Let's be honest—if you're reading this, you've taken a break from being neck-deep in spreadsheets, drowning in meetings, and wondering when you last saw daylight through your office window.
Welcome to the tactical manager's trap, where your superpower of handling daily chaos might actually be your kryptonite for reaching the next level. But fear not! Let's explore the first steps of your transformation from tactical superhero to visionary leader.
Start with Self-Awareness (Or: How to Admit You're a Control Freak)
Remember that time you "quickly fixed" your team member's presentation at midnight because it wasn't exactly how you would've done it? Or when you spent three hours perfecting an email that your colleague could have handled in twenty minutes? We've all been there.
Meet Sam, a brilliant manager who prided herself on being the go-to problem solver. Her team lovingly called her "The Fixer." One day, during a leadership workshop, she tracked her activities for a week and discovered she spent 80% of her time doing tasks her team could handle. Her wake-up call? When her boss asked about her vision for the department's future, and all she could think about was tomorrow's printer maintenance schedule.
Action Steps:
Keep a "control freak diary" for a week (Warning: Results may be humbling)
Ask your team to anonymously complete this sentence: "I could do more if you would let me..."
Set a "no-fixing" timer: Wait 24 hours before jumping in to solve problems
Expand Your Time Horizon (Or: Learning to Think Beyond Your Next Coffee Break)
If your idea of long-term planning is deciding what to have for lunch tomorrow, we need to talk. Visionary leaders think in years, not hours—and no, planning your next vacation doesn't count as strategic thinking.
Take Marcus, who ran his marketing team like a well-oiled machine but couldn't see past the next campaign. His turning point came when a junior team member asked, "What if social media doesn't exist in five years?" While everyone laughed, Marcus realized he had no Plan B. Today, his team doesn't just create content—they're pioneering new ways of digital storytelling that could work on any future platform.
Action Steps:
Schedule a weekly "future thinking" session (No, scrolling through Instagram doesn't count)
Create a "What if?" wall where team members post future scenarios
Practice explaining your current projects to a theoretical person from 2030
Shift from Problems to Possibilities (Or: Finding the Pony in the Pile)
You know that saying about optimists seeing the glass half full? Visionary leaders see the glass and think, "Who says we need a glass at all?" It's time to transform your problem-solving obsession into an opportunity-spotting superpower.
Consider Lisa, an operations manager at a restaurant chain. When COVID-19 hit, while others saw only crisis, she saw an opportunity. Instead of just implementing basic delivery, she created "Restaurant in a Box"—complete meal kits with virtual cooking classes from their chefs. What started as a pandemic pivot became their most profitable new revenue stream.
Action Steps:
Start an "Opportunity Journal" (Yes, even that printer jam might hide a genius idea)
Hold weekly "What's Possible?" sessions instead of problem-solving meetings
Challenge your team to turn complaints into opportunities (Bonus points for creative solutions)
The Plot Twist
Here's the fun part: The more you practice these three steps, the more you'll notice something magical happening. Those tactical fires you used to fight? Your team starts handling them before they become blazes. That endless to-do list? It starts focusing on things that actually matter.
Stay tuned for Part 2 in the new Think letter: Leveraging Leadership - coming out in January with a new Subscription service, where we'll explore the next phase of your leadership evolution. Or you can email me.
Until then, remember:
Every great visionary leader started exactly where you are—they just decided to look up from their spreadsheets long enough to see the horizon.
P.S. If you found yourself nodding, laughing, or slightly uncomfortable reading this, congratulations! You're already on your way to thinking like a visionary leader. If you didn't, well... maybe read it again after your next midnight email-fixing session? 😉
Comentarios