Leadership involves sharing a vision that resonates with people and brings them along with you to achieve it. This is also the ideal for any candidate standing in an election. They obviously want to win and to do that they have to secure enough votes. It requires connecting with what people care about and enrolling them to join you. The starting point is having a simple and clear vision.
The power of a simple and clear vision
If you agree with my leadership definition above, you aren’t leading unless you have a compelling vision. As I reflect on numerous contests in the recent elections, the successful candidates that stand out did exactly this. Whether you like Trump or not, he set out two clear points to his vision. Immigration and inflation. In Portland, new Mayor Keith Wilson, who won comfortably against three city council incumbents did the same. His vision is simple and clear. ‘Within one year, I’ll end unsheltered homelessness in our city.’
Will it happen?
Will the leader achieve the vision? This is a big question. To commit to follow a leader you have to believe their vision. At least, believe that it is possible. Visions don’t require a detailed action plan. A few supporting high level strategies will suffice. You can view Keith Wilson’s priorities or strategies on his website. None of these strategies have detailed action plans but they provide enough information to judge if they are possible. In most cases, that is enough to follow the leader.
The downside of being clear?
Many politicians shy away from clarifying what they stand for. Why? Because they don’t want to be held accountable for the results. This is a mistake. If you are truly serious about achieving something, set it out as a vision. The future is uncertain and no results can be guaranteed. If we fully commit to achieve something and do our collective best, we will easily be much better off than muddying the waters and achieving little.
What is your leadership vision, what do you stand for? You don’t need to be standing in an election. If you can’t answer this question, you are going to find it very difficult to bring people along with you. And that is a big problem for any true leader.