Five Essential Traits Of Visionary Leaders

By John Rampton, founder of Palo Alto, California-based Calendar, a company helping your calendar be much more productive.

The odds are good that when you think about visionary leaders, people like Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Warren Buffett and Oprah Winfrey come to mind. By definition, they certainly qualify. They each had a vision of what could be, then surrounded themselves with people they could inspire to make it happen.

For the rest of us mere mortals, building an Apple, Meta, Berkshire Hathaway or self-named media empire might seem unattainable. And with rare exceptions, it probably is. But that doesn’t mean we can’t all be visionary leaders in our own orbits. As a serial entrepreneur, I want to make every company I launch a success.

To be a visionary leader, you have to possess some key qualities that, not surprisingly, combine vision and leadership. Here are five essential traits you can cultivate to achieve that exalted status in your own circle.

1. Persistent Resilience

You are going to fail from time to time. Steve Jobs did. Walt Disney did. Even Colonel Sanders did, and he didn’t have to invent fried chicken. As a business leader, you’re always predicting the future. Sometimes you’ll get it right, and sometimes you’ll get it wrong. But visionary leaders will keep coming back until they find the success they were looking for.

Jobs was famously fired from the company he co-founded. It seems like he was always itching to create the next innovative tech product. The iPhone and Macintosh are household names. Not so much the Lisa, the hockey puck mouse or the Cube. But Jobs never quit. He persisted time and time again, even in retaking the helm of Apple and pulling it back from the brink of bankruptcy.

2. Inspirational Charisma

A key characteristic of a visionary leader is the ability to inspire the people around them to devote themselves to achieving their vision. These could be your employees, partners, investors or other stakeholders. Being inspirational requires a certain amount of charisma. It’s not the creepy drink-the-Kool-Aid kind of charisma, but that magnetic charm that compels others to want to achieve your goals as much as you do.

Oprah exudes a charisma that I believe can inspire not only those who work for her but also everyone she can reach through her astoundingly successful media conglomerate. Oprah’s Book Club selections helped authors gain publicity, and her Favorite Things list can propel entrepreneurs to success overnight. She came from a tough background and built something amazing, spending time inspiring others to do the same in big and small ways.

3. Innovative Creativity

Visionary leaders are dreamers. They see a space that needs filling, although not everyone can see it. That’s the visionary part. They must then find creative ways to connect their vision with reality. That’s the leadership component. If you have one without the other, you’re likely to fail.

Sara Blakely wanted pantyhose without toe seams to wear to work, so she filled the void in that market herself by creating footless pantyhose. She went from creating prototypes of Spanx on nights and weekends to building a tremendously successful business. Part of her journey involved creating a “board of advisors” who provided energy and pep talks when she needed them. Of course, landing on Oprah’s Favorite Things list probably didn’t hurt either.

4. Adventurous Audacity

“Audacity” has a couple of definitions. It’s a willingness to take intrepid risks. But it’s also an impertinent lack of respect. Maybe it takes a little disrespect—and definitely a sense of adventure—to take bold risks. The trick is not letting financial fears impede progress while still upholding the fiscal responsibility due to stakeholders.

You could apply the adage: “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” Or in the words of Virgin Group founder Richard Branson: “Screw it, let’s do it.” The diversity of Virgin’s companies is mind-blowing and ranges from casinos, wineries, telecommunications and fiber optics to trains, planes and cruise ships. It’s doubtful that space, as in Virgin Galactic, will really be Branson’s final frontier. Audacity, indeed.

5. Collaborative Communication

All great leaders are good communicators, but this especially applies to visionary leaders. All those traits that make them see the world differently put them on a different plane from the people they need to work with to achieve their vision. Everyone else needs an explainer, and that must be the person with the vision.

This type of leadership fails if the visionary doesn’t clearly communicate the vision so everyone from top to bottom understands it. Plus, the leader must empower people to achieve it, as Reed Hastings has at Netflix. The company’s vision of “becoming the best global entertainment distribution service” leaves a lot of room for interpretation. Hastings says that “if you give employees freedom you’ve got a better chance at that success” and that this freedom is “essential in creative companies where you have much greater risk from lack of innovation.” Giving employees freedom gives leaders plenty of room to dream.

Taking The Visionary Lead

Being visionary isn’t enough to lead a successful company, because you’re unlikely to achieve your vision on your own. To get the help you need from others to get there, you’ll have to take the lead.