Final Destination

Leadership development includes a question most leaders never ask out loud: who do you want standing beside you when you reach the destination your vision points toward? Every leader carries a vision, and its realization is a destination, the culmination of all the steps, the tears, and the toil. You probably have at least a vague picture of who is there celebrating with you. The harder question is whether those people know it.

Leaders often operate on assumptions. You assume the people closest to you will always be there. You rely on tacit understandings and never say out loud what motivates you, what you expect, or what you hope for them. Unless you want to arrive at the finish line alone, those assumptions have to give way to an intentional invitation.

Brandon Pinkerton learned this firsthand in his late twenties. He was a new father in a dead-end job, and he had secured a role with a major corporation that offered good pay, excellent benefits, and reasonable security, with a start date a few months away. When he told the vice president he trusted that he would be leaving, the VP supported the decision. A couple of days later, that same VP came into Brandon's office, laid out the vision he had been developing for his future, and personally invited Brandon to help build it. He did not have to bring Brandon along. He chose to, because he wanted to share the destination with someone he trusted. That small invitation changed Brandon's life in ways he could never have imagined.

The challenge for you is direct. Share your vision with the people most important to you. Tell them why you cannot imagine reaching your destination without them. Make clear that they are integral to your success and that the rewards at the end are meant to be shared. When you dream together, you succeed together.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Your vision is a destination, and you should know who you want with you when you arrive.
• Leaders who rely on assumptions about the people closest to them risk reaching the finish line alone.
• A tacit understanding is not an invitation. The people who matter to you need to hear it from you directly.
• One intentional invitation can change the direction of someone's life, even when it feels small in the moment.
• When you share the vision, you share the rewards. Leaders who dream together succeed together.

Closing Reflection

So take five minutes and think about this. Who do I want with me when I reach my destination? And what intentional conversations do I need to have today with those closest to me?

FINAL THOUGHT

The people you want at the finish line will not get there by assumption. They get there because you invited them, told them why they matter, and made room for them in the vision. It's time to now go lead.