Can We Have Two Visionaries?

“Can we have two Visionaries?” I hear this a lot as an Expert EOS Implementer™ and co-author of Rocket Fuel. Let me give you a quick and straightforward answer: NO! You cannot have two Visionaries for your business. Let me explain why.

The Role of a Visionary

The Visionary of a company tends to focus on the strategic vision and big relationships, and follows industry trends. But they generally don’t do so great with following operational processes or completing day-to-day business tasks. Usually, but not always, the Visionary is the entrepreneurial founder, co-founder, or the CEO of a company.

Visionaries have to specialize in “what’s next” for their companies, meaning they must generate a steady stream of innovative ideas. They often have 20 new ideas a day, many of which are not worth pursuing. Without someone helping them curate which ideas to share with the team, they can create some seriously harmful unintended consequences. Unsure which project to follow, teams lose focus on the most important activities that make a business successful.

Why Every Company Needs an Integrator™

An Integrator for a company  serves as the counterbalance to the Visionary’s energy. They work to bring the Visionary’s ideas to life by prioritizing what works best for the company. (And which ideas can wait a while.)

The Integrator creates organizational clarity, removes obstacles and barriers, and fosters communication and consistency. They serve as the glue for an organization, holding everything together. An Integrator will establish and enforce standardized processes to be followed by all. They also serve as the tiebreaker when the leadership team needs someone to “make the call.”

Identify One Visionary

Sometimes more than one person appears to fit the Visionary role. But again, having two Visionaries only creates chaos and confusion. For example, the steady stream of ideas from one Visionary can get overwhelming. With two Visionaries sharing sometimes competing ideas, they can create massive whiplash for employees trying to keep up. That’s why every company should identify ONE Visionary and one Visionary only.

I recommend each individual take the Crystallizer Assessment™ to gauge who has the strongest natural tendencies to own this seat. Even if both rank high on the Visionary scale, one almost always ranks higher. We use that data point as input to help you answer “which one of us will be the Visionary for this business?”.

Now you have your one true Visionary.

What Rocket Fuel Looks Like

As I said, I’ve found that the Visionary and Integrator™ Duo works best as a one-to-one relationship. The Visionary and Integrator balance each other because of their complementary yet opposing skill sets.

When these two come together, they hold the key ingredients to create what I call Rocket Fuel™ for their company. Their combined energies create the power to break through ceilings and help their business reach new heights of success.

So Where Do the Other Folks Go?

Sometimes you find that a leader has more natural talents that don’t align with the Visionary or the Integrator role. That’s okay!

They often find the seat that best suits their unique abilities by completing the Delegate and Elevate™ exercise. By finding where their talents and passions lie, they can turn to The Accountability Chart™. Sometimes they find a better fit as the leader of sales, business development, or research and development. Or maybe they go back to focusing on their area of technical expertise (for example, as an architect).

Occasionally, a leader doesn’t find the right seat on The Accountability Chart. The leadership team has to decide what will work best for the company. Over the years, I’ve seen tons of interesting solutions, but they always worked toward the greater good.

For example, many companies create an owner’s box that gives them purview without getting mired in strategy or management. And occasionally, for the greater good of a company and the individual, they determine it’s best to part ways. Everyone ends up happier in the long run, whichever route they take.

No matter what avenue a business owner decides to take, they must always have the greater good of the company in mind. And ultimately, having two co-Visionaries does not serve the greater good.

When a company has the right Visionary/Integrator Duo, they need a lot of support to keep their relationship healthy. Join the free Rocket Fuel Community, where like-minded leaders from a variety of companies go to connect with peers and strengthen their Visionary/Integrator relationship.