Leading with Vision and Innovation
Our world is rapidly changing and today's leaders are expected to lead not only with vision, but also innovation--and the two are directly linked. Vision sets the course for innovation.
Employees want a leader with vision
A study by Harvard Business Review of tens of thousands of people across the world determined that people feel the number-one attribute distinguishing a leader from a non-leader is that leaders should be forward looking. In other words, people want their leaders to lead with a vision. A vision is a clear image of a future situation.
Innovation makes things better
Innovation is about change, opportunities, creativity and passion. Innovators look for and find ways of making things evolve and become better. Successful leaders foster an environment where innovative strategies and ideas can take shape. They involve their employees in the process allowing them to contribute and implement their own thoughts and ideas to bring about change.
Learning to about vision and innovation is essential to becoming a good leader. An innovative and visionary leader always looks for opportunities, understands the ever-changing tendencies of the modern world and finds answers to them.
The vision should thrive as a result of action. Everyone should be actively involved and engaged in bringing the vision to life. Leading with vision inspires and motivates across the board.
Leaders should establish a work environment where people share in the vision. A shared vision allows for employee input and buy in. Involving employees in the vision allows them to feel they are a part of something bigger than themselves.
A vision is a clear picture of a future state. It leads somewhere, towards a goal, growth and/or success. Vision must be combined with action. It is not enough to think about the future, you must move toward it.
The enemy of Innovation
One thing to keep in mind is that innovation has an enemy and that enemy is assumption. People all too often get stuck in assuming that things must stay the way they are. As a leader, you should be aware of this and aim to fight against it. One way is to challenge your thinking by replacing: "It's been done before, it won't work" with "Shall we try this?" or "Why not?"
Think Outside the Box
Allow yourself to think outside the box and encourage the same of your employees. Leading with innovation can bring:
Here are some myths to look out for:
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Excitement
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Energy
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A renewed sense of purpose to your organization
Educate your employees on how to become innovative leaders
The EasyLlama course on Leadership recognizes that an innovative leader always looks for opportunities, understands the ever-changing tendencies of the modern world, and finds answers to them. Our training uses interactive knowledge checks and real-life video scenarios in order to help emerging leaders to find new opportunities and answers to important questions.
Helping over 8,000+ organizations create a safer, more inclusive company culture.
This online training course from EasyLlama explores foundational traits for an effective leader that can be applied in the workplace. Strong leaders can help maximize productivity, achieve business goals, motivate employees, handle conflict, and initiate action. The course covers:
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