Why leaders are so important?

This had hit me a lot of times during my decade of working career, but today when I saw it happen again, it triggered me to write this post.

The way hierarchies in our organizations are, it curbs the creativity and decision making capability of the most of the organization. So many times I have seen, people think in one direction to go, say north, they go to the boss’s desk, come back and start not only telling but convincing everyone that why South is the only place to go. They just drop what they think and start working towards what their boss tells them, without questioning it and without even giving it a thought. These are not the people who do not have a thinking of their own, these are bright people who want to so something in life. But the boss’s hierarchical grip is strong for them to even speak their mind leave apart have the guts to act on that with conviction. Or is it that they are so much under the boss’s influence or awe, to consider their own opinion as worthy as his / her.

Today when I was witness to one such conversation, I realized why it is so important for a leader to have a clear vision and an even more clear communication, as most of the people will just follow and do what they say. It is just the leader’s clarity of vision and his ability to get it executed that defines the success and failure of any venture.