I came across a sheet of paper this week that I used to keep under my desk pad at Laughlin/Constable. It was given to me 20 years ago by a client whose company had engaged a leadership-development training firm. The ideas on this single page shaped significantly my philosophy about effective leadership, and I want to share them with you.

The Basic Principles

1. Focus on the situation, issue, or behavior, not on the person.
2. Maintain the self-confidence and self-esteem of others.
3. Maintain constructive relationships with your employees, peers, and managers.
4. Take initiative to make things better.
5. Lead by example.

Good stuff, right? Because being a good leader these days isn’t as much about skill as it is about behaviors and attitudes that build trust and inspire others.

My effort to credit “The Basic Principles” to the firm that developed them required some research. I found the list, but only as a PDF document used by the College of Business at San José State University. And, again, no attribution. (If you’re familiar with the list and know of it’s origins, please let me know.)

I did, however, come across this article from Businessballs, a site run by Alan Chapman, in Leicester, England, that offers free ethical learning and development resources for people and organizations. It resonated with me because it strongly reaffirms “The Basic Principles” and expounds on the ideas of good leadership in the 21st century. It’s worth reading. And re-reading. I think you’ll find the material valuable whatever your role in an organization. It’s your lead.

Tags: human energy, leadership, leadership development, leadership skills, managing yourself, personal effectiveness

This entry was posted on Friday, August 27th, 2010. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.