Leaders Need Vision
Play the Whole Movie
Dr. Cloud says that leaders must “Play the Whole Movie” or in other words, evaluate their decisions in the present based on how they will affect the future.
He makes it clear that many people often look to the next step following a decision, but seldom do people go beyond that to many more possible outcomes. How can you plan for adjustments if you haven’t thought through many of the things that could happen from the decisions you make?
Dr. Cloud says that many people have postponed happiness because they see the things in their way as formidable. If people can look beyond the next three or four year commitment, they might find true happiness. They might be able to make the advances they have so desired.
I experienced this in my own life. I found my self teaching school and, while there were some wonderful parts of that job, I knew that a Master’s Degree would move me beyond what I was doing now for some richer experiences. It took sacrifice and investment of money, but I finally achieved that and was able to move beyond the classroom to many more leadership opportunities. By playing out what I thought would happen, I found much greater success.
Dr. Could says don’t miss out on plotting for the downsides of decision making. Contingency planning is very important. Spend some time with “what if” to see if you have all these parts covered. What you don’t want are surprises!
Finally, Dr. Cloud says to put on an Oscar-Winning Performance! Having done the planning, forecasting, and contingency review, you can move forward ready to receive the Oscar for outstanding leadership performance.
Next week…“Put Superman out of a job”