How effective leaders navigate their future

In this column, I want to identify some of the component’s leaders need to navigate the future. The components for navigating can be compared to a sailboat and its various sails. Each sail can be used for a particular purpose. A mainsail ensures that maximum wind is caught to create and maintain speed. And spinnaker, also called the after burner, provides an enormous speed boost. Some "sails" or components I cover in this article are the strategy of a leader, the mindset of leader and the Metron (sphere of influence) of a leader.

Strategy

I call a leader's past experiences building blocks that should shape his/her present-day strategies. Every effective leader always works from the present moment, what I call the 'now' moment. The Bible says about this in Hebrew 11:1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen". Faith is linked to the present moment, the now moment, with invisible evidence. Very powerful when you think about it. Of course, the past and future are important! The three moments, past, present (the now moment) and future are taken into account in the decision-making process, setting strategies or adjusting a certain direction. But if you want to go somewhere it is always important to know where you came from, your starting point so to say. And this starting point lies always in the past. Why am I emphasizing this part? Because nowadays leaders are "forced" to make quick decisions. Society is racing along like a speeding train. This means that decision times are getting shorter and thus the quality of decisions and strategies could be compromised. We are all familiar with the term FOBO/FOMO (Fear of Better Options/Fear of Missing Out). Leaders can suffer from this because leaders keep obsessively looking for other options, for the fear of missing out on the best choice. This leads to stress, frustration and indecision. My belief is that a balanced leader makes decisions from a resting position, avoids impulsiveness and uses building blocks of the past as stepping stones and a wink to the future.

I call a leader's past experiences building blocks that should shape his/her present-day strategies.

Mindset

A leader's mindset is also important when navigating the future. In my view, a leader's mindset is a kind of balanced eco system. This eco-system determines how a leader thinks. The Bible says about this in Proverbs 23:7 “As a man thinks in his heart, so he is". We see in this bible verse that thinking is directly linked to a person's heart. And of course the Bible is not talking about a physical heart but the intrinsic position of the heart. Think about feelings, emotions such as pain, sadness, joy or cheerfulness. What input is responsible for this? The input comes in through his/her filter. I call this filter the "invisible glass". This glass (filter) consists of components such as age, gender, experience, education, nationality, religion etc. For instance, my wife thinks I am the most handsome man in the world (sorry to all the other men). Everyone can disagree on this but for my wife, for her this is a fact. For instance, my wife looks at me through her filter/invisible glass. She always calls this her pink colored glass 😊. Her mindset eco system is programmed this way. This is how she thinks and this is how her positive and loving attitude operates towards me. And of course, being her husband, I think this is fantastic!

It is also interesting to mention that our filters are flexible in that filters can "switch" from positive to negative and negative to positive. Based on this switching, important decisions are made. Especially these days, leaders face a lot of negativities in media, politics, society and business. This can affect a leader's filter and also ultimately, even a leader's performance. Therefore, it is important to be aware of what components are present in one’s filter. This ultimately determines the mindset, thinking process and how a leader ultimately is. As a trainer/coach and organizational consultant, I always encourage my clients and participants to take time to 'think'. Take 15 minutes a day and contemplate, meditate and reflect on the day's experiences. This triggers and develops a healthy thinking process and ensures that your filtering system stays clean by giving place to advantages and disadvantages, positivity and negativity, and sharp thinking. By taking time it even removes unwanted components (reprogramming). Thinking ensures that the leader remains in charge of his mind and filter system. I always say "If you think, you are the boss! If you don't (think) you become a slave!". Why? Because then others start thinking and deciding for you. A leader with a healthy mindset can, in my view, navigate the future extremely well.

A leader's mindset is a kind of balanced eco system. This eco-system determines how a leader thinks.

Metron

A powerful leader who can navigate into the future knows the strength, extent and effectiveness of his/her sphere of influence. The Greek word for influence is "Metron" and means "a determined extent, portion measured off, measure or limit". In other words, it’s a sphere of authority, anointing and influence. The Bible talks about this in Romans 12:3 "For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you". So, a balanced, powerful leader navigating into the future knows his/her own limitations, strengths and influence and so will not step outside his/her own framework or boundaries. If you do then you are stepping out of your own area of grace and that is dangerous as Romans 12:3 explains. It’s a very powerful leadership principle. I believe that every leader on earth has received a certain amount of influence to use it and to fulfil his/her purpose and plan on earth. And always in cooperation with others. As an example, I mention Steve Jobs' Metron. His sphere of influence has been enormous and still is, even after his death! Together with Apple, he disruptively changed an entire industry by looking at the application of a phone in a completely different way. As a result, his Metron, has had a huge impact. In this case, his Metron has huge benefits because the whole world works and communicates with smartphones and tablets. Due to his Metron he made your and my live a lot simpler (and sometimes also more complex). So, everyone has a degree of influence, a Metron. The only question is whether you know your own Metron and an important question is what you do with your Metron?

A balanced, powerful leader navigating into the future knows his/her own limitations, strengths and influence and so will not step outside his/her own framework or boundaries.

In the 1970s, it was Loren Cunningham and Bill Bright who received a divine revelation from God about 7 spheres of influence on the earth. Later, Lance Wallnau further unpacked these 7 spheres of influence and made them practical. The 7 spheres of influence are: Family, Religion, Education, Media, Politics, Arts & Entertainment and Business. Interestingly, each leader operates with his/her Metron within one or more spheres of influence. Thus, a sphere of influence is an environment that accentuates and confirms a leader's Metron. For example, André van Duijn, a well-known Dutch actor and has great acting talents/skills. He operates fully within his Metron and his sphere of influence, the Arts and Entertainment. But he will lose his influence or even his creditability in the sphere of Politics. He will be a laughing stock and probably not taken seriously. Of course there are exceptions when I think of Ronald Reagan, a famous actor who became a very successful US president. Mr Reagan adjusted his mindset and Metron and by doing so becoming a very influential president. Or think of mr. Trump, a man with a Metron for business who later became the 45th president of America and, as the current polls predicts, will again become the new US president in 2024.

So, an effective leader navigating into the future is able to strategize, has an healthy mindset en knows his/her Metron in the spheres of influence. And by doing so maximises his destiny, purpose, talents and gifts.

In conclusion! An interesting question for the reader is "Do you know your Metron and to which sphere of influence you belong?