Leadership Lists
We’ve all seen them. Some of us have written them. I’m talking about lists…not grocery lists or to-do lists. I’m talking about the tenets of leadership lists.
I love reading other people’s tenets of leadership lists. I like what those lists allow me to learn about the people who wrote them. The lists give a real insight into the kind of leader these people are.
I’m constantly working on my tenets of leadership list – I hope you are too. I’ll share a few of my tenets here. However, I encourage you to read two other recent blog postings I’ve read to see what others think are important leadership tenets. The first is 16 Ways to be the Leader of Choice. Interesting title for that blog. I must admit I really like a few of these tenets (some of which closely align with some of mine).
For example:
- Choose meaningful goals. I suppose this is obvious. However, if a leader’s goals aren’t meaningful, who will follow them?
- Respect others. Absolutely critical in leadership. The caveat is you can’t ask for or “demand” respect. You have to earn it.
- Sacrifice for the benefit of others. I love this one. Putting others first is one of my tenets.
- Have enough ego to aspire to leadership but not so much that you forget leadership is about service. I laughed when I read this. Not because I don’t agree with it – I do. But I just thought of all the “leaders” I have known who were egomaniacs and thought leadership was about being served, not serving others.
The other leadership blog I read recently was about former North Carolina basketball coach, Dean Smith, who passed away this week. I have always liked North Carolina basketball. Perhaps it was because of Michael Jordan and that unbelievable shot he made as a freshman in the National Championship game. Or perhaps it was because Dean Smith attended the University of Kansas, my alma mater, where he learned basketball from the best ever – Phog Allen. Read the blog posting here. I think you’ll agree Dean Smith was a great coach, mentor, and leader.
So, what are some of my leadership tenets? Here are a few:
- Always do what’s right.
- Put others before yourself.
- When possible, lead by example. When not, don’t lead.
- Be a caring servant of others every day.
- Commit yourself to your goals.
They are still a work in progress. I hope you find some you can use.
Hi Rick,
I really liked what you wrote and I really enjoyed reading your article. Lately, I’ve been finding myself helping out a a friend along with my husband and son by giving them some encouraging words of inspiratiion. I don’t know if you knew this but just recently back at the beginning of November, my husband had lost his dad. He was living all by himself in Lisle. He was falling a lot. Then my son last Friday, thought that one of his best friends was severely injured. But both, my son and another one of his best friends had learned that it was false. The boy that started the terrible rumor was trying to split my sons’ friendship up with the two best freinds if that makes any sense.
Another wonderful thing that my husband and I did along with our son did, was we took in one of our friends from high school. Her name is Janet. Janet went to a different high school. My husband and I met her when we were going to DAVEA. We had lost contact with her sometime before I had graduated high school. It had been 23 years since we found her. I had found her on fb. She has been living with us ever since. She was married and has no kids. She is now divorced. Let’s just say, the main reason why she is living with us is because her ex- husband had taken all of her money from her account(s) to start up his own business and us it for whatever his other reasons were and she didn’t have anyother place to go.
In closing, I found your article to be an inspirtation.
Good luck to you.
Blessings to you.
Angie “Scifo” Garner :- D