Leadership and being visionary
Every young technologist and creative wants to be a visionary when they grow up. They want to be a thought leader and a trendsetter. In the same way athletes have LeBron James and Baker Mayfield, we too have idols we aspire to. The Steve Jobs and (once upon a time) Mark Zuckerberg. Jony Ive and Dan Wieden. True visionaries, all of them.
But, are they great leaders? Is it easy to be both? Is it even possible? I think that visionaries rely on great leaders to execute, and great leaders lean on visionaries to do world changing work.
The growth path in leadership lays bare many personal truths. One comes face to face with the hard edges of their personality and their human empathy. There are also all of skills that need to be grown, like conflict resolution and giving actionable feedback to another human being. This is also when you realize that you’re not a visionary.
What is a visionary?
The term visionary loosely means someone who sees the future in a way that no one else sees it. The way that the future could be. Steve Jobs is the archetypal example of this. He understood how consumers could (and would) use technology, and he pushed his businesses relentlessly in that direction. Entire bodies of work, means of production, untold fortunes have been created in his wake.
Being a visionary is not the same as being a leader. A visionary sees the future and drives toward it. This inspires people to follow, but leading is a byproduct. There is probably a high correlation between visionaries and those who want to lead others, but not a 1:1.
So, what is a leader?
A leader is one who strives to align others to a common goal and works on getting them there. That goal might be the vision a visionary sets for the future, or a big project, or populating a BioDome, or whatever else. A leader’s focus is in two directions: forward and at the team. A leader cannot succeed without having other people succeeding as well.
A leader inspires, but puts in the work to be inspiring. They purposefully exemplify the habits and behaviors they want their team to have. Being a visionary is ultimately unrelated to this.
The way I look at it is that I am not working on a digital product, my team is my product. How well they are performing is a reflection on my leadership. I don’t think that has much to do with me being visionary, though I do strive for that. This is the hard line in my own expertise, my own personality. I am driving toward building enough leadership skill and habit that I can focus on the future in a longer view.
Being a Visionary Leader
This, my friend, is the sweet spot. This is where you see the future, you have goals to get there, and you drive that direction through behaviors, actions, and leadership. These is the Apples of the world. The Googles. The Kochtopus.
I strive longingly in this direction. I don’t know if I’ll ever attain it. Is it possible to turn into a visionary? With the right amount of dedication, research, effort… probably. Being a leader is something I can see tangible results in every single day through the work.
On second thought, I’m gonna do it. I’ll be both.
