Visionaries have a very critical purpose in this world - to create visions. However, they should not be the ones embroiled in the execution of their vision. The result of this sort of entanglement is that you have talent that is stifled, and more importantly, you don’t deliver product.

Not only have I experienced this myself over my many years in the workforce, but recently, I am hearing more and more stories that all have a similar flow.

• A visionary has an idea - often a very good or great idea.

• A company is formed to build the product or a new division is created within an existing company.

• The company gets startup funding or realigns its operating capital to build the product.

• The best talent is hired or assigned to the work.

• The visionary wants to control the day-to-day operational decisions.

When The Visionary Wants to Control The Day-to-Day

This means that several things inherently happen. The workforce doesn’t innovate because they are not empowered to self-manage and nobody, from middle managers down to product developers, knows what their role is in the product cycle.

In most cases, if visionaries have any role in execution, they end up becoming the customer. I have had some people say “Well aren’t they the product owner?” I would argue that even this role is difficult for the visionary because it’s too easy to step into the middle of everything all over again. So we come back full circle to the team being afraid to apply product techniques that they know to be successful ones.

An enlightened leader surrounds themselves with people who know their subject matter, and can support the vision and the leader. A strong leader also challenges their teams to innovate, push concepts to the edge and beyond, and not be afraid to fail in the process of excelling. It is no different in this case. The visionary has seen to it that they have the right talent on board. Now let them soar and use those skills to bring the vision to life.

Build A Culture of Innovation and Excellence

But how does the visionary or senior leader still feel connected to the results? Here are a few things that a visionary or senior leader absolutely must do to ensure a healthy work culture that breeds innovation and product delivery excellence.

• Create an environment that makes everyone feel safe enough to speak up.

• Clear obstacles and make decisions - this does not mean you getting in the weeds and using command and control. 

• Be accountable to the teams and be aware. This seems like the opposite of what we think. Aren’t the teams supposed to be accountable to the leaders? Yes, but the leadership needs to be accountable to their teams as well.

• Invest in people, who will in turn invest in the outcomes. This means not only hiring the right talent, but also creating a culture where they can thrive.

• Communicate, communicate, communicate - nobody should be left guessing what the vision is, or what is expected of them.

The visionary has seen to it that they have the right talent on board. Now let them soar and use those skills to bring the vision to life.

I can’t stress enough though that it is critical to set the vision, communicate the goals, and create the culture - and then leave the day-to-day to the operations team. Then the visionary can create more ideas and see the fruits of their labour. Don’t be a helicopter visionary!

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About the Author:

INDRA A. BOOKS

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