As a 10 year old boy, I was told by my eye doctor that I needed to wear glasses. I wore them for a year. True confession – I was a very superficial teenager. I stopped wearing my glasses when I started middle school to avoid being branded as “four-eyes.” When I returned to the eye doctor years later, he informed me that my eyes had naturally corrected themselves. I never wore glasses again.
As I approach my mid 40s, I started to question my visual acuity due to the constant strain I put them through with screen time. Like most people today, I called upon the power of the internet to research. My search results list for "vision" was peppered with articles on organizational and leadership vision. So my brain started churning and began fleshing out a metaphor for Leadership Visual Acuity.
We all know that being a visionary is one of the key attributes of a leader. A leader must be mindful of the future when developing strategy and plans. We also know that great leaders will gain alignment on their vision as they lead their organization into the future. We have seen when this is a good thing (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) and when it is a bad thing (Adolf Hitler). Therefore, it is probably important to understand how good someone’s Leadership Visual Acuity is before buying into his or her vision.
20/20 vision is the bar for normal eye sight. Therefore, 20/20 leadership is just table stakes for a leader. Leaders need to at least be able to see what the average leader can see in order to be in the game. Here are some deviations from 20/20 Leadership:
So how do you improve Leadership Visual Acuity? Is it possible to get to a hawk-like 20/4 Leadership Visual Acuity? The good news is there are many ways to augment and improve your acuity:
My teenager self would not recognize the shortcomings of poor Leadership Visual Acuity because he is too vain to want to appear as someone who requires corrective augmentations. Leaders should hold their ego in check in favor for improving their visual acuity. Depending on the level of leadership, the impact of their vision can range from a marginal to global. Therefore, I recommend that all leaders test their Leadership Visual Acuity and take corrective measures when they are needed.
Thank you for reading this post. As always, please share your thoughts and experiences in the comments and share with your networks if you found it to be useful.
Stay Cheesy,
The Rambunctious Rat
As I approach my mid 40s, I started to question my visual acuity due to the constant strain I put them through with screen time. Like most people today, I called upon the power of the internet to research. My search results list for "vision" was peppered with articles on organizational and leadership vision. So my brain started churning and began fleshing out a metaphor for Leadership Visual Acuity.
We all know that being a visionary is one of the key attributes of a leader. A leader must be mindful of the future when developing strategy and plans. We also know that great leaders will gain alignment on their vision as they lead their organization into the future. We have seen when this is a good thing (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) and when it is a bad thing (Adolf Hitler). Therefore, it is probably important to understand how good someone’s Leadership Visual Acuity is before buying into his or her vision.
20/20 vision is the bar for normal eye sight. Therefore, 20/20 leadership is just table stakes for a leader. Leaders need to at least be able to see what the average leader can see in order to be in the game. Here are some deviations from 20/20 Leadership:
- Hindsight – “Monday AM Leaders” look at historical results and trends to act on lessons learned so not to make the same mistakes again.
- Myopic – Nearsighted leaders are great at navigating through the path of least resistance and risks.
- Hyperopia – Farsighted leaders are constantly mindful of the pulse of change and what it will bring in the future. They live by the “art of possible.”
- Peripheral Awareness – Leaders who have great peripheral vision are not easily caught by surprise. They have a great pulse on the surrounding market conditions and the competitive landscape.
- Color Perception – Leaders who have a diverse and empathetic mindset are better able to navigate ambiguity and have a willingness to explore options. They can perceive the different emotional responses of a diverse population.
- Depth Perception – Leaders who see multiple dimensions will approach the same problem from different angles and understand the importance of measuring the depth of impact. They leverage data models to shape decisions, inform priorities, and take action.
- Eye Coordination – Leaders do not just stop at seeing. They take action. All the flashiness of modern data analytic capabilities and dashboards would mean nothing if the leader still shows up unprepared to the Roman Senate on the “Ides of March” .
So how do you improve Leadership Visual Acuity? Is it possible to get to a hawk-like 20/4 Leadership Visual Acuity? The good news is there are many ways to augment and improve your acuity:
- Get your Leadership Visual Acuity tested! Figure out your strengths and weaknesses so you can set a course of action to improve your acuity.
- Keep your eyes open. If you take your eyes off the ball long enough, then you will lose sight of it. So do not let distractions keep you from focusing on your vision.
- Keep your eyes clear and clean. Filter what you see. There are plenty of examples of how quickly misinformation goes viral, elicits emotional responses, and distorts perceptions.
- Remove blinders. We all have unconscious biases that affect our acuity. It is helpful to become aware of your blinders and remove them to see more broadly.
- Don’t go it alone. Find people who have different acuity strengths than you to gain new and different perspectives and insights.
- Employ robots. There are many ways technology can enhance your Leadership Visual Acuity. Big data analytics and artificial intelligence has come a long way to support leadership decisions.
My teenager self would not recognize the shortcomings of poor Leadership Visual Acuity because he is too vain to want to appear as someone who requires corrective augmentations. Leaders should hold their ego in check in favor for improving their visual acuity. Depending on the level of leadership, the impact of their vision can range from a marginal to global. Therefore, I recommend that all leaders test their Leadership Visual Acuity and take corrective measures when they are needed.
Thank you for reading this post. As always, please share your thoughts and experiences in the comments and share with your networks if you found it to be useful.
Stay Cheesy,
The Rambunctious Rat
