What are the top two ingredients of your leadership vision?
Without vision, your days can blur together. Busy work, constant demands, urgent fires—while progress, alignment, and true impact all wait in the wings. Clarity isn’t a luxury. It’s the foundation for leadership that matters.
Why This Matters
There is a recent global study by Monash University (4,000 participants across 5 countries) that shows leadership effectiveness often comes not from chasing complexity or many leadership styles, but from simpler, consistent behaviours that build strong relationships. Monash University
Some key findings:
Leadership styles like “transformational,” “authentic,” “ethical” overlap greatly. Many leaders try to adopt many styles, but the study suggests focusing on what behaviour aligns with your values and with what your team needs. MetaApply
Effectiveness correlated strongly with relationship quality between leader and followers, trust, emotional connection, alignment, and clarity of expectations. MetaApply
This aligns with things I’ve emphasized in my Fit to Lead framework: vision + purpose + clarity + values = leadership that others want to follow.
My Personal Experience
When I first became a leader of a team, the list seemed endless: learning everyone on my team — who they were, what they did, where they wanted their careers to go; meeting stakeholders; managing scope; juggling deliverables. Defining my leadership vision was always “priority Z” after urgent tasks.
Over time I realized: unless I intentionally made space to define and share a vision, I risked being like a hamster on a wheel — busy, yes, but not impactful. I learned early on that leaders who make a difference choose to invest in those things that can really transform how they lead. It is not easy. It takes intention, effort, and consistency — but it pays off deeply.
Are you facing any of these challenges?
The Problems You Can Face
Everything feels “urgent.” You respond reactively rather than leading proactively.
Energy flows to many places and often ends up expended where it adds little value.
Purpose and sense of progress are missing — you (and your team) don’t feel like you’re going somewhere meaningful.
Try This Instead
Based on the Monash study and how I coach:
Define one bold vision. Pick one core goal that aligns with your values + purpose + capabilities. Let it be the North Star for decisions.
Map priorities. Once your vision is clear, list top 2–3 priorities for the next 3–6 months. Use them to guide what work you accept, what you delegate, and where you say no.
Communicate vision with your team. Share it, discuss it, invite feedback. When people know “where we are going and why,” alignment follows.
Review & adjust. Set a rhythm — maybe monthly — to check: “Is what we are doing still leading toward that vision?” Adjust if you drift.
“Leadership effectiveness is less about adopting a complex array of specific styles and more about fostering behaviors that build strong relationships with your team.”
Final Thoughts
How clear is your vision today — and what steps will you take this week to sharpen it?
If you see areas where clarity is blurry — whether you struggle to define your vision, or your team seems uncertain, or you're juggling too many priorities — I invite you to work with me. Together we can sharpen your leadership vision so that your actions are aligned, your team is aligned, and your impact grows.
If this newsletter resonated, please share with someone who might need clarity right now. And follow for more insights in this Lead with What Matters series.