How does vision foster inspiration?

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Consider some prominent leaders and discuss how they inspired others to follow their vision?

Relate the Twelve Steps of Purposeful Action to the ways these leaders inspired others. Provide examples and references to support your comments.

This post was written by Brad Renter, who will lead the blog discussion for the week starting March 3.

54 thoughts on “How does vision foster inspiration?”

  1. The leader controls, directs, prods, manipulates. This myth ispotentially the most damaging of all. As stated by Bennis and Nanus,”Leadership is not so much the exercise of power, but the empowerment ofothers.” (p. 209). Traditional models of leadership, based on the olderautocratic management theories of leadership, have proven to be ineffective anddestructive. True leaders lead through inspiration rather than through orders,through empowerment of others to achieve their true potential rather than bymanipulating and scaring them into compliance with the leader’s view of howthings should be done. A quote from Carlo Maria Giulini, former conductor ofthe Los Angeles Philharmonic is fitting: “what matters most is human contact,that the great mystery of music making is that it requires real friendship amongthose who work together.” (Ibid.) The friendship described is not about theleader being “buddies” with those s/he leads and works with, but rather aboutunderstanding others’ perspectives and utilizing his/her own talents to allowothers’ true potential and abilities to unfold.
    Reference: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/assist/leadership/files/asciich1.txt – 77k

  2. Ronald Reagan reshaped the Republican party, gave rise to the modern conservative movement, and altered the political dynamic of the United States. More men voted Republican under Reagan, and Reagan tapped into religious voters. The so-called “Reagan Democrats” were a result of his presidency. Bill Schneider, senior political analyst at CNN, said, “The whole Republican Party traces its lineage, its legitimacy, to this one man.” At the same time, Reagan challenged Democrats to redefine themselves.

    sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Reagan#Domestic_and_political_legacy
    http://www.time.com/time/time100/leaders/profile/reagan.html

    Margaret Thatcher is another notable leader. “Champion of free minds and markets, she helped topple the welfare state and make the world safer for capitalism.”

    sources: http://www.time.com/time/time100/leaders/profile/thatcher.html

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Thatcer

  3. I am commenting to this blog based on listening to an excerpt on a youtube video on Dr.Abdul Kalam from indian economic conference organized by knowledge at Wharlton held at Philadelphia 2008.Dr.Kalam is an example of a great visionary leader .He had three visions for India.His first vison was “vision of freedom”Because in 3000 years of indian history, people from all over the world have come and invaded , captured the lands, conquered minds. From Alexander on-vvards. The Greeks, the Turks’, the-Moguls, the Portuguese, the British, the French, the Dutch, all of them came and looted . Yet India have not done this to any other nation. Because India respect the freedom of others. His second vision for India is development. For fifty years India has been a developing nation. It is time we see ourselves as a developed nation.His third vision is ,India must stand up to the world. he said that we need to assess indepth the weakness and the strength of India, as a nation, and it offers a vision of how India can emerge to be among the world’s first four economic powers by 2020.He mentioned that ‘A Leader Should Know How to Manage Failure’.

    “A developed India by 2020, or even earlier, is not a dream. It need not be a mere vision in the minds of many Indians. It is a mission we can all take up – and succeed.” – A P J Abdul Kalam.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laGZaS4sdeU&eurl=http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/india/article.cfm?articleid=4276

  4. Garry Kasparov is, in my opinion, a leader who exemplifies many of the principles that we’ve been studying throughout the semester. Kasparov is a Soviet born former world chess champion turned political activist. A former member of the Communist party Kasparov realized the need for change and it was his vision to work towards changing the political landscape in Russia. Kasparov was instrumental in helping to create the Democratic Party of Russia in the early 90’s.

    Although Kasparov’s vision was a political revolution his external circumstances prevented fulltime commitment until 2005 when he retired from professional chess to commit to his political aspirations fulltime. The first role of business upon committing fulltime to his mission involved creating the United Civil Front.

    Kasparov and the United Civil Front have continued to organize and contribute towards the political upheaval occurring in Russia. The group has organized several dissenter’s marches and various members have been arrested and put in jail in the name of their cause. Kasprov’s vision culminated in 2007 when he announced his intention to run for president. Ultimately Kasparov had to withdraw his bid to run for president stating an ability to successfully rent a meeting hall where 500 of his supporters could endorse his candidacy, as is required by law. Kasparov states that this was government interference. Whether this was the case or not, it is a reflection on Kasparov’s ability as a leader to reflect on and renew his vision as warranted by existing circumstances.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garry_Kasparov#Politics
    http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/10/01/071001fa_fact_remnick?printable=true
    http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4159/is_20070610/ai_n19293367

  5. Tomas Bata, born in 1876 in Zlin, Czech Republic, was the founder of Bata Shoe Organization, one of the world’s biggest multinational retailer, manufacturer and distributor of footwear and accessories. Tomas Bata was a shoemaker – a practical man, but with a power of imagination amounting to being a genius. He was an inspirational leader who challenged to make the best shoes in the world. ‘Our customer – Our master’ was his motto. Tomas had visions of colossal factories, with the most modern machinery, installed in airy workshops, equipped with the most modern factory-hygiene systems. In 1897 he introduces the “Batovka”, the first shoe factory and with a production mechanization. In 1909 he started the first exports and established first sales agencies in Germany, in the Balkans and in the Middle East. Bata shoes are of excellent quality and are available in more styles than had ever been offered before. World War I created a booming demand for military shoes, and the company quickly became one of the prime brands. Demand grew rapidly.
    Bata is also widely regarded as a businessman with an acute sense of social consciousness. He coined the motto “Our customers are our masters”. He is quoted by many as one of the first pioneers of employee welfare and social advancement programs. He is credited with efforts to modernize his hometown providing the people with employment, and housing facilities, making him a very popular citizen in the town. He also became the mayor of Zlin.
    By 1939 Bata operated 63 companies in various industries but footwear remains the core business with 60 million pairs sold per year in more than 30 countries. But in 1945 all Bata companies in Eastern European countries were nationalized by communist governments.

    http://www.eastvaganza.com/explorer/180-bata-a-symbol-of-success-and-vision.html

    http://www.bataindustrials.com/news/thomas-j.-bata-(93)-passes-away.-bata-industrials-in-best-bids-farewell-to-its-spiritual-father/

    • Mirek, I agree with your comment. Today Bata stands first in India for its quality and comfortable foot wear. When i was in india, i used to wear bata products and i was completely satisfies with bata.

    • Nice response mirek,but I would like to provide few inputs.Real leaders are very quick to recognize and accept the new realities and to focus on taking actions that will deliver the best results now, under the new circumstances. People around the leader urgently want and need to see action. More than ever, the urgent need is to DO something… hold fact-gathering meetings, develop new plans, make decisions, implement action priorities that get people involved, involve employees at all levels in activities that make them feel worthwhile, reorganize some key activities to show the need to adapt to the new situation, recognize and reward people who spontaneously took the lead in acting courageously or innovatively during the crisis, host morale boosting get-togethers and offer employee counseling to help speed their ability to process the trauma. After any major setback, a real leader’s task is to create an energized sense of new momentum.
      source:http://www.winningleadership.com/crisis_leader.html

  6. Susan B. Anthony, an American civil rights leader, was instrumental in the 19th century women’s rights movement. Her work introduces women’s suffrage into the United States. As a woman’s rights activist, she fought passionately about a variety of subjects relating to women’s rights. She envisioned equality in marriage, in the workplace, and at the ballot box.

    She effectively communicated her vision to lead women toward the fulfillment of their goals during her lifetime. Anthony defined and remained commitment to the mission of establishing “justice for all” by giving 75-100 speeches per year on women’s rights for 45 years. Anthony’s dreams of equality were realized with the passage of 19th Amendment that giving women the right to vote in 1920. Her legacy has continued on as she has been inspirational to the modern feminist movement.

    http://www.lkwdpl.org/wihohio/anth-sus.htm

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