Visionary Leadership is the type of leadership where a leader is a person with a clear and definite idea of the future of the business. He has a clear vision of how the future of the business should look and what needs to be done to reach that future status. Visionary leadership works to set out concrete and stable steps to ensure reaching the identified vision and then they lead their employees in that direction.
Visionary leadership is most popular for ruling with vision, sharing the vision with the team, and pushing them forward to achieve the vision while inspiring them and encouraging them. Visionary leaders usually do not use an authoritarian style to push employees towards goal attainment.
Once inspired, visionary leaders usually give freedom for the employees to explore and identify the best route to reach the expected vision through their job responsibilities. Creativity and business innovation play a major role here and the employees are encouraged to think out of the box and look for new methods to get the job done better and faster. It is believed by the visionary leaders that the employees will get a deeper understanding of their role in achieving the vision of the organization and create more discipline and commitment in the employees.
Characteristics of Visionary Leadership
1. Willing to take risks
Visionary leadership understands that change is always involved with risks. They understand that change is vital in order to achieve the status declared by the organization’s vision. This can include changing the current methods in the business process, the adaptation of new methods, and many sacrifices as well. Since the visionary leaders rule by the company vision, they are willing to take these risks and move towards goal attainment.
2. Take responsibility for their actions
With the risks involved with the business processes and the different nature of the ideas, it is important for visionary leaders to take responsibility for their decisions as well as their actions. It is not always about the incorrect decisions but the leadership has the responsibility to make the right decision for the success of the entire organization.
The leader has to ensure the smooth run of the business process, availability of all the necessary resources, and employee satisfaction and motivation to remain with the organization.
3. Persistent
Visionary leaders understand that it is challenging to achieve a usually broad vision of the organization. However, they are determined to succeed and work hard to reach the goal step0by-step. Visionary leadership has a clear understanding of how to navigate challenges and push through them while motivating others in the business process.
4. Open-minded
When reaching for the organizational vision achievement, visionary leaders usually hold multiple perspectives. Looking at the bigger picture helps them to achieve what is expected while being flexible to the changing business environment. Being flexible helps them to navigate challenges more efficiently and turn the weaknesses and threats of the business process into strengths and opportunities.
5. Creativity and innovation
Visionary leaders drive the businesses towards goal attainment through motivating and inspiring the employees. They clearly communicate the expectation from the employees and give opportunities for employees to think creatively and use business innovation to come up with the best way to satisfy the expectation from their job role.
6. Communication and collaboration
Visionary leaders invite the entire business organization to be a part of the vision created. They maintain clear and straight communication with the subordinates and explain clearly what needs to be achieved and when it should be achieved. This is done by providing motivation for the employees to get inspired and work promptly to achieve the expectation.