For the last several months, I have been mentoring several Presales consultants to become a Presales leader.  I start these conversations by distinguishing the difference between a Presales leader and a manager.  A leader These two roles are focus on managing people; however, in my view, leadership requires you to have a servant mindset.  At Pluralsight, I went through a leadership training program that has been impactful in leading today.  In the program, leadership was defined as a way of being and how people experience you.  Therefore, to start leading, one begins by creating a vision statement about oneself.  

Most people learn about a corporate vision, which helps anchor the business on what and how to work.  It is intended to anchor everyone to drive to the same outcome.  Similarly, leaders require a vision for themselves to help guide how you lead with others.  Defining your vision helps you sit back and think about your intentions when you are around others.  Also, it helps you understand your value and ensures you commit to them as you continue to create an impact with others. 

As I reflected on my values and my intention on how I want to impact others, I was able to summary my leadership vision with the following words:

“I see myself as a leader that encourages others to be explorers and seeks to grow through my curiosity.  I lead by example and work to develop a culture for myself and my team to experiment and learn from failure.  As a foundation for my leadership, I understand the larger company’s vision and lead my team to drive towards these goals.  These leadership principles give me a sense of purpose in my work and help keep me present in my daily leadership.

To achieve and maintain these leadership principles I pledge to hold myself accountable to what I say I will do, guide and not prescribe for my team and my colleagues, and keep in mind the best interest of the Learners and Tech Leaders who use our platform.  As a leader, I take complex topics and work to simplify them to ensure our clients and end-users fully understand the value that our products deliver.  

To be the leader I want to be, I am committed to a foundation of humility, continuous learning, and responsibility to my team and colleagues.  I keep an open mind and heart and encourage my team or colleagues to come to me with both their challenges and successes.  I respect the value, time, and energy of my colleagues and ensure that those around me feel they can trust me to support their success.  I derive my personal energy from my family, my constant curiosity, and my passion for my work.”

Now that you have seen my leadership vision, here is a bit of homework for you.

Assignment: Write down your vision for the leader you want to be. This can be 2-3 sentences or 2-3 paragraphs as above.  

Bonus: Submit your leadership vision in the comment below, and I’m happy to provide feedback.