Lead from above.

Whether you lead others or just yourself, your leadership has to be connected with the bigger picture. Otherwise, why lead?

As a leader, you are part of something bigger than yourself, and you see it very clearly in your mind. You sense it, feel it, and understand it on a deeper level.

If you don't, you are not a leader, but an administrator. Nothing wrong with that, but it's not leadership.

Leadership is being connected with the bigger picture and leading others to that place.

Adopted visions

In the world of today, too many leaders don't have that connection. Or, they have it, but it's not theirs. They have adopted it.

They know they have to have a vision to lead, but they don't have the ability to generate it themselves, so they take it from others.

We see it in politics all the time, where leading politicians of any party, in any country, are two-dimensional echo chambers of the past wrapped in modern packaging. Their visions were new a hundred years ago.

Business as usual

Or in business, where CEOs tap into whatever social and political trend with the highest economic potential for their business and call it their vision.

It's not. Taking on the vision of reducing CO2 emissions, for example, is a fine goal, but it's hardly a vision they cooked up themselves.

They do it because it's good business. Nothing more. The CO2 emissions industry is estimated to become ten times larger than the oil industry. Just to put their visions into perspective.

In your own mind

True leadership is going up and beyond on the basis of your own vision. Your version of the bigger picture.

As a leader, you must be individually unique enough to generate such a vision, and create a plan for leading others to it.

It cannot be done by using a predefined recipe. It has to be a creation from your own mind in order for it to work, and there is only one place you can put your focus to deliver on it.