The services we delivered were often very complex in nature and without competent leadership it would have been impossible for us to ensure that our customers would receive quality services. Without competent leadership it also would have been very difficult to recruit and retain the talented people necessary to deliver those services. Leaders also must be able to conceive and effectively articulate a vision or purpose for their enterprise. This is especially important in a new or growing business or organization. Our corporate and institutional trust business at Boatmen s grew very rapidly through much of my time with the company and it was critical that our staff be keenly focused on our short term as well as long term corporate goals and objectives.
Vision is the single most important quality that separates managers from leaders.
Tom Peters and Nancy Austin advocated that leaders preach the vision . They wrote that Attention, symbols, and drama are the nuts and bolts of leadership You have to know where you re going. Be able to state it clearly and concisely. And you have to care about it passionately. That all adds up to vision.