20/20 Leadership Lessons: Seeing Visions and Focusing on Reality

Second Edition: A Guide to Becoming an Effective Leader for a Post-2020 World

Leaders in all industries and arenas must understand that leadership needs to be shared by many and experienced by all. This updated edition of 20/20 Leadership Lessons: Seeing Visions and Focusing on Reality is written for those leaders. This book is for leaders open to looking at the world and seeing greater clarity of purpose and more options for the inclusion of diverse voices.

The lessons in this book center on encouraging leaders to see clearly all that is emerging and happening in our post-2020 world. At the same time, this book is based on the premise that even amid rapid and incessant change, there are some principles that stand the test of time. Space is given at the end of each section to reflect and journal on your own relationship to these principles. That is where the true power of this book lies. It is where you, as a leader, will challenge your own stasis and your organization's status quo. Your thoughts will shape your behaviors. Your behaviors will inform your policies and messages. Your policies and messages will determine the pathways or structures you set in place.

Leadership has exponentially evolved in recent years. The workplace has evolved. Yet, there are few resources available to motivate and prepare leaders for the seismic shift taking place. Those who step into positions of leadership must be aware of the evolution of work and the innovations required for workers. Similarly, when the predominant political and societal rhetoric centers on division, leaders must work even more diligently to counter these perspectives and narratives. We have a choice about how we engage and what we expect from our work and our relationships.

Over and over, this book demonstrates how curiosity can be a leader's superpower. This is especially true in moments of indecision or in situations where there could be several right responses. It takes courage to be curious enough to expect differing opinions or surprising revelations. Curiosity invites exploration beyond the norm. It challenges leaders and groups to try new approaches to old problems. Curiosity releases the stress of landing on the same or "right" response every time.

This book was not written as a continuous narrative. The stories and observations can be interpreted from multiple points of view. The point is to challenge every leader to look at situations, individuals, surroundings, and options, and make way for something innovative, revolutionary, or visionary to emerge. Each section contains a particular leadership attribute or behavior to be examined one at a time and over time. This may be accomplished in solitude, with an accountability partner, or in a small group.

There are a number of quotations, musings, and sacred texts included as prompts. The space provided for journaling invites you to explore the range of possibilities that exist for the conversations, relationships, impacts, or outcomes. These reflections will guide you as you seek clarity of vision and lead yourself and your organization into a future that brightly bends toward justice.