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Follow the fellow who follows a dream. From the lyrics of “Look to the
Rainbow” in Finian’s Rainbow.

The leader’s own belief in and enthusiasm for the vision is the source of

inspiration for others. Truly inspirational leadership is showing people how the
vision can directly benefit them, how their specific needs can be satisfied. A
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vision generally is an attractive and desirable target, and must be clear to
those who are the desired audience. However, if the vision is perceived as
unattainable or beyond the perception of the “followers,” it is unlikely to
be embraced.

If people relate to the company they work for, if they form an emotional tie to
it and buy into its dreams, they will pour their heart into making it better.
Howard Schultz, Starbucks founder.

To choose a direction for an organization, its leaders must first have

developed a mental image of what they believe the future of the
organization can and should be. This image or vision may be as vague as a
dream or as precise as a goal. Good leaders constantly communicate a
clearly articulated destination toward which the organization should aim.
The leader’s effective communication of the vision should clarify a future
that in important ways is better, more successful, or more desirable for the

organization than is the present situation. The vision is a signpost
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pointing the way for all who need to understand what the organization is
and where it intends to go. It expresses what the leader and those who
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share the vision will be working hard to create.

There is no more powerful engine driving an organization toward excellence

and long-range success than an attractive, worthwhile, and achievable vision
of the future, widely shared. Burt Nanus, Visionary Leadership.

A vision activates, inspires, and transforms desire into action. As
organizational learning expert Peter Senge has observed, vision translates

242 .Rowe, Alan J., et.al. Strategic Management and Business Policy (Menlo Park CA: Addison-Wesley
Publishing, 1985), p. 113.
243 Bert Nanus. Visionary Leadership. San Francisco CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1992, p. 8.
244 Bert Nanus. Visionary Leadership. San Francisco CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1992, p. 9.

David Kolzow 243