A leader knows where he or she is going and can communicate it.  The Leader not only can, but does describe it to anyone in clear enough terms so they can understand it from their own perspective.  And the leader takes any opportunity to repeat it, does it all the time, in presentations, in conversations, and over and over again.  Remember, it isn’t what you say that counts, but what people hear and remember.

Think back in history about those clear directional statements that you still remember. Patrick Henry’s “Give me liberty or give me death.”  Kennedy’s direction to land a man on the moon by the end of the decade and bring him back safely.  Or my high school football coach who said we could beat our arch rival (who had a better record and bigger players) and we did win (and I still have a piece of the goal post.).

It has to be real, and clear, even if at first it doesn’t seem believable.  And then say it over and over.  There is benefit to saying the goal the same way each time to help people remember, but it is also important to clarify it for a specific audience so they understand the impact and requirements for them.   For example, “we are going to grow our market share from 8 to 20 percent in the next five years.  That means we need to get our new product launched with no initial problems and with a sales and support staff fully trained.”

In a group, individuals need to know where they are going and they expect the leader to tell them.  They also need a leader to be consistent and not waver.  Ever been in that situation where the group is saying “where are we going or I thought we were headed in that direction”?  “Self-directed teams” really only work as “self-regulating teams” toward a know objective.

The first step in leadership is establish a clear and compelling direction.

Your homework assignment is to think back to whom you would consider the best leaders and if they set the clear direction.  And what do you think they did next.  Hint – why do you remember it if it was their direction?