The visionary leader’s weekend mantra, or how I learned that it’s not all about me 

There are times when being a Visionary leader can be the coolest, most important thing any organization needs. All that pent-up creativity, controlled risk-taking, motivational leadership from in front - what's not to like?

Well, what's not to like is that being a Visionary leader can also sometimes, frankly, become a shortcut to being a jerk.

Most leaders who have a predominantly Visionary style can regularly let their strengths curdle into behaviors that simply burn out and / or alienate their colleagues.

So, if your leadership style is that of a Visionary (or if you work with one), I have five short mantras for you - one for each day of the working week:

On Monday, I won’t hijack the weekly planning meeting because of my compulsive desire to 'share' whatever stunning insight I read / heard / invented over the weekend. 

Instead, I’ll listen patiently and offer only what is relevant and on-point, knowing that if my stunning insight is of any real value, it’ll be just as relevant later, and that it's important everyone else get a good start to the week without me distracting them with my shiny new ball. 

On Tuesday, I won’t grab some poor unsuspecting individual who doesn't work directly for me and terrify them by sharing my vision / fears / presumptions / hunches / insights and or advice about 'how they're doing'. 

Instead, I’ll schedule a planned session with their manager and in a judgement-free manner, share my pearls of wisdom with them. (Or, more likely, when faced with the hassle of actually scheduling meeting and having to think about it in advance rather than just shooting from the lip, ex tempore, realize that my so-called wisdom isn't that important, really.) 

On Wednesday, I’ll resist my arsonist tendencies. I won’t light a match and throw it at some initiative that’s driving me crazy because it's struggling to gain traction. 

Instead, I’ll recognize that I was the person who started the darn initiative in the first place, and I’ll do the hard work of buckling down to actually find out what’s going wrong, and will try to find out if it's fixable.

On Thursday, I will strenuously resist the need to (yet again) repeat and embellish barely believable stories about the magnificent feats of derring-do 'we' accomplished in the past. 

Instead, I will go out of my way to identify recent events of derring-do that my team really have accomplished, and will find a way to celebrate them without the main purpose being to draw attention to myself.

On Friday, I’ll recognize that not everyone in my organization has the same flexibility around their schedule that I have, and I won’t stroll (or Zoom) into the office in my tailored athleisure couture and act all “Hey, how’s it going – we never talk these days, let’s shoot the breeze.”

Instead, I’ll realize that many people get their best work done on Fridays, and … well, basically, I won’t act like a jerk. I’ll just go ride my bike / play padel / cuddle my dog and stay out of everybody’s way while they actually get good work done. 

Do you recognize any of these traits? Which of these do you need to work on?

Let Me Know In The Comments Below!