Leaders Look Forward, Not Back

The first duty of a leader is to cast a compelling vision.

The objective of a vision is to raise and unify the energy of the team and to galvanise it into action.

A vision should be bold.

As the visionary American property developer, James Rouse, once said: “People will rise to the bold and to the dramatically good – they yawn at the timid and the unconvincing.”

A vision should be optimistic. Leaders are dealers in hope.

Ask a leader what the future holds, and they invariably reply: “The future’s so bright, I’ve gotta wear shades!”
Leaders keep their eyes fixed on the vision at all times. They don’t dwell for long on the problems of the past.

If you think that’s unimportant, try walking forwards while looking backwards.

The future’s more interesting than the past. The best is yet to come.