Blog about Leadership

Joel Barker

Joel Barker is known as The Paradigm Man for his leadership in defining the concepts of paradigm shifts for corporations. He was even presented an honorary Doctorate in Visionary Leadership from St. Mary’s University.

Joel Barker Quote about Vision and Action:
“Vision without action is a dream. Action without vision is simply passing the time. Action with Vision is making a positive difference.”

Vision

The vision is your mission statement to define the purpose and objectives of the organization. CEOs of most corporations utilize visions statements as a leadership tool to define strategic goals for the organization and defining operational traits for managers, leaders, and other professionals in the organization to follow. For leaders of small groups and teams, you can create a mission statement that works within the framework of the organization’s vision statement and target the objectives and operational traits specifically to the group.

Action

The action is the momentum and drive which work towards the defined goals – both short-term and long-term. The action falls subject to the corporate culture of an organization and is greatly influenced by the leadership with the organization. Effect leaders learn how to propel their teams and groups to action, but effective leaders also set the stage by practicing what they teach. Most people in an organization have no knowledge of what a CEO does on a daily basis, but most people can perceive whether a leader is a person of action or not.

Combining

Combining vision and action is highly effect as Joel Barker articulates. Your vision statements should clearly define your objectives and define how to accomplish your objectives. When you consistently and effectively communicate your vision statement, you demonstrate the importance of the goals and objectives that the statement defines. A significant part of the action for a CEO is the effective communication of the vision statement.

You can learn more from Joel Barker here.

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The Change in Focus

The lifelong timeline of a leader includes an important shift in focus and measuring success for this shift is well articulated by Jack Welch, the notable, former CEO of GE.

Leadership quote from Jack Welch:
“Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.”

Developing Leadership Potential

In the development phase, which starts “today” and continues lifelong, the focus is selfish in a sense. It’s about the leader – the leader’s knowledge, wisdom, understanding, communication skills, people skills, and the leader’s ability to influence.

The Practice of Leadership

The leading phase starts “tomorrow” and continues for as long as the leader is able to lead whether by position and/or by influence. The focus is on those you lead. The followers are not merely followers for I take the same position as Ralph Nader who stated, “I start with the premise that the function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers .” It may be better to say, the success of a leader is all about growing leaders.

For Success Today

• Your focus should be on developing your leadership potential.

For Success Tomorrow

• Your focus should be on developing the leadership potential of others.

Visions and Opinions 

So many back-and-forth opinions surround corporate visions that having a vision statement or focusing the valuable attention of top leadership on it is often overlooked with all the other priorities. I honestly believe, as do many top business leaders like Jack Welch, that visions are an efficient and effective mechanism for leaders to impact their organizations.

Here’s a quote from unknown origin on visions and communication:
“A clear vision is usually assumed and rarely communicated.”

With so much knowledge and information in organizations, many managers and professionals have difficulty cutting through all the fluff to the core substance that is needed. The KISS principle is often touted, but not practiced often enough. Learning to Keep It Short and Simple requires you to edit and prioritize the information in reports, statements, plans, and other written materials.

Visions and KISS

The same focus should be placed on vision statements. Priority should be given to ensure that the most relevant and highest priorities are presented, but not hidden amongst unnecessary distractions.

Benefits of KISS

1. Ensures the statement is focused.

2. Allows the statement to be communicated more often and more effectively.

3. Increases the likelihood that the statement will be remembered.

4. Increases the likelihood that the statement will impact the daily workloads of the people who need to execute it.

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