Visionary leadership can be a very challenging road to travel. The visionary leader is consistently seeking to identify a better way to provide a better opportunity for his workplace. He is smart enough to realize that he is not the smartest mind in the room. In his evaluation of the surrounding practices that exists within his workplace, he realizes that the smartest mind, is the collective mind of the entire team.

Through his ability to see the best in those that struggle through change, growth and development, he brings challenge to his environment. Being a visionary leader is not always a glamorous approach to building a career in the place that he works. Challenge can often create misunderstanding amongst his peers. In this misunderstanding there can exist an interpretation of this visionary leader being arrogant, pushy and disrespectful. It is a false truth. The visionary leader is actually a caring leader that commits himself to bringing the best out of himself, his teammates, his peers and his workplace.

He realizes that challenge stretches the boundaries of the existing status quo. Often the best performers of a workplace become complacent in their development and the development of those that depend upon their ability to share their talents. In this complacency these best performers find comfort in the results of their past successes. Though their past successes may have afforded them their promotion to their present roles and responsibilities, often the newly developed challenges, conditions and expectations of the workplace grow as society grows. The visionary leader understands that it is a leaders responsibility to grow in the same manner.

The expectations of society always enters the boundaries of the workplace. People often find it difficult to leave their life’s personal considerations at the office door. This fact will always challenge the development and approach of any leader, regardless of their leadership styles.

The visionary leader often creates new boundaries through challenge. Not all challenge imposes an intention of demonstrating the weaknesses of his peers. Often his actions of challenge are intended to sharpen and increase awareness within the existing talents of his peers and teammates.

Visionary leaders are brave in their quest for answers as to why things are done, the way that they are done. Even when he hears those repeated words, “I don’t know, this is how it has always been done”, he understands the source of this answer and embraces compassion when seeking a new way to meet and teach the needs of today’s challenges.

Change is an opportunity for a visionary leader, not a burden. The burden embodied within a visionary leader, exists in his own challenge to remain patient in his delivery of new ideas. He also struggles with accepting that change cannot and will not take place in his workplace, because of the acceptance in the status quo by others.

The visionary leader often walks a fine line within his workplace. It is a line of choice, not a line of force….