The Visionary Leader - Highlights from Education Series

THE VISIONARY LEADER
(notes from a presentation given by Keith McLusky on 10/12/2010)

“ To be a leader, others must want and agree to be followers.

Leaders fall into different categories; a team captain is a leader, an airline pilot is a
leader.

In the business world, leaders are rewarded for guiding their companies into broader,
more profitable ventures. This requires a vision of the future and concepts of how to
attain that vision. Toastmasters International has its own vision of the ‘ corporation’ and
serves its Toastmaster members with that vision in mind.

Vision takes many forms; we can envisage our team winning, we can fantasize over our
next vacation, but true vision is longer term and requires the skills of a real leader in
order to fulfill that vision. This leader is worrying over/excited by what will happen in
three years, not the next three months.

A leader cannot achieve everything him/herself. Competent managers must be selected
and persuaded to become a part of achieving the goal/vision. Together, they will
determine a strategy and work to implement it. The leader will be involved in the
creation of the strategy, but will allow the managers latitude to set and achieve their own
goals within the overall objective.

People have not only to be motivated, but to feel respected and a meaningful part of the
total exercise.

So what characteristics must this visionary leader have? He/she must be realistic in
setting goals; the vision must be clear and easy to understand. The goals must represent
a challenge, so the participants can feel satisfaction at having exceeded their ‘ comfort
level’ . The vision will not be overly specific – a vision is not to achieve $2,000,000
in monthly profit, but rather, say, to create a company admired for its morality, for its
support of environmental protection………

A visionary leader will always talk about the vision, explaining the intrinsic benefits
to all who participate. He/she will be enthusiastic and encourage others to share their
enthusiasm. The leader will be involved – not in overseeing every team member’ s work,
but in reviewing regularly and sharing insights from the progress.

A vision is not ‘ set in cement’ ; it will adapt as conditions require – and the consequent
strategies will modify also. But the commitment to the vision remains.”



(This is one of the presentations from the Toastmasters International “ The Leadership
Excellence Series” . A script is provided, but speakers are encouraged to create their own
presentation, based on the concepts in the script.)