TRUE LEADERSHIP

Principles and Leadership The world has produced incredibly successful leaders, each with varying styles, personalities and skill sets. With each of those I have studied, I found that their success has never been the result of their style of leadership, nor their personality or the many others attributes they may have possessed. There are many leaders who are charismatic and many who are not. There are some who are extroverts and some who are introverts; there are many who are articulate, visionary and popular. Others who are low key, humble, soft spoken, who stutter and would prefer to not draw attention to themselves, diverting it instead to others. Many were born with natural abilities and many have had to work extremely hard to learn key leadership skills along the way. Although important, I have also found that it is not the circumstances of the times that causes one to rise as a leader. After nearly three decades of observing and studying leaders and the art of leadership, I have uncovered three indisputable truths. 1) While anyone is capable of being a leader, not everyone should be. What is clear is that successful leadership seldom ever emerges from those who were placed in the position and simply given a title. Successful leaders earned the opportunity to lead based on the hard work and sacrifices they made which ultimately prepared them for the role. 2) Throughout any leader's tenure, their journey will include many ascents and descents. However, the successful leaders are able to rise to each occasion and more often than not, will succeed because of their ability to remain focused on the issue(s) they are confronting, maintaining a positive expectant attitude and a commitment to succeed. 3) The most important finding is that, regardless of the moment in time or the skills one possesses, without first adopting and adhering to a solid set of moral principles to guide you each step of the way, long term, even the best of skills and personal characteristics will be of little benefit. Principles can often take us to uncomfortable places we would rather not be. When having to address difficult situations, you’ll find that following your principles are seldom the easiest thing to do. Nonetheless, it is imperative that we follow them because they are the right thing to do. You’ll find that these Principles are indifferent to friendships, party affiliation, tribal ethos, nationalities, ethnicities or established organizational cultures. They are applicable to virtually any situation, whether minor or major and will point you towards the right decision. It was the commitment to each of these suggested principles that guided me and my staff in making difficult decisions, allowed us to feel confident in our stances and to withstand the stressful circumstances swirling around us and the harsh criticisms directed at us. Collectively, these principles served as our north star, allowing us to navigate through the rough waters of unforeseen circumstances. When considered in the broader context, any principles that you choose to adopt and embrace, must stress the importance of comporting yourself as a professional at all times, causes you to lead with core values that treat everyone with respect and dignity, embraces facts, truth and inclusiveness, provides consistency and honesty, exhibits an unwavering commitment to protecting and improving the quality of life for all within the jurisdiction you represent and building a committed workforce. These twelve principles provide you with the ability to achieve each of these expectations and more. They are ideal based on the challenge's leaders will have to confront over the next two decades. They will provide you with stability during these ever-changing and unpredictable times. Following each of these principles will transform your leadership style to that of a true leader. It will allow you to minimize many of the biases we each possess and allow you to focus your attention on what matters most, striving for excellence and leading by example. If you follow them, I can assure you, your workforce will enthusiastically follow you.