Visionary leadership! Where is it?

Our world is fast crumbling down upon our ears. The Legislature is at odds with each other over the greatly reduced budget. The Retirement Fund is slipping into oblivion. Tourism is declining steadily. More and more government workers are having their hours reduced or getting pink slips telling them not to come to work until further notice.

Our utility corporation is steadily raising its rates taking a larger chunk from our reduced paychecks. One by one companies, stores, restaurants are closing down. Our labor force is being forced to undergo a major change creating chaos in the workplace. Many of our friends are fleeing the islands seeking a more stable haven. When does it all stop? How can we stop it?

We can stop the downward sliding if we understand the following concepts presented here. Most of us are expecting the people we have elected to do all the visionary work for us. Then like passive sheep we will follow the herd. By doing this we are digging a deeper pit. We cannot relinquish our responsibility and expect a third party to solve our problems. We must participate in the rejuvenation of our nation.

Leadership starts at the bottom and works its way up. This includes everybody in every position, job and walk of life.

We hear many criticisms against the Legislature, the administration but none about us. However a long time ago, I learned that when I point my finger to accuse someone, three fingers reflect back on me. This tells me that I am as much to blame for the problem as the group or the one that I am pointing my finger at. So let’s stop pointing at others and become visionary leaders. What! How can I become that? I am only a clerk or a simple man in the street?

Let’s define what visionary leadership is. Visionary leadership is the act of increasing efficiency by moving decision-making responsibility to the frontline. The frontline is where the real action is. Efficiency is achieved with limited supervision. We, who are employers, must give workers opportunities to develop quality decision-making skills and learn to trust them.

As an example, the highly successful Wal-Mart stores use visionary leadership. In other words, employees are center of the organization. They share their ideas and thoughts into what can be and should be. Top management understands and encourages this activity from the employees.

Standard leadership, which most employers practice, assumes employees to be robots and do as they are told. This also applies to our government method of operation. This is known as command-and-control leadership. As a result low efficiency is caused by the disconnect between management and the frontline. Management is busy dealing with problems that affect them while ignoring problems that affect the frontline. Frontline problems are only dealt with when they explode into a major problem.

K-Mart stores and ineffective governments use standard leadership. This difference in style explains why Wal-Mart is the world’s largest and most profitable store operation company in the world, while K-Mart is barely surviving. Isn’t this also true for governments that are successful?

Leadership is highly personal. It begins with the self. If we are not sure who we are, if we haven’t defined our unique purpose and vision, why should anyone follow us, especially during these troubled times. Personal leadership begins in our home, in our offices, and workplaces.

Today look around your workplace. Is it a pleasant place to work? Is the room or work area clean? Would it look nicer if a small painting or a vase of flowers adorned the room? Are you comfortable and at ease when visitors come into your work area? Or do you accept it as it is because the boss doesn’t say anything about it to you? Why not take the initiative and fix up the way you would love it to look? That is the beginning of a personal vision. It must start on the bottom and work its way up.

All of us have the power within to become visionary leaders. Visionary leaders are the builders of a new dawn, working with imagination and insight. Their eyes are on the horizon, not just on the near at hand.

Consider how easy it is to become an officer or even president of a group. The next time we attend a meeting and elections of officers are planned. Notice how few people raise their hands and volunteer to become an officer. For example, try this at our next PTA meeting. Suddenly raise our hand and before we realize it, we have become an officer. I have seen this happen often. When we offer our services they are almost always accepted.

Once we begin the climb and realize that we can become visionary leaders, we begin to attract like minded individuals who were too shy to speak out. And before we realize, we begin to make changes that improve our surroundings that we placidly accepted before. This is the beginning of visionary leadership.

Consider some of the following examples. None of these people were born as visionary leaders, but something happened to them that blossomed forth that launched them as visionary leaders. Consider Mahatma Gandhi who believed: “I must first be the change I want to see in my world.” He was a prime example of a commitment to values, as he freed India from the British Empire rule.

Rather than be corrupted by power, visionary leaders are elevated by power and exercise moral leadership. Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights and Marion Wright Edelman, founder of the Children’s Defense fund are two prime examples. Television host Oprah Winfrey’s great popularity stems from her ability to make her guests believe in themselves and work to create a better world. Nelson Mandela clearly held a positive vision of a racially harmonious South Africa during his 28 years in jail and helped bring it into reality peacefully—to the amazement of the world. Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech changed the social life of America.

Visionary leaders transmit energy to people, giving them a new sense of hope and confidence in achieving the vision. They inspire their fellow citizens to envision a better life and to take positive action to achieve it.

We could continue to show more examples of people who stood up and voiced their frustrations at the society about them. None were born visionaries, but became visionaries the moment they began to take a personal interest in their surroundings. So how does this apply to our present state of affairs in the CNMI?

My fellow citizens, unless we begin to feel strongly about what is happening to us and our community, we will continue the downward spiral. It is time that you and I stand up and be counted. It is time that we begin to practice visionary leadership, starting with ourselves and ascending to higher levels in our community.

We understand well the problems that are besieging our community. But it is imperative that we begin to take a position to correct them. We must stop pointing fingers at others and understand that change starts within us. Without the courage and determination needed, we can expect little to change. Let us stop expecting others to do our work.

Let us begin with a commitment to core spiritual values coupled with a firm will. We must state clear inspirational visions until we all begin to see them in harmony. Add innovative and courageous action. Fear has no place in this arena. We must be willing to sacrifice to achieve our vision. We need to develop respectful and empowering relationships. All of these must be innovative and require courageous action.

As I stated in my title: Visionary leadership: Where is it? Unless we develop it, expect more chaos and depression in our community. Greatness lies in each of us. Speak up! Step forward! Our community needs you now! Become a visionary.