People Buy into the Leader, Then the Vision

Many people who approach the area of vision and leadership have it all backward, they believe if the cause is good enough people will automatically buy into it and follow. But that’s not how leadership really works. People don’t start out following worthy causes, they follow worthy leaders to promote worthy causes. People buy into the leader first, then the leader’s vision. Having and understanding that changes your whole approach to leading people.

People who need others to follow his vision should ask himself question like this:

Have I given my people reasons to buy into me?

If a person hasn’t built his credibility with his people, it really doesn’t matter how great his vision is,

Once people have bought into someone, they are willing to give his vision a chance. People want to go along with people they get along with. You cannot separate the leader from the cause he promotes, it just can’t be done no matter how hard you try. It’s not an either-or proposition, the two always go together.

What happens with followers depending on their attitude towards the leader and his cause?

When followers don’t like the leader or the vision, they look for another leader;

When followers don’t like the leader but they do like the vision, they still look for another leader;

When followers like the leader but not the vision, they change the vision;

When followers like the leader and the vision, they get behind both.

If in the past you tried to get your people to act on your vision, but weren’t able to make it happen, you probably came up against the law of buy in, maybe even without knowing it.

As a leader, you don’t earn any points in failing a noble cause, you don’t get credit for just being right, your success is majored by your ability to actually take the people where they need to go. But you can do that only if the people first buy into you as a leader.