Photo Credits: MobilFunk7, Flickr

If you Google “What makes a great leader” you get about 26 million results. Aspiring leaders are inundated with advice on how to become one of the greats. It has been my experience as a leader of successful companies that great leadership comes not from daily “how-tos” but from a deeper internal makeup of the leader. This makeup can be summarized in four traits.

The first is vision. Vision is more than seeing the final product. It is seeing the steps along the way that bring you to the final product. It is understanding the implications of decisions throughout the development. A key differentiator, a great leader will act upon a vision while a good leader will admire the vision without action. Until there is action and dedication to the completion, a vision is nothing more than a dream.

The second is instinctive intelligence. Instinctive intelligence is being able to know things, see things and act upon things with an understanding that cannot be taught in a textbook. This is related to vision in that great leaders are able to see the entire picture, understand the implications and make judgments based on instinctual knowledge. This trait, while fundamentally based in instinct that a leader is born with, can be developed over time through thoughtful learning from past decisions and a deeper understanding of the industry inner workings.

The third trait all great leaders posses is persistence. There will never be a great accomplishment that comes easily without resistance. Persistence comes in all forms and great leaders need to have it in every situation. Persistence is tied to the previous two traits in that, someone who does not see the overall vision will not be able to see past the immediate disruption. A good leader could by delayed unnecessarily by a roadblock that seems overwhelming. A great leader will see beyond the roadblock to their final product and will use their instinctive intelligence to find a way around.

The fourth trait in all great leaders is a passion and a drive to win. Full-hearted belief in the vision, refusal to be stopped by resistance and an emotional connection to the end product creates a powerful passion in great leaders that cannot be rivaled by others. The vision becomes an integral part of these great leaders. It becomes part of their identity and they defend it and work towards its success as though it was a living piece of them.

What other traits do you think make a great leader? What do you believe is your strongest trait as a great leader?

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Photo Credits: Paul Gilham/Getty Images

Without vision people fail. OH Jin-Heyk is the number one archer in the world. He is the first Korean male archer to win an Olympic individual gold medal and his team took third place in the 2012 summer Olympics. Still, if you took OH Jin-Heyk and spun him around and blindfolded him, he would miss the target every time.

How could he be expected to hit a target he cannot see? Even the greatest archer in the world needs vision to hit the bull’s-eye. Too many companies are trying to hit a target while metaphorically blindfolded. They are working without seeing the target in their mind’s eye. A vision of success is sharp and clear and the end result can be seen in its entirety. At successful companies, every employee understands the vision and can use it to determine their daily course of action.

Vision is the very thing that causes people to follow with passion. Still, a company with a clear vision but no clear path to get there has nothing more than a dream.

A strategy must be developed and then followed to accomplish a goal or objective. However, while vision requires strategy, strategy alone is not vision. Visions are realized over time, they show progress, while dreams are always distant.

With Solavei, I saw many people’s lives being positively impacted by shifting commerce into something affordable and even profitable for members. I saw the components it would take to make this vision a reality. Back in October 2011, I wrote the vision down on paper and created the first Solavei vision video. When we look at where we are today and the work we are doing at Solavei, I see we are fulfilling the vision from two years ago. Each day, we are building the strategic elements to positively impact millions of lives and make this vision a reality.

Where will your vision lead you? Do you have a clearly defined target and path to get there?

The post Without Vision Leaders Will Not Succeed appeared first on Ryan Wuerch.

Photo Credits: Moyan Brenn

When we were children, we saw the world differently. Cause and effect were more closely related and we believed in the impossible. Over the Easter weekend, a friend told me a story about two young brothers. The youngest, just turning five years old, was excited for the Easter Bunny to stop by their house and hide eggs throughout their yard. But he was concerned the Easter Bunny wouldn’t have time to get to his house. He asked his older brother how the Easter Bunny could visit everyone’s house in one night. Santa could do it because he has a sleigh and reindeer but what does the Easter Bunny have? The older brother responded, “Tunnels that run under ground all over the world.” Both boys went to bed confident they would have plenty of eggs to search for in the morning.

Even at a young age, we are able to question and see challenges. But something happens as we get older. Instead of being satisfied with a simple answer, we become caught in the details. These can become so numerous we are paralyzed by the complexity of the situation. Even though it is impossible to get around the world in one night through tunnels, this story is a good representation of a complicated problem children are able to solve with belief and vision. To them this seems a do-able solution.

Now, consider the challenges you face. Do you see a wall of complications in front of you? How would looking at your challenge with more of a child-like vision enable you to see beyond this wall and ultimately believe you can do anything that is in front of you?

What can we learn from the characters of children?

1. Help others. These brothers found the answer to the problem together. The younger did not stop believing because he didn’t know how it would be possible for the Easter Bunny to travel around the world.  Instead he sought out advice.

2. Take on Challenges Head On. What if the Easter Bunny couldn’t make it to these little boys’ house? They wouldn’t have received any eggs! The youngest brother did not sit quietly by himself and worry he would miss out. Instead he searched for answers.

3. Simplify! When you see that wall of challenges rising in front of you, break it down brick by brick. What is the ultimate goal? What are the major accomplishments you need achieve to reach it? What are the steps to reach those?

4. Believe in the impossible! This is your vision and your dream. Remember to believe in it with the same vision that children believe in the Easter Bunny. There will always be people who tell you you can’t. Work hard, keep believing and you will.

The post What Children Can Teach Us about Vision appeared first on Ryan Wuerch.