Alexander the Great and Visionary Leadership

From the Team Trek Series: Leadership Styles - July 2005 In the Spring of 334 B.C. Alexander the Great embarked from Northern Greece on a twelve year journey during which he traveled 22,000 miles and conquered modern day Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India to the Indus River. To dream and do greatly is not given to many persons and it is this combination that distinguishes him as one of the greatest leaders in the history of the world. During the twelve year campaign, before his death in current day Iran, he defeated armies four and five times his size, leading his army of Macedonians across deserts and over 15,000 foot peaks in freezing weather, facing incredible hardships to unite the known world under one common vision. The basis of Alexanders success as a leader was his ability to inspire his men to think great things and then accomplish them with passion, enthusiasm, and commitment. His inspiring dream was to unite Europe and Asia under what he called, The Brotherhood of Man. The brotherhood would bring together different cultures into one collaborating unit governed by the spread of Hellenism, able to produce synergy through trade, laws, inclusion, and political union. The visionary leadership style of Alexander is the classic mold of leadership currently taught in business schools and military academies. Research shows this style to be the most effective of all styles because it communicates a sense of common purpose to people and resonates with their hearts and emotions. The feeling of belonging to something greater than self is what produces the passion and commitment which generates discretionary effort. A strong business case for this style can be made when looking at the retention of employees, pride in the organization, inspired and empowered employees, and a shared sense of goals and purpose. Martin Luther Kings, I Have a Dream, speech, Ronald Reagans, Berlin Wall, speech, and John Kennedys inauguration speech are all examples of exemplary visionary leadership. The visionary leader is able to tap into the hopes and dreams of people and create a destination that not only inspires but also challenges them to be better and find their place in furthering the vision. Interestingly enough the visionary leader does not need to know how to get there but instead creates the environment in which people are free to innovate, challenge, experiment, take calculated risks, and empowered to act. Understanding the big picture and feeling part of the process gives people a sense of purpose and working toward shared goals. Seeing the possibilities of others is an important characteristic of the visionary leader style because that helps people see how their work fits into the entire process. To this end the visionary leader helps others be better and find their place by coaching, challenging, and encouraging them. This style works well when working with new people, building a brand in working with clients and customers, and when attempting to revive an organization having a stale and outdated vision in need of a fresh look. Visionary leaders also tweak and monitor the vision of the organization on an ongoing basis, always aware of the realities of the current circumstances. The visionary leadership style does not work well when coming into a new situation where working with experts or people of far more experience may cause you to come across as arrogant and overbearing. Hubris does not endear you to others nor inspire and encourage the heart to greater effort. Coming into a new situation with a vision, without experience and credibility can produce cynicism, emotional checking out, and sabotage. It is best to employ other styles in this situation, perhaps the participating style, until credibility and relationships are built. To be credible leaders must understand their vision and believe in it with passion and transparency so that others can see and connect with their authenticity. The most effective leader, including Alexander the Great, employs more than one style depending upon the situation. It is the effortless and seamless moving from one style to the other that allows the good leader to become the great leader. Empathy is the foundational behavior that under girds great leadership and enables the leader to sense how others feel and to understand their perspective. And, when the leader understands the emotional climate he or she can choose the style that will prove the most effective for the situation. A leader who lacks empathy, on the other hand, simply cannot inspire others. A visionary leader who has high empathic behaviors will thrive, as Alexander did.