- 1. Honesty – Tell the truth; even if lying is easier – tell the truth. || “Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.” ~Thomas Jefferson
- 2. Integrity – Do what’s right; even if nobody is watching – do what’s right. || “There are seven things that will destroy us: Wealth without work; Pleasure without conscience; Knowledge without character; Religion without sacrifice; Politics without principle; Science without humanity; Business without ethics.” ~Mahatma Gandhi and I will add an 8th “Leadership without integrity.”
- 3. Visionary – Have some vision for where you’re going; empower your team to get you there and if you don’t do anything else – have some vision for where you are going. || “Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.” ~Thomas Jefferson
- 4. Self Awareness – Know who you are; the good, the bad and the ugly, know who you are. || “He who knows others is wise. He who knows himself is enlightened.” ~Lao Tzu
- 5. Risk Taker – Be willing to try new things, new strategies and embrace new ideas; even if the ideas aren’t yours – be willing to try new things, new strategies and embrace new ideas. || “Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” ~Harold R. McAlindon
- 6. Caring – Truly care about those you lead; people can care less about how much you know until they know how much you care – truly care about those you lead. || Great leadership is always less about the “leader” and more about the “ship” ~Scott Williams
- 7. Stand For Something – Lead by convictions; know why you do what you do and why you think what you think – lead by convictions. || “You must stick to your conviction, but be ready to abandon your assumptions.” ~Denis Waitley
- 8. Spirit Of Development – Develop other leaders; without leadership development, the pipeline of leadership is halted – develop other leaders. || “My main job was developing talent. I was a gardener providing water and other nourishment to our top 750 people. Of course, I had to pull out some weeds, too.” ~Jack Welch
- 9. Good Listener – Be willing to listen; if you’re always talking, there is a good chance you are not listening – be willing to listen. || “To listen well, is as powerful a means of influence as to talk well, and is as essential to all true conversation” ~Chinese Proverb
- 10. Lifetime Leaner – Learn from anything and everything; no matter how many degrees or titles you have, you always have the capacity to learn – learn from anything and everything. || “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” ~John F. Kennedy
- 11. Humility – Stay level-headed and don’t think that you’re better than others; no matter how much success, praise or fortune you receive, stay level-headed and don’t think that you’re better than others. || “Humility is the foundation of all the other virtues hence, in the soul in which this virtue does not exist there cannot be any other virtue except in mere appearance.” ~St. Augustine