EAGLE EYE LEADERSHIP: What do you focus on and prioritize as the leader of your business?

Activity is not the same as productivity. Motion does not always signify progress. Activity is not necessarily accomplishment. Diligence is not necessarily effectiveness. Faithfulness is never the same as fruitfulness.

Not all efforts bring about results. There is a world of difference between getting things done (busy) and getting results (progress). Telling the difference is what this article is all about. Knowing the difference is what really makes some leaders more successful than others.

Making a to-do list for all your task will give you a boost on your productivity. You will be able to focus on one task, plus, it will help you organize from the least priority up to the top priority. This will give you great result as you move on your work.

Successful leaders are leaders with an eagle’s eye: they practice and live by the principle of focus and priority. They are not activity driven (busy), they are result driven (progress). They don’t care about knowing or doing everything; they are mostly concerned about knowing and doing the main things.

Great leaders are not a repository of everything or anything; they are repositories of only what matters. They don’t see everything, they only see what matters. They don’t go after everything; they only pursue the main things. They see, not as we see; they see through the eyes of the eagle; they see based on priority and they focus only on their vision.

They practice a different kind of leadership; not one based on execution (activity), but one based on contribution (productivity). This is a leadership built on focus and priority; a leadership driven by vision and purpose. This kind of leadership is what I call ‘eagle eye leadership’.

What is eagle eye leadership?

Eagle eye leadership is a kind of leadership practiced mostly by successful leaders in any work of life. It is a kind of leadership based on focus and priority. In other words, eagle eye leadership is a kind of leadership based on focus and priority and is mostly practiced by successful leaders in all works of life.

Eagle eye leadership refers to a leadership hinged upon vision and purpose. It is leadership focused on vision and following a purpose. It’s a leadership pursuing a vision and obeying a purpose. It’s not a survival driven kind of leadership, but a significance driven kind of leadership. It’s not a kind of leadership built on diligence alone (hard work) but also essence (designed work).

This kind of leadership doesn’t just ask “what is to be done?”, but also asks, “Why must it be done?” This kind of leadership doesn’t just work hard (diligence) but only works based on the vision it’s pursuing and a purpose it’s obeying (essence).

Eagle eye leadership is not a reactive kind of leadership that is based on just doing (movement or motion), but a proactive leadership based on improving (progress or contribution). Eagle eye leadership weighs every decision, situation and action against its original vision, destination and intention.

It asks;

“how does this decision, situation or action play out and affect my initial vision, destination or intention?”

It asks;

“what is the place or role of this decision, situation or action in my overall intention, destination or vision?”

It doesn’t just do, but does only when it finds a purpose, a place or reason for what needs to be done in the overall scheme of things. Every move, decision and action is tied to a predetermined end, purpose or vision. It is interested in doing only what matters; such things that would significantly affect the bottom-line. That is; the original vision, purpose and objective initially agreed upon. It weighs every action, decision or situation against the ultimate goal, vision or purpose in mind.

Eagle eye leadership is all about focus; a concentrated effort or attention on a particular thing (in this case, a vision) and priority; following or doing only the things with the greatest returns and of the greatest importance (in this case, purpose). Therefore, eagle eye leadership is all about focusing on the vision only and making the fulfillment of the purpose your priority.

In other words,you focus the vision and prioritize the purpose. That is to say, you make the vision your main emphasis and then you put the purpose above in front of all you do. This is what I mean; your task as the leader is to make the vision of the business your destination (focus) and make the purpose why you are in business your number one goal or objective (priority).

Focus the vision

The vision is the mental picture of the business in the mind of the leader, it could be an image or concept conceived through imagination. The vision often refers to where or what the leader perceives and sees the business to be in the nearest future.

The vision is a mental projection of the business, a mental destination for the business. It is usually future–bound. What tomorrow will look like, where we want to be in some year’s time, how big we hope to be.

The vision is the mental picture of a better or preferable future for the business. This is what the leader must emphasize on. A business without a vision is a business without direction. There’s only one place such a business will end up; nowhere!

Prioritize the Purpose

The purpose is the original reason why the business was created. It is the initial intent of the founder of the business. The purpose is why the business exists; why they open up for business everyday, and why they ever considered starting up such a business in the first place.

The purpose usually is determined in the past long before the business came into existence. It is the foundation on which the business was built; this is why it’s seldom changed. The purpose dwells on the outcome of the business, it doesn’t focus on outputs.

Outputs are the exact goods or services offered by the business to the market, while outcomes are those needs being met by the goods and services produced. While the vision of a business can always be changed since it’s something you project, the purpose most times remains unchanging unless it’s no longer of relevance to the market. The purpose is not something the leader sees and decides to obey or follow. The purpose of a business is often the need the business was created to meet or fulfill.

So does your business have a purpose for its existence besides just making money?

Creating a compelling vision is the ONE thing that separates leaders from all other people!

This is a continuation of the series on the 3 essential roles of every CEO (leadership, management and entrepreneurship) where I began with the role of the CEO as a Leader and talked about the 3 essential qualities of effective leadership; character, vision and competence.

Character is about who you are as a person. It describes what kind of a person you are and what earns you the privilege to lead others since people naturally like to follow those they respect and those whose life they want to emulate.

Until there’s something commendable and worth emulating from you as a person, attempting to lead the right people will be an exercise in futility irrespective of the position you might occupy.

Character is therefore the foundation of effective leadership.  In case you missed out on last week’s article where I shared some insights about what it takes to develop the right character necessary for effective leadership, you can read it here; developing the right character for effective leadership. Let’s now go over to the second essential quality of effective leadership – Vision.

Vision is the Second Essential Quality of Effective Leadership

Vision –an idea to die for– is the ONE thing that separates leaders from all other people. Your ability to constantly attract and lead the right people depends on the quality of your vision as a leader. You see, leadership does truly begin with you as a person (character) but it is never all about you (self-centeredness).

Leadership is about others; what you want to do for them, with them and in them. Leadership is a stewardship role; you are in charge of making something positive happen. It’s not just about being good (character) it’s also about doing good (vision).

It is one thing to have the right character that inspires others to look up to you and willingly want to follow you, the other thing is to ask yourself; “where are they following me to?” or “where am I leading them to?”

The answer to this question is what is called Vision and it’s your differentiating mark as a leader.

Vision is the yardstick against which your success or failure as a leader is measured. Your effectiveness as a leader is determined by how well you are able to lead others towards the fulfillment of a vision. Without a vision you cannot unify the collective efforts of the right people.

People like to know what they are working towards. The right people don’t just gather around or follow leaders who are only ‘good people’ (character); they want to gather around and follow leaders who are passionate about ‘doing good’ (vision).

So it’s your responsibility as a leader to create a compelling vision that can unify the collective efforts of your people. What is the positive thing that you want to make happen? What is that idea that you’re betting your life on and is worth dying for? What did you create your company to accomplish? What did you go into business to make happen? To what end do you need a team of the right people for?

Creating A Compelling Vision For Your Organization

In answering these questions, here are 5 factors to consider in creating a compelling vision;

• People oriented: creating a compelling vision begins and ends with people in mind. Why? Because people don’t gather for a leader (person), they gather for a reason (vision). Creating a compelling vision shouldn’t be about what you will get but rather, what you will give as an organization. Make your vision externally rather than internally focused. The more externally focused your vision is, the more commitment it will attract from the right people needed to make it happen.

• Clarity: the essence of a compelling vision is to unify the collective efforts of people and give direction to the entire organization.  In order to achieve this, the vision must be clear and shouldn’t be ambiguous.  See it big, but keep it short and simple. (SIBKISS)

• Timed: every vision has a specific time line (expiration date). When do you want to accomplish your vision? In creating a compelling vision, always remember that a vision without a time line is just a wish and therefore lacks the much needed sense of urgency that brings about the motivation required to make it happen.

• Measurable: what good is a compelling vision if you can’t determine how well you are doing? In creating a compelling vision, make sure there are specific milestones along the way that indicates how close or how far you are in relation to your vision.

• Achievable: don’t create a lofty vision which you don’t have the required resources (people, knowledge, finance, time etc) to make happen. Always create a compelling vision around your passion and core areas of competence.

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Does your business have a compelling vision? How were you able to create it?

Do you have the RIGHT character for effective leadership?

Truth be told; developing ones character for effective leadership is not an easy task, it’s a lifelong task, but its benefits outweighs any pain suffered along the way.

Character is not a destination that is reached; it’s a continuous process that must be perpetually worked on. Just as Eleanor Roosevelt rightly said,

“Character building begins in our infancy, and continues until death”.

Although character is related to personality, it is not the same thing. Personality is primarily inborn traits, while character consists of learned behaviour. Personality is what comes with you from birth; character is what you build all through your life.

Developing Your Character For Effective Leadership

As a CEO in playing your leadership role, developing the right character for effective leadership must be an ongoing process. This lifetime journey revolves around two key things that you must constantly focus on and always strive to improve. What are they?

• Your Values

• Your Habits

VALUES for Developing the Right Character for Effective Leadership

• Why do you think the way you do? Values.
• Why do you behave the way you do? Values.

Values are a set of deeply held beliefs, principles, qualities, standards or virtues that inspire and guides how we do (attitude) and why we do (thoughts).

Values are at the core of our attitudes, thoughts and dispositions; the combination of what we believe in and how we behave. They are what constitute what we think about (thoughts/intents) and form the basis of our attitude and dispositions.

In other words, they are the unseen source from which all our thoughts and attitudes originate. They determine what we believe and don’t believe; what we hold to be true; what’s important; what we respect and don’t respect; and what we are willing and not willing to do to achieve our goals.

They are the inner rules or principles we use to make choices and run our lives. They are those things we believe to be right in relationship to how we behave and why we do the things we do.

We all have values, whether implied or explicit; no human exists without one. We are all driven by something within; some are driven by money, sex, greed, pain, anger, change, purpose, etc. There are both positive and negative values, we can either choose to acknowledge our values and make necessary corrections or choose to ignore their existence and enslave ourselves. Whichever way we choose to look at it, the fact remains true; we’re all driven by one value or another, good or bad.

The difference between exceptional leaders and ordinary men and women is the simple fact that exceptional leaders consciously identify and adopt certain enduring values of life and greatness. While ordinary people simply go about their lives without being aware of the values they have unconsciously adopted. The truth is that there’s no vacuum in life, we must either choose our own values deliberately or allow our subconscious to adopt whatever value it picks from those around us.

This is the case with most people; they find themselves being driven by values they didn’t remember adopting and these values often times run contrary to their character. Because it’s your life and you’re ultimately responsible for how it turns out, why not take the pain to identify, choose and adopt the right values on which to build your life?

You’re probably asking yourself right now one of these questions; “what has being an effective leader got to do with my personal values in life?” Or “are we talking about life here or business?”

To both questions, the answers are the same;

life is a business, business is life.

Both are not two independent things, they are only two sides of the same coin. When it comes to success or greatness in life or in business, the rules are the same. Just as you cannot separate your body from your spirit, you cannot also draw a line between life and business. Why? Because both revolve around you as a person.

You are responsible for running your life and your business; neither will change until you do. If you cannot see the relationship between your behaviour and the results you’re not achieving in your life or in your business, then there’s nothing to change.

The way you live your personal life will reflect in your business and vice versa. People fail in business often times because they try to live a dual life by separating their business from their life. This is only insane. Every successful CEO or business executive knows that business is not another entity away from life, but rather an extension of life. Where do you think the whole idea of doing what you love and bringing your passion to work originated from?

Business at its very core simply means doing something about what you’re most concerned–passion. It means taking your passion and making it an enterprise. How on earth do you intend to do this independently without involving your life? Therefore, your personal values as well as your business values must be one. Duplicity will never lead to authenticity. Remember our definition of character; wholeness whether in business or life or wherever you find yourself.

Now let’s take a look at some of the enduring values of effective leaders both present and past. Each of these values have been personalized so as to make them memorable and applicable for you.

HABITS for Developing the Right Character for Effective Leadership

Habits are what you do (actions) as a result of what you believe and have accepted as true. Habits are your values in action. Your values are manifested through your habits.

As John C. Maxwell said;

“Habits are not instincts. They are acquired reactions. They don’t just happen; they are caused. First we form habits, then our habits form us.”

Your values are the source of your habits. If you have the wrong values, you will exhibit the wrong habits.

For example, someone who deeply values pleasure will form the habit of always shying away from work. Likewise, someone who believes so much in material possession will form the habit of acquiring luxuries. Also, a person who values knowledge will always be found reading and learning.

Habits are often considered dangerous because once they are formed; they can be very hard to break.

So what are some of the habits of effective leaders?

Generally, values and habits for developing the right character for effective leadership are unlimited and are based on personal preferences.

I’ve only tried to an extent to provide a head start for you as it’s essential you continue to search for more enduring values and habits of greatness in life. Remember, character development is a lifelong journey.

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Thanks for reading!

Has your business IQ increased as a result of reading this article?