Visionary Leader vs. Traditional Leader – The Differences

Leadership style differs from individual to individual. Entrepreneur Sidd Pagidipati, who happens to be on the Inc 500 list of entrepreneurs, and many others like him feel that traditional leaders are outdated. Today, if you want to be successful in any industry, you need to be a visionary. Being a visionary is more than just having an innovative idea. You need to lead your team to deliver what your idea is. That is where visionary leadership comes into play.

But how do you become a visionary leader, without knowing exactly what sets them apart? We sat down with Sidd and he gave us the insights.

The Qualities of a Traditional Leader

The traditional leader takes an old-school approach in their role. This includes:

• They believe that they have all the authority due to their position.
• Keeps all important information without sharing with the team.
• Rarely takes suggestions and opinions from the team.
• Delegates most the tasks, don’t do much work rather delegate.
• Sets up specific rules for everyone on the team and expects them to abide by them.
• Solve problems without going down to the root of it.
• Follows the company policy down to the “t.” Appraisals are done annually through a performance review, there is no flexibility.

The traditional leaders have a rigidness to their approach. They don’t normally listen or collaborate with their team much. They delegate tasks and expect them to be done. While this used to work, leaders need a more flexible approach today.

The Qualities of a Visionary Leader

The approach of a visionary leader is quite the opposite of that of a traditional one. They:

• Believe that power doesn’t rest with just an individual but with the team.
• Are always open to collaboration, in fact, they promote it.
Share information with the team and ask for their opinions while also brainstorm ideas with them.
• Provide the team with the time and resources they need.
• Understand that roles and responsibilities evolve and know the limits as well as skills of each and every individual.
• Go down to the root of issues, look to resolve its root cause so it doesn’t occur again.
• Are always open to discuss performance and coach their team whenever needed.

Visionary differs quite drastically from traditional leaders. They like to empower their employees rather than hold all the power for themselves. This alone allows visionary leaders to make a deeper impact with the team they work with. It allows the team to develop and excel. That is why you find most of the top companies globally have visionary leaders.

While traditional leadership was employed to the corporate world throughout the Industrial Revolution, the industry has changed since then. To make an impact in an industry more innovative leadership style must be taken. As workers, today are more empowered and seek more engagement and autonomy than ever before.

Don’t get caught up in old leadership tactics, be a visionary leader if you truly want your business to be successful.