Chiefs Must Have Compelling Visions

Of the many classes, workshops and seminars I have attended on leadership. I recall one that emphasized humor as an important leadership trait often exercised by effective leaders. I wholeheartedly concur with that. Humor can be very effective if applied at the right time, in the right amount and to the right degree. In any event, as a result of that seminar I started a practice I continue today of reading the comics every day. I find that they typically provide at least one good laugh to start the day and uplift my spirits for what remains. My favorites are, of course, the Sunday comics in full color. My Sunday comics have Hal Foster’s “Prince Valiant” by Gianni and Schultz which I read even though it is not designed to elicit laughs.

Last Sunday I read “Valiant” as usual and could not help but chuckle at the scene depicted. The Prince had just helped Princess Makeda of a northern African country find and reclaim the lost treasure of King Solomon. She wore Solomon’s crown standing on a raised temple above a horde of angry rebel warriors who were trying to reach her and Valiant to do them great bodily harm. As soon as the rebels saw Makeda wearing the crown they immediately changed their allegiance and bowed down to her and forsook Twedorek, the rebel leader. As the gold and jewels of Solomon’s crown flashed into Twedorek’s eyes, temporarily blinding him, he faltered on a platform high above an African plain. His last words as he stumbled and fell from the precipice were, “No! This cannot be happening – This is not Solomon! I must show you all. I will destroy this false prophet! I am born to rule! You must follow me! I command you – Follow me! Just show me the pretender and … “. The last panel of the comic read, “Legend has it that long after he stumbled over the edge, there echoed Twedorek’s final command ‘Follow meeee’.” It seems obvious that Twedorek could never command someone to follow him.

People follow leaders for different reasons, the most important of which is the vision the leader possesses. This is Teaching #33 in The Leadership Teachings of Geronimo, Chiefs Must Have Compelling Visions. It reads as follows:

The self-determination ethic of the Apaches made it very easy for any warrior to elect not to join a battle. Each warrior would make his final determination to fight or not during a war dance the evening before the attack. During the war dance, if an Apache decided he would join the war party he would step forward toward the fire and join in the dance around the flames. If he chose not to fight he simply never stepped forward. With such strong self-determination, Geronimo had to have something more than just persuasive and passionate words to convince others to follow him in battle. What he had was a compelling vision. He had a vision so strong that warriors decided on their own to risk their lives at war.

Teaching

Logic alone will rarely convince people to commit themselves to a cause, especially one that will endanger their security. To move people to join you in an endeavor you are advocating you must be able to provide a clear vision of what it is you want to do and why it is necessary , and advantageous, for them to take a risk. Then you must give them a clear choice to join you or not. Coercion in such matters will only lead to ultimate failure. People must be able and willing to freely choose to follow you in high-risk ventures, but they will not do so unless you have given them a compelling reason or vision.

Even though it seems self evident that one cannot command others to follow in today’s world, many “position” leaders, i.e. those that have subordinates reporting to them as a result of their position in the organization, never give a second thought to commanding someone to follow. They forget to relate a decision to the vision and mission of the organization. They simply command and expect (and often demand) subordinates to follow. The stronger the top down management style of the organization, the more you will experience this type of leadership.
There are many instances when a position leader must command the action to be taken. However, there are many more instances when the situation does not call for such heavy handedness and, as a result, resentment and rebellion will build in the subordinates. Unless it is absolutely necessary because of time constraints, mission/vision divergence, importance, or a difficult employee(s) it is best to take more time and present the action in terms of reaching the mission and vision you have as the leader. Geronimo found this out early in his life and it stood him in good stead for a very long (and hard) time.