You might have the best instincts in the game, but any leader can lose sight of what’s important. And it’s not because you don’t have the right leadership traits, but because you’ve got a lot on your plate. One day you’re buried in meetings, the next you’re planning for a decade into the future, and somewhere in the chaos, the present gets fuzzy. This is where your leadership vision can really be tested.

But all is not lost. And in our Little Green Book of Company Development, we talk about a simple tool that takes leaders from blurry-eyed to 20/20 in no time. It’s called the three lenses of leadership vision.

They take the form of The Microscope, The Glasses, and The Binoculars, and when these leadership vision examples are used together, they can give you a unique, well-rounded leadership perspective.

The Microscope: The Devil in The Details

The Microscope lens is all about zooming in on the finer details of your organization. From systems to processes, numbers and reporting, we’re talking about the seemingly small, interlocking mechanics that keep everything running smoothly.

Understanding this lens of leadership vision means asking:

• Where are the bottlenecks that could be slowing things down?
• Is there friction in any structural processes?
• Are we doing what we said we’d do?

This kind of leadership focus helps you spot hairline cracks before they become gaping holes. It’s also where you’re likely to uncover some humbling truths. Like realizing that nobody has read your weekly report in six months. This might sting a little, but remember those stoicism in leadership lessons we covered back in May, and you’ll be just fine.

It’s also worth noting that if you spend too long in The Microscope, everything can start to feel urgent and personal. Every issue turns into a crisis, and every hiccup feels like the end of the world.

The only way around this is by zooming a little bit further out and popping on your favorite glasses.

The Glasses: Seeing the Here and Now

If The Microscope is the finer detail, The Glasses are the clarity of leadership vision you get from the present day. This lens is all about what’s happening in your organization right now, which means asking:

• Are people energized or exhausted?
• Are meetings meaningful or mind-numbing?
• Are priorities clear or confusing?

It’s the lens that keeps leaders honest and aware of the truth, rather than the version of events you want to be true.

It’s also the lens where most leaders spend most of their time, and rightfully so. Because The Glasses lens helps you stay grounded, connected, and realistic, and it’s where perspective in leadership can be strengthened. It also helps you plan based on reality, rather than assumptions.

However, even though this lens has its benefits, you shouldn’t spend all your time with your glasses on. Because sometimes, you need a strong pair of binoculars, instead.

The Binoculars: The Long View

Finally, we have The Binoculars, which is the lens of leadership vision defined over months and years rather than minutes and days.

Through your sturdy pair of leadership binoculars, you get to see what’s coming over the hill, such as:

• Where the organization could be heading
• What the market might look like in the future
• The capabilities you might need next

And perhaps most importantly, you’ll uncover the decisions you can make today that will make the biggest impact down the line.

As a result, this lens helps leaders define strategy, direction, and purpose in the long run, and it reconnects teams with meaning. This helps motivate people and stops work from feeling pointless.

Sounds rosy, doesn’t it? Well, don’t get too excited, because The Binoculars often come with distortion. Because if you stare too far into the future for too long, the present starts to fade, and the details get left behind. And then, before you know it, today feels like a distraction from tomorrow, and nothing really gets done to reach your goals.

Switching Between Lenses: Where Real Leadership Lives

Most leadership problems don’t come from a lack of vision or resilience. They come from getting stuck in the wrong lens.

Maybe you’ve zoomed too far into the details and forgotten the goal. Maybe you’re stuck in daily firefighting and can’t see past Friday. Or maybe you’re living in the future while things are falling apart today.

The leaders who get the most done have a well-rounded leadership perspective and move between lenses intentionally. This can mean using:

• The Microscope to fix what’s broken
• The Glasses to understand what’s real
• The Binoculars to stay focused on where you’re going

The moral of the story? Vision and leadership depend on a balance between all three lenses.

Find Out More

Leadership vision is a habit you can form and reinforce through intentionality. Giving you the ability to zoom in, zoom out, and see things from more angles, mastering it helps you become more effective as a leader.

Our Leadership Insight Scorecard can help you discover which lens you use the most, and which one might just unlock your next stage of growth. You can also check out our Stop Managing, Start Leading Podcast for more leadership insights that help you see more clearly.