Street View or Satellite?
Since its launch in 2005, Google Maps has become the leading mobile navigation application, used monthly by over one billion people. But have you ever wondered how Google Maps produces images of cities and landscapes at increasing rates?
When most folks think of GPS systems, the satellite-driven Earth Viewer mode comes to mind. Google Maps introduced Street View in 2007 and began attaching cameras to almost anything in motion.
Google Maps learned to see, and visionary organizations learn to see in similar ways. But could you imagine how long it could have taken for Google Maps to see without ground-level cameras?
The 30,000-Foot Perspective: Satellite View
Executives and investors generally view their organizations using the perspectives afforded by Earth Viewer mode equivalent. A 30,000-foot perspective gives CEOs an excellent view of the strategic direction and priorities, but this view often lacks the detail needed to push the vision forward.
It’s the difference between viewing the Brooklyn Queens Expressway cantilever (below) from a satellite, at street level, and using Immersive view. Each image provides a more granular picture of what’s going on.
The Ground-Level Perspective: Street View
Street View represents how the organization looks on ground level. This is what employees and managers see when navigating the business environment and bringing intel into the company. When stakeholders share ground-level perspectives through storytelling and reporting, executives gain a more nuanced picture of how the organization affects the lives of its customers.
It is impossible for 21st-century visionary leaders or founders to see in isolation. Leaders cannot see every detail. Some nuances are only visible from a ground-level perspective—the Street View. The leader’s job is to guide the team in making sense of what they see. Involving team members and listening to stakeholders are critical to the success of visionary leadership. Vision360 Leadership Principle 8 reflects this view.
Principle 8: Emergent and shared visioning practices are upending the top-down vision creation paradigm.
The Leadership Challenge
Many leaders cling to the outdated notion of the “all-knowing CEO” who single-handedly crafts and communicates a vision. While a 30,000-foot perspective is essential for understanding strategic direction, it’s incomplete without ground-level detail.
Ground-level insights—what employees, managers, and stakeholders see day-to-day—fill in the gaps and provide the necessary context to make the big picture actionable. Without these perspectives, the leader’s vision risks being out of touch with the realities of the organization’s operations and its customers’ needs.
Principle 8: Shared Visioning Practices
Visionary leadership isn’t about dictating a vision from the top; it’s about co-creating it with your team. Principle 8 shifts the traditional paradigm, focusing on emergent and collaborative visioning practices.
Here’s what this looks like in practice:
Earth Viewer Mode: The leader’s big-picture, strategic goals.
Street View: Detailed, ground-level insights from team members, customers, and stakeholders.
Integration: Combining these perspectives to create a holistic, actionable vision.
In Chapter 7 of Visionary Leadership, I describe how iterative visioning—done as a collective process—transforms organizations. Leaders become facilitators, helping their teams align diverse viewpoints into a cohesive whole.
Case Example: Shared Visioning in Action
Consider a rapidly growing nonprofit struggling to balance its expansion goals with its core mission. Leadership relied heavily on high-level metrics but missed key ground-level challenges experienced by their program managers.
Through a shared visioning workshop, we facilitated open storytelling and reporting from employees. Their insights highlighted inefficiencies in their operations and uncovered unaddressed community needs. By integrating this ground-level input into their strategic planning, the nonprofit refined its priorities and improved alignment across teams.
The result? A more focused mission, a more engaged workforce, and better service delivery to the community. This process reinforced the value of shared visioning—giving everyone a voice while maintaining strategic clarity.
Practical Tips for Leaders
Want to integrate Principle 8 into your leadership approach? Start here:
Create Space for Storytelling: Invite team members to share their experiences and observations. Their perspectives often reveal crucial details leaders can’t see from above.
Facilitate Collaborative Workshops: Use visioning exercises that include diverse stakeholders to generate buy-in and align efforts.
Balance Perspectives: Combine strategic priorities with the granular insights gained from the “Street View” to create a well-rounded vision.
Ask yourself: What ground-level perspectives could you invite into your visioning process this week?
Connecting to Vision360 Leadership Coaching
At Teaiiano Leadership Solutions, we specialize in helping leaders co-create vision through collaborative practices. Our workshops and coaching sessions empower teams to:
Combine big-picture thinking with ground-level insights.
Align diverse perspectives into a cohesive strategy.
Build engagement and buy-in at every level of the organization.
Here’s how you can get started today:
Closing Reflection
Visionary leadership is evolving. The image of a lone leader dictating vision is being replaced by a collaborative process that integrates perspectives from every level of the organization. By embracing shared visioning practices, you can create a future that resonates across your team and stakeholders.
Are you ready to broaden your organization’s perspective and co-create a vision that inspires?
Stay tuned for Principle 9 where we’ll explore how leaders can transform their organizations to avoid Vision-Culture Wars.
Visionary Leadership: A Guidebook for 21st Century Organizations and Entrepreneurial Teams introduces the Vision360 Leadership model—a framework crafted to help leaders and teams transform vision into reality. At Teaiiano Leadership Solutions, we integrate these principles into every aspect of our coaching, consulting, and leadership development to empower you to anticipate change, innovate with confidence, and achieve lasting success. You can purchase your copy of the book here to dive deeper into these transformative strategies, or explore more insights and resources at our home base: www.teaiiano.com.
Image Credit
GPS, Satellite, and Immersive views appear courtesy of Google Maps.
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