VISIONARY LEADERSHIP

MANO VERABATHRAN
Senior Programme Coordinator
Leadership Programme
INTAN Bukit Kiara
mano@intanbk.intan.my
Visionary Leadership

If you want one year of prosperity,

grow grain,
If you want ten years of prosperity,
grow trees,
If you want one hundred years of
prosperity,
grow people.
- Confucius
 Visionary Leadership

A successful visionary leader must

be able to explain new concepts so
others can understand them.
What is Leadership?

"Leadership is the art of having people do

what you want them to do and go in a
direction that you set, willingly or unwillingly.
Willingly is leadership. Unwillingly is
coercion." -- Major-General Michael Williams,
a U.S. Marine Corp. commander from
Quantico, Va1.

Leadership helps design the 'social

architecture' capable of building intellectual
capital. It is the main instrument for
leveraging that capital.
What is Visionary Leadership?
• Visionary leaders are the builders of a new
dawn, working with imagination, insight,
and boldness.
• They present a challenge that calls forth
the best in people and brings them
together around a shared sense of
purpose.
• They work with the power of intentionality
and alignment with a higher purpose.
• Their eyes are on the horizon, not just on
the near at hand.
•They are social innovators and change
agents, seeing the big picture and thinking
strategically.

Visionary leaders are especially noted for

transforming old mental maps or paradigms,
and creating strategies that are “outside the
box” of conventional thought.

They embody a balance of right brain

(rational) and left brain (intuitive) functions.
Their thinking is broad and systemic, seeing
the big picture, the whole system, and “the
pattern that connects.” 
•Visionary leadership is based on a
balanced expression of the spiritual,
mental, emotional and physical
dimensions.  It requires core values,
clear vision, empowering
relationships, and innovative action. 

When one or more of these

dimensions are missing, leadership
cannot manifest a vision.
Visionary Leadership increases
efficiency by moving decision-
making responsibility to the
frontline. Efficiency is achieved
with limited supervision. To make
frontline responsibility effective,
leadership must give workers
opportunity to develop quality
decision-making skills and learn to
trust them.
Who are Extraordinary, Visionary Lea

John F. Kennedy challenged us to send

humans to the moon without any
roadmap of how to get there.
However, Kennedy had a vision so
bold, it shook the foundation of what
Americans previously thought possible.
Nine years later, we conquered a task
considered unimaginable had it not
been for the remarkable vision of an
extraordinary leader.
Visionary Leaders

Create specific achieveable goals

Initiates action

Enlists participation of others

Visionary Leadership is a
balanced expression of

Spiritual
Mental
Emotional
Physical

Dimensions
 Visionary Leadership requires :

Core values

Clear vision

Empowering relationship

Innovative Action

One missing element results in inability to

manifest vision
 CORE VALUES

EMBODIES

INTERGRITY,ENERGY, VITALITY
AND WILL
MAHATHMA GHANDI

“I must first be the change I want to see in

my world.”

MARY ROBINSON, FORMER PRESIDENT

OF IRELAND & UN COMM. FOR HUMAN
RIGHTS

Rather than being corrupted by power,

visionary leaders are elevated by power and
exercise moral leadership.
 CLEAR VISION

EMBODIES

INSPIRATION AND CLEAR

SENSE OF DIRECTION
NELSON MANDELA

Visualised a racially harmonious South Africa

MARTIN LUTHER KING

“I have a dream”
EMPOWERING RELATIONSHIPS

EMBODIES

CARING APPROACH & PEOPLE

AS THEIR GREATEST ASSET
Aaron Feuerstein,

CEO of Malden Mills, kept all his

employees on the payroll when a
fire destroyed 75% of his factories.
His employees were so grateful
they helped him rebuild and within
a year the company was more
profitable than ever.
Rita Bailey,

Director of Southwest Airline’s

University for People, says the
secret of the airline’s amazing
financial success is living by the
golden rule--treating employees as
family, with warmth and respect.
Employees then treat customers
the same way.
 INNOVATIVE ACTION

EMBODIES

A BALANCE OF RIGHT BRAIN

(RATIONAL) AND LEFT BRAIN
(INTUITIVE) FUNCTIONS.
THINKING
“OUTSIDE THE BOX”
 CNN founder Ted Turner
transformed television news by
boldly creating an around-the-
clock international news network.
Four qualities the modern
leader must inspire or
exemplify:

Purpose, Trust ,
Optimism and Action
(Business Academic Warren Bennis)
Elements of Visionary
Leadership

The Objective is to increase

workplace efficiency by controlling
elementary problems with
workplace education tools.
Workplace education finds efficient
ways to get jobs done.
The Goal

The goal in any task is to get

the job done. Leadership
style controls efficiency,
which controls competitive
value of product or service,
which determines the
winner.
Leadership Innovation

Today, fast growing

organizations are built on
leadership innovation, that is,
they are not built by product
visionaries but by social
visionaries — those who invent
entirely new ways of
organizing human effort.
Examples of true
visionaries, past and
present

Alexander the Great

Prophet Muhammad
Confucius
Abraham Lincoln
Contemporary Visionary
Leaders

Tun Dr Mahathir
Nelson Mandela
Martin Luther King
Mahatma Gandhi
Applying your own lessons from the
legends
The short list of truly visionary leaders included
above is far from complete. There are many
other visionaries – both contemporary and
historical – that could serve as models to
inspire and encourage. Who would you add to
this list? Judging from hindsight, their lives –
they were very much like your neighbors,
coworkers, friends – even yourself – when
faced with the opportunity to set out on the
path for which they ultimately became well-
known. They persevered through uncertainty,
personal fears about their ability to carry out
the mission before them, setbacks and
 QUESTION MY ANSWER
PILLAR

VISIONING What archetypal or passionate vivid mental I know where I am going

The 7 Pillars of Visionary
imagesLeadership
inspire people in your organization to
willingly want to create and sustain something
of value?

MAPPING What new clear thinking do people in your I know how to get there
organization do to put passionate visions into
practice?

JOURNEYING What are the joys of discovery that people in I am willing to start
your organization experience as they
implement their shared map?

LEARNING What changes and transformation occur I am open to change

through great ideas that are fostered by
people in your organization?

MENTORING What great expectations are fostered by I am open to others

trusted and experienced people in your
organization?

LEADING What acts of servant leadership inspire I will set an example

people in your organization?

VALUING What ways do people in your organization I will do what is right

express gratitude for ROIR: Return-on-
Investment/Integrity-in-Relationships?

(From The 7 Pillars of Visionary Leadership: Aligning Your Organization for Enduring Success By Michael E. Rock, Ed.D.)
Barriers to Organisations Playing a
Visionary Leadership Role

There are a number of factors that

prevent organisations from exercising
the kind of visionary leadership
described above. Taken together, these
factors provide a checklist for assessing
your organisation and identifying areas
to target for improvement. Examining
these barriers to visionary organisation
leadership can be the first step in
revitalizing an existing organisation or
building a powerful organisation from
 Lack of time : to attend meetings,
read materials and maintain contact
with each other in between
meetings.

Avoidance of risk-taking. In order

to be innovative and creative in its
decision-making, members must be
willing to take chances, to try new
things, to take risks.
Lack of top involvement in
strategic planning.

Loses the opportunity to think

about changes and trends that
will have significant impact
and devise strategies to
effectively respond to
challenges. Loses an
important opportunity to hone
and exercise its visionary
leadership skills.
Lack of knowledge in an
increasingly complex world.

Busy managers frequently lack a

deep understanding of critical
changes, trends and
developments that challenge
fundamental assumptions about
how it defines its work and what
success looks like. Often, this lack
of knowledge results in a lack of
confidence on the part of
organisations to act decisively
Spending untold hours
discussing trivial subjects
while neglecting major
agenda items deserving
their more careful
deliberation. A habit of
organisational micro-
management can adversely
affect the morale of staff
and it’s own committees as
Holding on to the old ways.

In their book, The Accelerating

Organization, authors Maira
and Scott -- Morgan, state that
one principle of survival
scientists have observed in
natural systems, is the
continuous shedding of
operating rules that cease to
be relevant because of
changing environmental
conditions.
 Lack of clarity regarding
board staff roles and
relationships.

Sometimes organisations
assume that it's the job of the
top management to do the
visionary thinking. This lack of
clarity can result in employees
that don't exercise visionary
leadership because they don't
think it's their job.
Strategies for
Becoming a
Visionary
Organization
Strategy 1 - Focus on the Ultimate Ends
of the Organization

Encouraged to focus on the ultimate

ends of the organization and avoid the
tendency to micro-manage. The
mission, vision, goals, and strategies
contained in the strategic plan should
be the focus of board reflection and
decision-making. Clarity regarding the
roles and relationships of the board
and staff must be maintained.
Strategy 2 - Create a Long-range Plan
for the Development of Future Board
Leadership

In contrast to the typical short-term

recruitment process that focuses narrowly
on filling anticipated board vacancies for the
current year only, boards need a long-range
plan for developing future leadership. Such
a plan centers on the following questions:
Who will be serving on and leading the
board over the next five years? What is our
plan to scout board leadership talent for the
future? How will we go about fostering and
developing future board leadership?
Strategy 3 - Develop a Shared
Vision of the Organization's Future

The key question for boards is the

following: "If we could create the
organization of our dreams that will
have the impact we most desire, what
would that look like?" Seek media
coverage when strategic plan
milestones are reached and use this as
an opportunity to promote your vision
both inside and outside of the
organization.
Strategy 4 - Keep up with the
Rapid Pace of Change

Provide information that helps the

board think about these key questions:
What external changes and trends will
have the greatest impact over the next
three to five years on the organization
and the people it serves? How can the
organization effectively respond to
these changes and trends? How are
similar organizations responding to
these changes and trends?
Strategy 5 - Stay in Touch with the
Changing Needs of Your Customers

Provide members with information to enable

them to stay in touch with the changing
needs of the customer. Key questions
include: What do our constituents think of
the organization (i.e., What is their
perception or image of the organization?)
What are the most important future needs
and service expectations of the organization
on the part of our constituents? For new
needs and service expectations of the
organization, what other organizations are
positioned to meet these constituent needs?
Summary

To summarize, an effective top

management that can exercise
visionary leadership is built upon a
number of key strategies. These
processes, structures and
practices reinforce each other and
lay the groundwork for board and
organizational effectiveness in this
time of rapid, profound change.
The Strategic Navigation Model

Strategic Issues
Business Ecosystem

Niche

Preferred
Future

 Assumed

Internal  Future
Capability
  
Strategic Issues

 Hames and Oka, 1998
 ASSIGNMENT

REVISIT THE PAST -1978

DETAIL THE PRESENT – 2008

PREFERRED FUTURE - 2038

PROBABLE/ASSUMED FUTURE - 2038

THANK YOU