Whether visionary leaders are born or made is one of those perennial topics that has never really received a satisfactory answer. Whilst there may be generic traits that are helpful for leaders, a recent study from the University of Texas suggests that there are also numerous things that can most definitely be taught to help leaders be visionary.
The key, the authors believe, is for leaders to adopt a future-focused kind of imagination. Thankfully, however, they believe this is just the kind of thing we can learn how to do.
“If Whole Foods were a replication of the past, it would be one more small health food store,” they say. “It required a different imagination of the future to combine an organic farmers market with a big grocery store, and a strong focus on conscious capitalism. That’s the kind of thing that changes the mold within any given industry and comes up with a whole new space.”
Lack of strategic imagination
Whilst this kind of thing can be taught, the researchers believe that business schools today are largely not touching enough on it as a topic. Instead, many focus on analyzing the past, and then adapting to the present. Whilst these are undoubtedly important aspects of strategy, they are unlikely to lead to the kind of revolutionary thinking that shifts industries.
The authors go on to say that things such as design thinking and analogical reasoning are all techniques that can help to trigger strategic imagination. Following social, economic and technological trends can also be useful in opening up new markets.
It’s also recommended that leaders examine business models already in use to see if they can be used in new ways or new markets to innovate. The authors cite Rent the Runway as an example of this in action when it allowed shoppers to borrow clothes rather than buy them. It was a kind of Netflix for expensive clothes.
“I think we are running out of runway for mass market thinking and just low-price thinking,” the authors conclude “So, increasingly, as markets fragment and as people desire something more than just low cost, I think strategic imagination will become an ever-more-important aspect of the strategist’s job.”
