# Chapter 105

Inspire a shared vision - from The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership

This is about designing a customized solution that the follower needs. What is the possible unique future of the follower or of those you are leading? If we can’t inspire this possible unique future, you and I have already failed at leading. You can’t command this, you have to inspire and persuade others.

Coercive leadership isn’t really leadership. Its a weaponized solution for bringing about the desired results of someone, utilized by the person who isn’t actually doing any of the work. It is not leadership, its a boss telling an employee what to do. Its a dictator making a decision for everyone else. Its about power and control and not about leading. We don’t need any more of this in the world.

Instead, inspire a shared vision. “Inspire” and “shared” are the two words that make this the polar opposite of coercive leadership/dictatorship. Now can you see how custom designing a solution that benefits you and the follower or client or employee is so radically different than telling them what to do and when to do it and with whom to do it? Here everyone wins and benefits.

“Shared” is the tough one for most leaders I work with around the world. This requires a release of control that makes most of them very uncomfortable. Heck it makes ME uncomfortable! There is no other way for them to ever be yours, unless you are willing to negotiate the direction in which you are to travel as a group. This is not unreasonable, but it does raise the leadership bar from “control” to “share”.

Inspire is the easier of the two for most of the folks I know and work with, because once they get going about what they are working on, they can talk for hours! They are naturally inspiring. Even I want to go to work for them after such sessions.