Chapter 3: Strategic Vision & Leadership Mindset

Introduction

There's a moment in every modernization journey that separates success from failure. It's not when you choose your technology stack. It's not when you kick off the first project. It's earlier than that—it's when your leadership team decides whether they're truly committed or just going through the motions.

I've sat in hundreds of boardrooms over my career, and I can tell within the first hour whether a modernization effort will succeed. How? By listening to how leaders talk about the transformation. Do they speak in terms of "IT's cloud project" or "our transformation to compete in the digital age"? Do they see it as a cost to be minimized or an investment to be maximized? Do they think it's something that can be delegated or something that requires their active leadership?

Here's the uncomfortable truth: most modernization failures aren't technical failures. They're leadership failures. Failed leadership in setting vision, failed leadership in managing change, failed leadership in modeling new behaviors, and failed leadership in sustaining commitment when things get hard.

This chapter is about what it really takes to lead modernization. We'll explore how to think big while acting fast, how to create a compelling vision that mobilizes your organization, the leadership principles that separate modern enterprises from legacy ones, and how to manage the human side of transformation—the change management that often gets overlooked until it's too late.

Thinking Big, Acting Fast

The Strategic Paradox

There's a fundamental tension at the heart of enterprise modernization: you need to think in years but act in weeks. You need a bold, transformational vision while also delivering tangible value quickly. You need to be patient with the journey while being impatient with progress.

Most organizations get this wrong in one of two ways:

The "Big Bang" Approach:

• Think big, act big
• Multi-year, multi-hundred-million dollar programs
• Everything depends on everything else
• No value until the end
• High risk, low learning
• Usually ends in disaster

The "Random Acts of Digital" Approach:

• Think small, act small
• Disconnected tactical projects
• No coherent strategy
• Small wins that don't add up
• Low risk, low impact
• Usually ends in frustration

What you need is a third way:

The "Think Big, Act Fast" Approach:

• Bold vision with incremental execution
• Strategic clarity with tactical flexibility
• Continuous value delivery
• High learning rate
• Managed risk with growing impact
• Usually ends in transformation

The Vision Horizon Framework

To think big while acting fast, you need clarity at multiple time horizons simultaneously. This is what I call the Vision Horizon Framework:

10-Year Aspiration: The North Star

• What does your industry look like?
• What role does your organization play?
• What capabilities do you have?
• This is your "think big" vision

3-Year Strategic Objective: The Mountain

• What must be true by year 3?
• What capabilities will you have built?
• What business results will you achieve?
• This is your strategic commitment

1-Year Theme: The Path

• What's your focus this year?
• What will you accomplish?
• How will you measure success?
• This is your annual organizing principle

Quarterly OKRs: The Steps

• What specific objectives this quarter?
• What key results will demonstrate progress?
• Who's accountable for what?
• This is your "act fast" execution

Bi-Weekly Sprints: The Momentum

• What ships this sprint?
• What gets validated?
• What gets learned?
• This is your rapid iteration

Real-World Example: Amazon's Vision Horizons

Let's look at how Amazon has consistently thought big while acting fast:

10-Year Vision (1997): "Earth's most customer-centric company"

3-Year Objectives (evolving):

• Late 1990s: Become the everything store
• Early 2000s: Build the infrastructure for e-commerce scale
• Mid 2000s: Monetize infrastructure as AWS
• 2010s: Own the customer interface (Alexa, Prime)

Annual Themes (examples):

• 2006: Launch AWS
• 2014: Alexa and Echo
• 2017: Whole Foods acquisition

Quarterly and Sprint Level: Amazon operates in "two-pizza teams" that ship continuously, with customer-facing innovations released constantly.

The result? A company that maintained a consistent long-term vision while continuously adapting and innovating at speed.

The Fast-Slow Matrix

Different aspects of modernization should move at different speeds. Understanding this prevents both the "paralysis by analysis" problem and the "move fast and break things" problem.

What Should Move Fast:

What Should Move Deliberately:

The Balance:

Enabling Fast Action: The Pre-Requisites

To act fast, you need the right foundations in place. Speed without foundation is just chaos.

1. Decision Rights Clarity

• Who can make what decisions?
• What's the escalation path?
• Where is approval needed vs. informed consent?

2. Resource Pre-Allocation

• Innovation budget committed upfront
• Team capacity reserved
• No need to fight for resources for every experiment

3. Acceptable Risk Boundaries

• Clear risk appetite
• What can fail safely?
• What requires more caution?

4. Rapid Feedback Mechanisms

• How do you know if something's working?
• Real-time metrics
• Fast learning loops

5. Kill Criteria

• When do you stop an initiative?
• No bad money after good
• Celebrate smart failures

Case Study: Spotify's "Think Big, Act Fast" Model

Spotify has mastered thinking big while acting fast through their squad model:

Big Thinking:

• Vision: Make audio ubiquitous
• Strategy: Become the platform for all audio
• Long-term bets: Podcasting, audiobooks, creator tools

Fast Acting:

• Autonomous squads ship independently
• No release trains—continuous deployment
• Experiments run constantly
• Features tested with subset of users
• A/B testing is standard practice

The Mechanism:

• Each squad has clear mission aligned to strategy
• Squads have full autonomy within boundaries
• Squads ship multiple times per day
• Learning shared across organization
• Quarterly bets reviewed and adjusted

Results:

• Ships thousands of changes weekly
• Maintains strategic coherence
• Responds rapidly to market changes
• Continuous innovation while scaling to 500M+ users

Creating a Vision for Modernization

Why Vision Matters

A compelling vision is not optional for modernization—it's essential. Here's why:

Vision provides:

1. Direction: Where are we going?
2. Motivation: Why should people care?
3. Decision Framework: How do we choose?
4. Persistence: Why keep going when it's hard?
5. Alignment: How do we stay coordinated?

Without vision, modernization becomes a series of disconnected technology projects that exhaust the organization without creating transformation.

The Anatomy of a Compelling Vision

A powerful modernization vision has four essential components:

1. Aspirational: It Inspires

• Paints a picture of a better future
• Appeals to emotions, not just logic
• Makes people want to be part of it
• Worth the difficulty of the journey

2. Clear: It's Understandable

• No jargon or buzzwords
• Specific enough to guide action
• Everyone can articulate it
• Creates mental image

3. Relevant: It Matters

• Addresses real problems
• Creates tangible value
• Resonates with all stakeholders
• Connects to organizational purpose

4. Achievable: It's Credible

• Ambitious but believable
• Path forward is visible
• Builds on existing strengths
• Resources can be mobilized

Vision Development Process

Creating a compelling modernization vision isn't a solo exercise—it requires input, iteration, and alignment.

The Vision Development Journey:

Step-by-Step Process:

1. Assess Current State (Weeks 1-2)

• Where are you today?
• What's working, what's not?
• What's the pain that drives change?
• What's the cost of not changing?

2. Understand Stakeholder Needs (Weeks 2-3)

• Customer expectations
• Employee frustrations
• Board concerns
• Partner requirements
• Competitor threats

3. Research Best Practices (Weeks 3-4)

• What are leaders doing?
• What can you learn from other industries?
• What's possible with modern capabilities?
• What are the emerging trends?

4. Draft Initial Vision (Week 4)

• Synthesize inputs
• Create 3-5 vision options
• Test internally with small group
• Refine based on feedback

5. Test and Refine (Weeks 5-6)

• Share with broader stakeholder group
• Listen for what resonates and what doesn't
• Identify concerns and objections
• Iterate based on feedback

6. Finalize and Communicate (Weeks 7-8)

• Lock in vision statement
• Develop supporting materials
• Create communication plan
• Begin cascade

Vision Communication Framework

A vision that lives only in a PowerPoint deck is worthless. It must be communicated relentlessly, in multiple formats, through multiple channels.

Multi-Channel Communication Strategy:

The Rule of Seven: People need to hear a message at least seven times, in different ways, before they internalize it. Plan for repetition.

Vision Examples: Good vs. Great

Let's contrast weak vision statements with powerful ones:

Weak Vision Examples:

❌ "Become a digital-first organization"

• Problem: Vague, jargon-filled, doesn't inspire

❌ "Migrate to the cloud by 2025"

• Problem: Technology-focused, no business value, arbitrary date

❌ "Improve customer experience through technology"

• Problem: Generic, could apply to anyone, no specificity

Strong Vision Examples:

✅ Domino's: "Become a technology company that happens to sell pizza"

• Why it works: Clear, provocative, aspirational, guides decisions

✅ DBS Bank: "Make banking joyful"

• Why it works: Emotional, customer-focused, memorable, transformational

✅ Microsoft (under Nadella): "Empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more"

• Why it works: Inspirational, inclusive, purpose-driven, guides strategy

✅ Nike: "Bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world" (+ "If you have a body, you're an athlete")

• Why it works: Expansive, inclusive, aspirational, human-centered

Crafting Your Vision Statement:

Use this template as a starting point:

"[Action verb] [who you serve] to [value created] through [how you're different]"

Example Applications:

"Enable every customer to manage their finances with confidence through AI-powered insights and seamless experiences" (Financial services)

"Transform patient care through real-time data and predictive analytics that keep people healthy, not just treat them when sick" (Healthcare)

"Connect every farmer to modern agricultural science through mobile technology and AI-driven advice" (AgTech)

Translating Vision to Strategy

Vision without strategy is hallucination. You need to translate your aspirational vision into concrete strategic priorities.

Vision-to-Strategy Translation:

Strategy House Framework:

The Leadership Principles Behind Modern Enterprises

From Manager to Leader of Modernization

Leading modernization requires a different leadership approach than managing steady-state operations. Let's explore the essential leadership principles.

Principle 1: Customer Obsession

What It Means: Every decision starts with the customer. Not what's convenient for the organization, not what the technology allows, not what you've always done—what creates customer value.

How It Shows Up:

• Leaders regularly engage with customers directly
• Customer data drives decisions, not opinions
• Customer impact is the first question in every discussion
• Organization rewards customer value creation

Leadership Behaviors:

• Spend time observing customers
• Read customer feedback weekly
• Require customer impact statements for all initiatives
• Celebrate customer wins, not just financial metrics

Case Example: Jeff Bezos' Empty Chair At Amazon, meetings include an empty chair representing the customer—the most important person in the room. This simple practice keeps customer focus tangible.

Anti-Pattern: Leader says "our customers aren't ready for that" without actually asking customers. Usually means "I'm not ready for that."

Principle 2: Long-Term Thinking

What It Means: Willing to sacrifice short-term metrics for long-term value creation. Investing in capabilities that won't pay off for years.

How It Shows Up:

• Multi-year investments in platforms and capabilities
• Accepting short-term costs for long-term advantages
• Patient capital allocation
• Metrics that balance short and long-term

Leadership Behaviors:

• Protect long-term investments from quarterly pressure
• Communicate long-term vision repeatedly
• Celebrate progress toward long-term goals
• Push back on short-term thinking

The Tension:

Case Example: Amazon's Patient Capital AWS was unprofitable for years. Most companies would have killed it. Amazon invested patiently because they saw the long-term potential. It's now the profit engine of the company.

Principle 3: Bias for Action

What It Means: Speed matters. Make decisions quickly, get started, learn fast, iterate. Perfect is the enemy of good enough.

How It Shows Up:

• Decisions made in hours/days, not weeks/months
• Two-way door decisions delegated
• Experimentation encouraged
• "Just start" mentality

Leadership Behaviors:

• Make decisions with 70% of information
• Say "let's try it and see" more than "let's study it more"
• Remove approval bottlenecks
• Celebrate fast learning, even from failures

Two-Way Door Decisions:

• Can be reversed if wrong
• Should be made quickly
• Should be delegated down
• Example: Which tool to pilot

One-Way Door Decisions:

• Can't be easily reversed
• Deserve more time
• Require senior leadership
• Example: Core platform selection

Anti-Pattern: Treating every decision like a one-way door. Requiring extensive analysis and multiple approvals for reversible decisions. Result: organizational paralysis.

Principle 4: Embrace Productive Failure

What It Means: Failure is inevitable in innovation. The goal isn't to avoid failure, but to fail fast, fail cheap, and learn quickly.

How It Shows Up:

• Experimentation is expected
• Intelligent failures are celebrated
• Learning is extracted from failures
• Failure is stigmatized only when ignored or repeated

Leadership Behaviors:

• Share your own failures
• Ask "what did we learn?" not "who screwed up?"
• Reward smart risk-taking
• Kill failures quickly (don't throw good money after bad)

Types of Failures:

Case Example: Amazon Fire Phone Amazon's Fire Phone was a spectacular failure—discontinued after one year, write-down of $170M. Jeff Bezos' response? "If you think that's a big failure, we're working on much bigger failures right now." The learning from Fire Phone informed Echo/Alexa, which succeeded massively.

Principle 5: Data-Driven Decision Making

What It Means: Decisions based on data, not highest-paid person's opinion (HiPPO). Test assumptions, measure outcomes, let data guide strategy.

How It Shows Up:

• Data democratization across organization
• A/B testing is standard practice
• Metrics drive discussions
• Gut feel is hypothesis, not conclusion

Leadership Behaviors:

• Ask "what does the data say?"
• Challenge assertions without data
• Invest in data infrastructure
• Model data-driven decision making

The Data-Driven Hierarchy:

Balance Needed: Data informs, doesn't dictate. Some decisions require judgment beyond data. The goal is "data-informed" not "data-dictated."

Principle 6: Hire and Develop the Best

What It Means: Talent is the primary competitive advantage. Relentlessly raise the bar on hiring, and invest heavily in development.

How It Shows Up:

• Leaders personally involved in hiring
• No tolerance for "acceptable" performance
• Significant investment in development
• High performers are challenged and stretched

Leadership Behaviors:

• Spend 30%+ of time on talent
• Personally interview key hires
• Have development plans for all high performers
• Make tough people decisions quickly

Talent Strategy for Modernization:

Case Example: Netflix's Talent Philosophy "Adequate performance gets a generous severance package." Sounds harsh, but creates environment where everyone is excellent, learning, and contributing. Result: Small teams accomplish what large teams can't.

Principle 7: Earn Trust

What It Means: Trust is the foundation of speed. Leaders earn trust through transparency, integrity, and delivery on commitments.

How It Shows Up:

• Radical transparency on progress and problems
• Leaders admit mistakes quickly
• Commitments are kept
• Bad news travels fast

Leadership Behaviors:

• Share both successes and failures
• Admit when you don't know
• Keep confidences
• Give credit, take blame

The Trust Equation:

Trust = (Credibility + Reliability + Intimacy) / Self-Orientation

• Credibility: Do you know what you're talking about?
• Reliability: Do you do what you say?
• Intimacy: Can people be vulnerable with you?
• Self-Orientation: Are you focused on them or yourself?

Building Trust in Modernization:

• Be honest about challenges
• Don't overpromise
• Show progress transparently
• Admit failures quickly
• Protect team members
• Share credit generously

Principle 8: Think Big

What It Means: Bold bets create disproportionate returns. Thinking small is often riskier than thinking big in times of disruption.

How It Shows Up:

• Ambitious goals that stretch organization
• Willingness to challenge industry norms
• Permission to imagine radically different futures
• Investment in transformational opportunities

Leadership Behaviors:

• Encourage bold thinking
• Don't shoot down big ideas quickly
• Ask "how could we?" not "why we can't"
• Protect big bets from incremental thinking

Big Thinking Examples:

Think Big vs. Reckless:

• Think Big: Bold vision + disciplined execution + learning
• Reckless: Bold vision + poor planning + ignoring data

The Modern Leadership Profile

Let's put it all together. What does a modern enterprise leader look like?

Modern Leader Characteristics:

Change Management and Overcoming Resistance

Why Modernization Fails: The Human Factor

Here's a sobering statistic: 70% of change initiatives fail. Not because of bad technology choices. Not because of insufficient budget. They fail because of people—specifically, because leaders underestimate the human dimension of change.

Common People-Related Failure Modes:

The Change Curve

Understanding the psychological journey people go through during change is essential for managing it effectively.

The Change Journey:

Leadership Actions by Stage:

Denial Stage:

• Create urgency
• Share competitive threats
• Make the case for change compelling
• Don't move forward until denial is broken

Resistance Stage:

• Listen to concerns (they're often valid)
• Address root causes, not symptoms
• Involve resisters in solutions
• Don't push harder—build trust

Exploration Stage:

• Provide safe spaces to learn
• Celebrate experimentation
• Share early wins
• Support, don't criticize stumbles

Commitment Stage:

• Reinforce new behaviors
• Remove old way as option
• Celebrate successes
• Build on momentum

The Stakeholder Engagement Matrix

Not everyone needs the same change management approach. Segment your stakeholders and tailor your strategy.

Stakeholder Segmentation:

Stakeholder Mapping:

The ADKAR Model for Individual Change

To create organizational change, you must create individual change. The ADKAR model provides a framework:

A - Awareness of the need for change

• Do people understand why change is necessary?
• Are they aware of the risks of not changing?
• Action: Communicate the burning platform

D - Desire to participate and support the change

• Do people want to change?
• What's in it for them?
• Action: Connect to personal motivations

K - Knowledge of how to change

• Do people know what to do differently?
• Do they understand the new way?
• Action: Provide training and resources

A - Ability to implement the change

• Can people actually do it?
• Do they have the tools and time?
• Action: Remove barriers, provide support

R - Reinforcement to sustain the change

• Are new behaviors sticking?
• Are old ways gone?
• Action: Recognize, reward, embed

ADKAR Diagnosis:

Overcoming Specific Resistance Patterns

Let's address the most common resistance patterns and how to overcome them.

Resistance Pattern 1: "We've always done it this way"

What's really being said: "I'm comfortable with the current way. Change is risky and uncomfortable."

How to address:

• Acknowledge past success while showing why it won't continue
• Share data on changing environment
• Connect to personal impact: "What happens if we don't change?"
• Start with small wins to build confidence

Resistance Pattern 2: "This too shall pass"

What's really being said: "I've seen many initiatives come and go. I'll just wait this one out too."

How to address:

• Demonstrate sustained commitment
• Make irreversible moves (e.g., decommission old systems)
• Connect to business strategy, not just IT project
• Show consistent leadership focus over months

Resistance Pattern 3: "Our industry/company is different"

What's really being said: "The complexity I deal with is unique and you don't understand it."

How to address:

• Acknowledge genuine uniqueness while challenging exceptionalism
• Show examples from similar contexts
• Involve skeptics in designing solutions
• Pilot in their area to prove it works

Resistance Pattern 4: "I'm too busy to change"

What's really being said: "This isn't a priority for me. My day job is overwhelming already."

How to address:

• Make space—take something off their plate
• Show how change will eventually reduce workload
• Provide dedicated time for learning
• Start small so it's not overwhelming

Resistance Pattern 5: "What about my job?"

What's really being said: "I'm afraid I'll become irrelevant or lose my job."

How to address:

• Be honest about impact
• Show growth opportunities in new world
• Invest in reskilling and development
• For those truly affected, treat with dignity and fairness

Resistance Pattern 6: "The technology isn't ready"

What's really being said: "I'm not ready. I'm afraid of looking incompetent."

How to address:

• Create safe learning environment
• Provide hands-on training
• Pair experienced with learners
• Celebrate learning, not just knowing

The Communication Cascade

Change management is 90% communication. Here's how to do it right.

Communication Principles:

1. Early and Often: Over-communicate by 10x what feels necessary
2. Multiple Channels: People absorb information differently
3. Two-Way: Listen as much as broadcast
4. Specific: Avoid vague statements, be concrete
5. Consistent: Same message from all leaders
6. Authentic: Real stories, honest challenges
7. Repetitive: Repeat key messages many times

Communication Plan Template:

The Town Hall Script:

Every modernization communication should answer these questions:

1. Why are we doing this? (The burning platform)
2. What's our vision? (Where we're going)
3. What does it mean for you? (Personal impact)
4. How will we get there? (The roadmap)
5. What do you need to do? (Call to action)
6. How can you get help? (Support available)
7. What questions do you have? (Two-way dialogue)

Building Change Capacity

Organizations have a finite capacity for change. Exceed it, and everything fails. Stay within it, and you progress steadily.

Signs of Change Exhaustion:

• Initiative fatigue: "Not another thing"
• Cynicism: "This won't last"
• Declining engagement scores
• Good people leaving
• Quality declining
• Deadline slipping
• Corners being cut

Building Change Capacity:

Change Capacity Management:

The Role of Middle Management

The most important and most overlooked group in change management is middle management. They're the crucial translation layer between leadership vision and frontline execution.

Why Middle Managers Make or Break Change:

• They interpret strategy for teams
• They model new behaviors daily
• They provide context and motivation
• They identify and solve obstacles
• They give feedback upward
• They sustain change after initial push

Middle Manager Support Framework:

1. Arm Them with Information

• Early access to information
• Deep understanding of strategy
• Honest assessment of challenges
• Tools to cascade communication

2. Build Their Capability

• Change leadership training
• Coaching and support
• Peer learning communities
• Access to experts

3. Give Them Authority

• Decision rights in their domain
• Resources to address issues
• Permission to adapt approach
• Backing when they make calls

4. Remove Their Obstacles

• Reduce conflicting priorities
• Provide air cover from above
• Give them time for change work
• Support tough conversations

5. Recognize Their Contribution

• Visible appreciation
• Career development opportunities
• Inclusion in leadership forums
• Storytelling about their impact

Case Study: ING's Agile Transformation

ING Bank transformed from traditional hierarchy to agile organization. Middle managers were the key:

The Challenge:

• 3,500 people needed to change how they work
• Middle managers feared loss of status/role
• Risk of passive or active resistance

The Approach:

• Redeployed all 3,500 people (including managers) to new roles
• Required everyone to reapply
• Trained managers extensively in new model
• Made managers coaches, not commanders
• Gave them new value proposition: develop people, not control them

The Result:

• 90% of managers successful in new roles
• Those who couldn't adapt left with dignity
• Transformation succeeded
• Middle management became champions

Putting It All Together: The Leadership Agenda

As we close this chapter, let's create a practical leadership agenda for the first 90 days of your modernization journey.

Days 1-30: Foundation

Week 1: Create Urgency

• Assess current state honestly
• Document burning platform
• Share competitive analysis
• Begin stakeholder mapping

Week 2: Form Coalition

• Identify champions
• Build core team
• Engage key skeptics
• Secure executive alignment

Week 3: Develop Vision

• Draft vision options
• Test with stakeholders
• Refine based on feedback
• Begin communication planning

Week 4: Communication Launch

• Launch vision broadly
• Town halls and forums
• Address questions and concerns
• Begin two-way dialogue

Days 31-60: Momentum

Week 5-6: Strategy Development

• Define strategic pillars
• Identify key initiatives
• Prioritize ruthlessly
• Allocate resources

Week 7-8: Quick Wins

• Launch pilot projects
• Create visible progress
• Share early successes
• Build momentum

Days 61-90: Acceleration

Week 9-10: Scale What Works

• Evaluate pilots
• Scale successful approaches
• Adjust what isn't working
• Expand engagement

Week 11-12: Build Capability

• Training and development
• Process improvements
• Remove obstacles
• Reinforce behaviors

The Ongoing Leadership Cadence:

Chapter Summary

Leading enterprise modernization requires a fundamentally different approach than managing steady-state operations. Success demands bold vision combined with rapid execution, strong change management, and unwavering leadership commitment.

Key Takeaways:

1. Think Big, Act Fast: Maintain a bold long-term vision while delivering value incrementally. Use the Vision Horizon Framework to maintain clarity at multiple time scales.

2. Vision is Essential: A compelling vision provides direction, motivation, and alignment. It must be aspirational, clear, relevant, and achievable.

3. Modern Leadership Principles: Customer obsession, long-term thinking, bias for action, embrace of productive failure, data-driven decisions, talent development, earning trust, and thinking big.

4. Change Management is Critical: 70% of change initiatives fail due to people factors. Understanding the change curve, segmenting stakeholders, and using frameworks like ADKAR are essential.

5. Communication is Key: Over-communicate by 10x, use multiple channels, make it two-way, and repeat key messages relentlessly.

6. Middle Managers Matter: They're the crucial translation layer. Arm them with information, build their capability, give them authority, remove obstacles, and recognize their contribution.

7. Change Capacity is Limited: Monitor organizational capacity for change and manage it actively. Too much change overwhelms; too little change is insufficient.

Reflection Questions:

1. Where are you on the Think Big, Act Fast spectrum? Too much big thinking with slow action, or too many small actions without strategic vision?

2. Is your modernization vision compelling enough to mobilize your organization through years of difficult change?

3. Which of the modern leadership principles do you personally excel at? Which need development?

4. What's the biggest source of resistance in your organization, and how will you address it?

5. Are you over or under your organizational change capacity?

6. How are you supporting your middle managers as change leaders?

In Part II, we'll shift from strategy to execution, exploring how to design and implement a practical modernization strategy that delivers results.

---

"Leadership is not about being in charge. It's about taking care of those in your charge." - Simon Sinek