Leading So People Will Follow

What About Confidence?

This kind of repetition helps build confidence as well. As farsighted leaders do this curiosity-based testing of their vision—as they talk about it, think about it, ask others to weigh in, and it still seems like a possibility—they gain confidence in its power and potential.

One leader I know who’s especially good at this aspect of farsightedness is Josh Sapan, the president and CEO of AMC Networks. Over the years, I’ve watched Josh throw out ideas about possible futures to his team, using a “where we could go” and “who we could be” frame that most people find both compelling and inclusive. At first, he can be charmingly self-deprecating about the possibility he’s presenting. And sometimes the ideas turn out to be unrealistic ...