“Questioning the unknown drives us to new knowledge”

Great leaders constantly have something in their sights that they are unsure of and that poses as a threat or an opportunity.  Concern for what is around the corner is the backbone of visionary leadership.  We are always trying to create or control the future of our organization.  It drives us to new knowledge and allows us to break out all the leadership tools in the process.  We start asking many questions, we work through others when needed, we listen, we invite feedback from advisors and mentors of our own, and then we take action.  In short, we “lead”.

Let’s consider an entrepreneur that has a business and it has just been growing at a staggering pace.  It could have been because of great economic times or just the old adage of “being in the right place at the right time”.   But then things begin to deteriorate and the entrepreneur does not realize what is happening soon enough.  They have been celebrating their success too much and have slowly removed their mind and thinking from the business.  A downward spiral occurs and before you know it the business ceases to exist.  This happens time and time again in business and is one of the primary reasons for most businesses failing.  Anyone can be an entrepreneur, but not everyone is a leader.  Some situations are unavoidable, but if we do not have our heads in the game we are not enabling ourselves to lead the organization in the right direction. 

There is always a need for great thinking and a leader’s mind is in constant action.  Mainly because we despise “fine” or “good enough” types of thinking.  We and everyone else can always be better and we know it is our job to inspire.  Of course we take adequate time to celebrate success, as well as to ponder and learn from failure, but we soon become bored and must start looking towards the future.

Regardless if it is a problem or an opportunity, it drives us to new knowledge and the cycle continues.  Never stop planning.  Always look for the team’s next big hit because we should not wait on problems/opportunities to find us.