results of a visionary leader if he is held back by limiting beliefs, detrimental perceptions or non-supportive attitudes. Without the mind of a visionary leader a manager or CEO will fail to produce the impressive results that make us wonder, “How does she do that?” 

I have an acquaintance who teaches leadership and works with some important groups in Montreal. We recently spoke of leadership and he spoke of what leaders do, their actions and behaviours, with no concept of what is going on behind the scenes. His idea of training new leaders is to get them all together and to tell them what leaders do so they can all learn to do it. But how often does it happen that we know just what to do but we don’t or can’t do it?

Up until recently, coaching and mentoring in organizations has been “performance-based.” This means that a coach or mentor was someone who had “been there, done that” and who could show others how to do it. The results with this approach have often mediocre. According to this approach, to be visionary leaders, all we need is to tell our managers and executive what to do, hoping they will be able to do it. But with this approach leaders leave coaching and training sessions and do things exactly as they had done before.  It is all too easy to fall back into habitual patterns and automatic behaviours. Why? Behaviour results from our mental programming. Unless we change our mental programming, we will continue to produce the same behaviours and obtain the same results. If we want to produce superior behaviours and achieve superior results, we need superior mental programming.

The secret to creating visionary leaders is not to tell people what great leaders do hoping they will be able to do the same. Visionary leadership results naturally from the inner workings of the mind -drives, intentions, values and beliefs- not from being told what to do. Yet this is precisely the model of leadership being used in most businesses.

To transform a manager, executive or CEO into a visionary leader, he or she must be guided in transforming limiting beliefs and perceptions into ones that enable him to produce extraordinary results. Reality is a question of perception, and a great leader has perceptions that enable him to create a reality characterized by greatness. A visionary leader has beliefs and convictions that enable him or her to tap into his or her own potential and awaken the potential of his or her followers. A visionary leader acts based on values and intentions that are aligned with desired outcomes and that lead to impressive results. 

 

A visionary leader is born when his or her values, drives and intentions

are optimized and aligned with desired results.

 

How can the employees of a company perform at their best and commit to a company’s vision without leaders who inspire and awaken? For a company to achieve greatness, the company’s leaders must achieve greatness first. Transforming a company occurs from the top down.

Yet transforming the inner workings of individuals seems like a lofty task. We all know that changing human behaviour is one of the most difficult challenges faced in an organization. How can we transform the mind of an executive, manager or CEO into that of a visionary leader? How can a leader rid him or herself of limiting beliefs and perceptions and align thinking, emotion and expression to produce desired behaviours and results effortlessly?

The answer? Just as there have been revolutionary advances in medicine and technology over the last several decades, impressive developments have also taken place in the field of psychology, developments that have led to a whole new approach to leadership. Cutting-edge leadership methods are now being used around the world in business and government. One such model is currently being used with the Belgian government, for example. But here at home, we are content to tell people what to do and wonder why visionary leaders who achieve greatness are so rare.

 





Secrets of Visionary Leadership - To learn more about this author, visit David Kynan's Website.

Like this article? Share it with your friends

Article Feedback
 Article Feedback No article feedback found.
  Leave Your Feedback
article feedback

Article Feedback
Dianne Crampton

Dianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here.

Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009.  Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010.  To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here.

- Visit Dianne Crampton's Website


To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us.

About The Author


David Kynan
(Visit David's Website) Train your mind for superior performance and success with the most effective coaching methods and tools for change. David Kynan, Personal Trainer for the Mind, will guide you to becoming the CEO of your mind and updating your mental software to produce superior results. President of Mindworks Coaching, David specializes in proven methods to unmask hidden interferences that hold you back, unlock your complete potential and achieve massive success. A graduate of McGill University with a degree in Languages & Communications and speaker of 7 languages, David Kynan is a Master Practitioner and Trainer of Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) and one of four Associate Certified Meta-Coaches in Canada. In addition to being certified in Design Human Engineering, Neuro-Semantics and hypnotherapy, he has completed over 15 other programs in NLP and coaching psychology. Currently completing a Master's Degree in Integrative Psychology, David is a member of the Association of Integrative Psychology and the International Society of Neuro-Semantics. He is the Vice President of the Canadian Association of NLP and is the director of the Canadian chapter of the Meta-Coach Foundation.

David Kynan is a Gold author on EvanCarmichael.com
About The Author

View Author Blog
Defy The Impossible: The Mindworks Coaching Blog - Stay up to date on the latest developments in personal development and success with the secrets of NLP and other breakthrough technologies from David Kynan of Mindworks Coaching Montreal. Stay tuned for the how to’s of achievement, specific tips and techniques you can use, reviews of the most impactful books and movies, and perhaps a few interesting surprises.
Defy The Impossible: The Mindworks Coaching Blog
View Author Blog

View Author Video
David Kynan Video - Mind Coach David Kynan of Mindworks Coaching interviewed on CTV news about why people seek out the services of a coach during tough economic times. David speaks about why methods such as NLP are more popular when the economy is down and how individuals can get the edge in a tough world.
View Author Video

Free Downloads


David Kynan's

Complete
List Of
Business-Coach
Articles

Name
Email
If you enjoyed this article, get David Kynan's Complete List of Business-Coach Articles For FREE!

More David Kynan
Beliefs The Software of the Mind
Our Changing Brain Neuroplasticity and the Power of the Mind
The Magic Minute of Sales Mind Reading your Clients and Prospects
Hypnotic Influence with the Instruction Manual for the Mind
Warrior Mind
RecessionProof Your Mind Part 2
Breaking the Recession Illusion to Become an Empowered Entrepreneur
The Wealth Mindset How to Profit when the Economy is Down
The Dance of Mind The Key to Superior Performance
How the Mind Works Understanding Your Mental Software
Free Downloads


 
 
 


Evan Elite Authors
Staging Diva  
John Power  
Anne Barr  
Evan Elite Authors

Become An Author
Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details.
Become An Author

Evan's Latest Video
Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media
Evan's Latest Video

Business Opportunities
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"

How to Start An Online Business

Click Here To Learn More
Business Opportunities



Evan's Newsletter
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
Name:
Email:
Evan`s Newsletter

Free Downloads
One Size Success Icon One Size Success
Find & Keep Profitable Clients Icon Find & Keep Profitable Clients
Fortune Small Business Icon Fortune Small Business
Leadership Training Hospitals Icon Leadership Training Hospitals
Business Plan Sample Icon Business Plan Sample
Free Downloads - Complete List

Entrepreneur Tools and Guides
Top 50 Niche Blogs 2009
Top 50 Niche Blogs 2009
Top 50 Niche Blogs 2009
 
Top 50 Productivity Blogs To Watch In 2008
Top 50 Productivity Blogs
Top Blogs To Watch In 2008
 
Entrepreneur Tools and Guides

SEO For Africa
SEO For Africa
Fatima Akirinde Benin City, Nigeria,
Fatima Akirinde
Benin City, Nigeria
SEO For Africa

If I Were A Startup...
Frank Cianciulli, $2.3 to $7.5 Mil in 2 years
Frank Cianciulli
$2.3 to $7.5 Mil in 2 years
Gord Hotchkiss, $113k to $1.5 Mil in 5 years
Gord Hotchkiss
$113k to $1.5 Mil in 5 years
If I Were A Startup... - Complete List

Famous Entrepreneurs
A.P. Giannini, Bank of America
A.P. Giannini
Bank of America
Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway
Warren Buffett
Berkshire Hathaway
Famous Entrepreneurs - Complete List

Entrepreneur Advice
David Allen, Getting Things Done
David Allen
Getting Things Done
Tom Peters, In Search Of Excellence
Tom Peters
In Search Of Excellence
Entrepreneur Advice - Complete List

Popular Articles
(Premium Authors)

     What's Your IQ (Influence Quotient)?
By Mike Myatt
     Are You An Effective CEO?
By Mike Myatt
     Authority as a Leadership Principle
By Mike Myatt

Have A Suggestion?
Toronto Salsa Classes / Toronto Salsa Lessons Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
Have A Suggestion?

More Evan Carmichael
More Information