Mark C Winters explains why organizations need both visionaries and integrators. Visionaries generate ideas and build external relationships; integrators handle details, execution, and culture. The fit between person and role must be reassessed as both people and business needs change.
The visionary integrator need to fit together like two puzzle pieces. Each person has a specific shape along the connecting edge with their counterpart. The goal is to find that perfect fit. Here's the thing. There will always be some visionary integrator duos that don't have a perfect fit. Plus, that fit is always changing to a certain degree. The capabilities and interests of the visionary may change, the capabilities of the integrator may change, and the needs of the business may change as well. As a result, the vi fit may change over time. The goal is to get as close as possible, always watching and making changes. If and when the puzzle pieces no longer fit together. Well, let's take a look at each puzzle piece, starting with the visionary. The visionary must really understand themselves. They need to understand their strengths, weaknesses, preferences, personality, their orientation towards detail and what culture means to them. All those things go into determining the shape of of a visionary puzzle piece edge. And we're looking for the perfect fit to match that. The integrator also has to really understand themselves. They need to have a lot of energy for the things the visionary doesn't. A perfect fit here means the integrator naturally fills the holes so that the organization gets everything it needs. There are some things that are pretty typical of visionaries. They're big on ideas, seeing the future and external relationships. Those roles are almost always on the visionary side of the puzzle. Other things more easily fall on the integrator side. They're typically detail oriented and can break down high level strategies into actionable tasks to achieve goals. Culture is variable. A lot of times it falls with the visionary. But sometimes the visionary is less interested in maintaining culture. And a good fit for that visionary is an integrator who's passionate about creating a healthy culture. The key thing is that the strengths of the visionary and those of the integrator complement one another. Creating the perfect combination is what generates rocket fuel for the company. A visionary looking for their perfect integrator fit needs to really understand what they want and what the organization needs. The best way to know what the organization needs is to ask the people in your organization. What can they only get from the visionary? And what are the things the visionary just can't naturally do as well. That helps shape what to look for in an integrator match. Three key points to wrap up today. Number one. Know thyself. You must know who you are and the shape of your own edge. Number two. You're unique. There's only one. You. Your shape is different from everybody else's. And number three, be confident that your ideal fit is out there and go find them.
