I used to work in the Balkans. The roads that traversed the high mountain passes between Kosovo and Montenegro were usually single lane and carved out of very steep mountainsides. They typically had neither guardrails nor shoulders.

The beauty of those passes and gorges was almost hypnotizing. It was tempting to take my eyes off the road and look around. When I did so, I’d feel my heart seize up when I realized how immediate the drop was between my vehicle and the river, hundreds of feet down.

There was a very strong tendency to drive towards whatever I was looking at. I learned that, with no margin for error, I just needed to keep my eyes on the road and ignore everything else.

Keeping Your Eyes on the Road

In 2020, nearly all of my clients experienced a record-breaking year. For most, significantly so. In spite of everything that made 2020 challenging – they created their best year ever. That’s a big deal.  And there is no mystery behind how they got there:

• They had a clear vision.
• They aligned themselves and kept realigning themselves to that vision.

Granted, none of my clients were operating restaurants or gyms. I’m not pretending that success is simply about having a clear vision and staying aligned. But, wow, do those things matter.  Far more than what they are usually given credit for. Let me elaborate:

What these successful clients didn’t do (that many struggling businesses did do) is:

• Shift their attention from their vision to their anxiety
• Align their priorities, resources, and efforts around their anxiety

They kept their eyes on the road. They saw but didn’t get distracted by, what was going on around them.

Perspective Shapes Possibility

In this article, when I talk about “seeing” or “vision”, I’m talking about what fills your windshield. What is right in front of you. What your attention is fixed on. Leaders who see potential and pursue it – often experience success.

Leaders who see anxiety, or risk, or problems, or effort – rarely experience success in the same way. In fact, they tend to experience more anxiety, risk, problems, or the need for more effort. It’s just how it is.

Your Attention Will Lead You

I’ve often seen leaders (some this year) start to experience incredible success. Sometimes even life-changing success. But then they let it slip away. In each case, they let something pull their attention away from their vision and onto some form of anxiety or problem. These issues are usually legitimate. It’s not that problems don’t exist.

But usually, without knowing it, they begin to fixate on the problem. Then they naturally align themselves around it. As a result, they lose traction in the pursuit of their vision. And their reality begins to be defined by the negative issue that fills up their windshield.

What do you see for 2021?

Personally, I suspect that 2021 will be a lot like 2020. I’m prepared for a lot of ambient noise, sudden shifts, ongoing COVID disruptions, and, as of yet, unanticipated reasons for uncertainty. For leaders, that should be like knowing there is poor weather up ahead. Possibly road conditions won’t be ideal.

Neither of which tells us that we can’t make the pass. Or that we won’t reach our destination.

Both of which tell us that it is even more important to keep our eyes on the road.

What is your vision for 2021?

When you look out across this year – what do you see?

• Do you primarily see a future that is inspirational and compelling?
• Do you primarily see the challenges, the threats, the issues that might prevent success?
• Do you primarily see a foggy, unclear future – you aren’t sure what’s there?

Each of the above perspectives is understandable. But only one best sets you up to build the year that you want. For that matter, only one even helps you clarify what you want. I’ll go so far as to say, you are unlikely to experience the year that you want if you can’t define it or describe it now. If you can’t see it now.

What do you want to see?

Chocolate chips. Butter. Eggs. Flour. Sugar.

What image came to mind? Most people will say, “Chocolate chip cookies.” I described five ingredients and an image, a vision came to your mind. The truth is, you don’t have to bake cookies with those ingredients. You might start a cake or cook bars. But, by defining those ingredients, you know you aren’t trying to cook a pizza. You aren’t even thinking about a salad.

You may not know exactly what you want. But you’ve narrowed it down pretty well. Enough that choosing what you want isn’t too difficult.

A great vision should accomplish two things: It should cause excitement and contribute to a sense of dignity. In other words, you (and your team) should feel inspired by this vision and believe that you’ll be better people for the effort. But more importantly – a great vision is a choice.

Very rarely does someone have an epiphany where an entire, factually driven vision is just dropped into their lap. Instead, a vision is usually the answer to the question, “What do we want?”

What do you want?  What are the main ingredients of your vision?

What would it mean to you, to your team, to others, to bring this vision to life?

What kinds of distractions might threaten to steal your attention?

What do you need to do to keep your eyes on the road?

Take good care,

Christian

Vision Building Sprints

If you or your team are wrestling with defining your vision and would like help, I’m offering the opportunity for a “Vision Sprint.”

This is a dynamic, calibrating exercise. We will tightly dial in on your vision for the year and the key steps you need to take to get there. I’m offering either individual sessions ($2500) or team sessions ($4000). Contact me at christian@christianmuntean.com if interested in learning more or setting up a time.

The Successful New CEO – FREE BOOK OFFER
As an executive coach, I’ve found that the experiences for new executives (or experienced executives in new roles) tend to touch on familiar themes. No one’s situation is the same. But there are common principles that, when followed, do guide executives to success. I introduce those core principles in my new book, The Successful New CEO. I’d like to give you a free copy (just pay shipping)!

The book is divided into four parts:

• Becoming an Executive: Leaders can only lead out of who they are. How do you become the kind of person who successfully and gracefully inhabits this role?
• Seven Essential Executive Skills: The skills that earned you this new role may not be the ones that you need in the role. What are the key leadership skills that become even more important at the executive level?
• Leading Your Leadership Team: More than likely, you’ll be leading other leaders. How do you lead a confident, effective leader? How do you build a team out of leaders?
• First Things: Where do you start? How do you quickly build credibility and engagement? What is too fast or too slow?

The goal of The Successful New CEO is to help you quickly gain the confidence of your team, successfully address the issues you will discover, score early wins, and set a course for a fruitful future.

If you’d like to see how this book will benefit you or someone you know, I’d like to make it available to you for free! Click Here.

Find the value of your company with my free assessment tool: The Value Builder System

The Value Builder System™ is a 13-minute online questionnaire that evaluates your business on the eight factors that contribute more to its attractiveness and value. These factors are scored on a scale of 1-100. Businesses that score over 80 are likely to command 70%-100% higher value than others.

THE LEADERSHIP COACH Podcast

In my podcast, THE LEADERSHIP COACH, we explore effective, high impact and enjoyable leadership. We talk about personal development and the attributes that all effective leaders possess. I interview other leadership experts who share their knowledge and tips to help you build the confidence to lead and learn the habits of good decision-making.

Opportunities

Free Resource: How To Accomplish More Without Doing More is a workbook I created to walk leaders through a process of helping you own your calendar, liberate your time, and still get more done. Download it for free!

Executive and Leadership Coaching: Do you feel overwhelmed? Are you not getting the results you expect from the effort you are putting in? Do you find yourself facing similar challenges time and time again? Would you like to change specific ways of relating or reacting? If you would like to experience predictable, measurable growth Contact me.

Profitable Exit Strategy Workshop: Are you a business owner or partner? Are you over 55? Are you starting to think about exiting your business or active management in the next 3-5 years?

• Are you curious about what your business might be worth?
• Would you like to discover the specific steps you need to take to increase its value and become highly attractive to a buyer?
• Are you planning on handing it over to family or employees and you want to ensure long-term success?

If so, contact me now