One of the fascinating aspects of the series of interviews that Maril has conducted in the Let Go and Lead project is the way that the participants’ real life stories and perspectives support taking a counter intuitive approach to the work place. Each of these remarkable individuals has shown how doing things differently, not succumbing to what seems the norm, can pay dividends.

I was particularly struck by that in watching the interview withJonathan Spitz. It wasn’t just that he emphasizes the role of team work, or of subsuming one’s own ego to enjoy the success of the whole endeavor – critical as they are. What especially impressed me was the critical role played by a unifying vision, by the specificity of mission and ambitious target. That enables each of the players in the orchestra to understand their individual contribution to the whole. More importantly it forces a desire for excellence at the individual and collective level – “to perform the music we play at the absolute highest level.”

Contrast that with the approach taken by many of our companies today. It’s relatively easy to set quarterly or even annual targets. It’s tough to set a truly compelling vision, one that resonates emotionally as well as intellectually. So too many leadership teams duck that responsibility. Jonathan shows us that’s a missed opportunity. Without a clear and energizing end point that our employees can see, understand, and buy in to we won’t achieve the potential of the organization. For our employees to be truly engaged and performing as one highly efficient team they need to know where they’re heading to – and only the CEO and senior leadership can tell them that.