I am researching the habits of leaders.  Self-discipline is critical to
a successful life and it takes self-discipline to develop the right habits.  Like they say, “You make your habits and your habits make you.”   In the spirit of the Wikinomics book, I am going to open up the discussion on habits for all.  Here is an article discussing some important leadership habits, but I think there are others.  Please read this list of leadership habits and add a habit and your thoughts.   All of us are on a leadership journey and I am curious on the habits we feel are essential to leadership.  The readers of this blog are the best! God Bless, Orrin Woodward

Many people are born leaders, yet the ability to lead is actually an art and an amazing collection of skills which can be learned and sharpened. The following top ten daily habits will help you and/or your clients grow as a leader personally, professionally, and spiritually.

1. Spend 30 minutes each morning looking for “cracks” in the major
areas of your life. 

Your depth of character is key to
determining your success as a leader. It is easy for us to say that we are “in
integrity,” but your actions are the real indicators of strength of character.

Spend 30 minutes each morning looking at the major areas of your life: career, marriage, family, community, and spirituality. Write down any instances where you see “cracks” (you have cut corners, something is inconsistent, you have not kept your word, you have been dishonest, etc.) Do all in your power to repair those cracks by apologizing and dealing with the consequences of your actions. After facing up to past actions, begin a plan that will rebuild you and prevent you from making further mistakes.

2. Show up and be ten minutes early for every appointment.

Great leaders show up for every appointment, and they are always on time. Each day, practice not only showing up but being ten minutes early for each and every appointment. “The early bird gets the worm” has never been so true than when it applies to becoming a great leader that others want to follow.

3. Be dedicated to a high level of learning.

Great leaders are highly competent, because they are dedicated to a high level of learning, growth, and improvement. Spend 15-30 minutes each day devoted to learning something new. Do not settle for knowing “how” to do something. Dig deeper by asking the question “why” and then, go find the answer. Search the internet, interview an expert, or take a day trip to find the answer to a question that is on your mind or the minds of those who follow you. 

4. Be simple and crystal clear in all communication.

As a leader, your communication should be simple, clean, and clear as a bell. Examine both written and verbal communication for simplicity and clarity. Use as few words as possible, and eliminate jargon and “big words” from your vocabulary. Express yourself in a way that your listeners can understand.

5. Surround yourself with great people.

One of the secrets of a great leader is great people. Hire the right staff, surround yourself with a strong inner circle, and spend time daily with people who have a variety of gifts. With the support of a strong circle of men, women and children, you will be ready for anything that comes your way.

6. Develop a sense of commitment and responsibility. 

People do not follow leaders who are not committed and responsible. Commitment and responsibility can be measured by the hours you spend and how you spend them, the money you spend and how you spend it, and by what you do for others. Spend 15 minutes each day analyzing your time, your checkbook, and your volunteer work. Look closely at how much time you spend with family and friends as compared to work, how you spend your money, and how you give back to the community. You may be very surprised at what you find.

7. Develop a positive attitude by altering your mind.

It is very possible to alter your attitude by altering your mind. Saturate yourself daily with motivational literature, positive people, and inspiring music/art. By conditioning your mind to be more positive on a daily basis, you will find that winning will be a daily reward of your life.

8. Accept responsibility.

Great leaders never play the role of a victim. They recognize that part of being a great leader is being ultimately responsible for all successes and failures. On a daily basis, analyze your current projects, and ask yourself “Have I done all that needs to be done? What have I not done that I should?” Once you have analyzed each project, if you find a weakness, go the extra mile by working extra hours, hiring an outside expert, or getting really creative to repair the weakness or to turn it into a success!

9. Make self-discipline a part of your lifestyle.

What do you need to develop self-discipline? Following a better diet or exercise routine? Getting up one hour earlier? Being rigorous with your spending? Learning something new every day? Eliminate excuse-making from your life, and begin to develop habits that will invite self-discipline to become the foundation of your life. Hire a coach to support you during the development of a routine of self-discipline, and remove rewards until the job is done!

10. Develop courage by facing fear.

By a show of courage, you will inspire others to follow and to walk in your footsteps. Spend 15-30 minutes each day doing something simply for the sake of developing courage: speak to an audience, make a difficult phone call, learn a new skill, write an article or a top ten, or visit someone you have always wanted to meet. As Eleanor Roosevelt acknowledged: “You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”

What has happened to our Leadership Blog is beyond comprehension.  I started this blog with little fanfare as a way to serve the greater leadership
community.  Through word of mouth and a concept called Six Degrees of Separation—this blog has exploded worldwide!  I can’t wait until mid-February, as I will be able to share the research I have compiled in several different areas.   The amount of countries reading and commenting (Some in other languages) has startled me.  There are 36 countries visiting our site daily to learn leadership development and life coaching.  Here are the daily
countries:

United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, India, Sweden, Germany, Haiti, Philippines, Netherlands, Bahamas, Poland, Hungary, Denmark, South Africa, Thailand, France, New Zealand, Indonesia, Singapore, Portugal, Norway, Greece, Turkey, Italy, Malaysia, Japan, Spain, Kenya, Bulgaria, Belgium, Ireland, Romania, United Arab Emirates, Mexico, Brazil

There are 28 countries visiting weekly to catch up on leadership and life coaching. Here is the weekly list of countries:

Saudi Arabia, Cameroon, Virgin Islands, U.S., Croatia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Russian Federation, Egypt, Pakistan, Malta, Oman, Bermuda, Austria, Czech Republic, Iran, Islamic Republic of, Afghanistan, Slovakia, Estonia, Chile, Taiwan, Ecuador, Cyprus, Korea, Republic of, Kuwait, Hong Kong,
Bangladesh, Latvia

There are other countries that I did not include because of minimal visits on our site.  Who knows what the future has in store as we build a worldwide
community.  I consider myself a Maven—someone who does research in many areas to save people time and money for all of our benefits.  Here is a portion of the Wiki definition for a Maven:

In recent years, economists have spent a great deal of time studying Mavens, for the obvious reason that if marketplaces depend on information, the people with the most information must be the most important. For example, sometimes when a supermarket wants to increase sales of a given product, they’ll put a promotion sticker in front of it, saying something like
“Everyday Low Price!” The price will stay the same. The product will just be
featured more prominently. When they do that, supermarkets find that invariably the sales of the product go through the roof, the same way they would if the product had actually been put on sale.

But if we’ll buy more of something even if the price hasn’t been lowered, then what’s to stop supermarkets from never lowering their prices? The answer is that although most of us don’t look at prices, every retailer knows that a very small number of people do, and if they find something amiss, a promotion, that’s not really a promotion they’ll do something about it. If a store tried to pull the sales stunt too often, these are the people who would figure it out and complain to management and tell their friends and acquaintances to avoid the store. These are the people who keep the marketplace honest. One name for them is “price vigilantes.” The other, more common, name for them is “Market Mavens.”

If I see something with a good value proposition, I will share with everyone.
If I discover misleading scams, unethical dealings, or poor character based leadership, I will expose this also.  The goal is to improve people’s lives by doing more of what is right and less of what is wrong.  Can you see how through this blog, we can all make a difference in our world?  Let’s build our leadership community and see what doors God’s Providence opens for us.  As to the future; all I can say is, “Bring it!”  God Bless, Orrin Woodward

I found this excellent article
about Michael Jordan.  MJ was one of the most enjoyable athletes to watch in any sport—he was a consummate professional
in his field.  From last minute heroics,
stellar defense or deft passing, Michael helped everyone on his team play better.  In fact, he even helped the opposing team play better because of his presence.   There is much we can learn from individuals
who accept nothing less than excellence in their life.  MJ is one of the greatest and we all should learn from his hunger to rise above the field. 

God Bless, Orrin Woodward

Growing up every body wanted to be like Mike. Kids would wear Michael Jordan shoes in the hopes that some of his magic might rub off onto them. No
other man in history has been able to single handedly shape a game as Michael
Jordan did in his career. He was one of the most fiercest competitors to ever
grace the courts and as a result dominated the game like no one else in history.

His sporting achievements read like a dream list, winning 6 NBA championships, 10-time All-NBA First Team, Defensive Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, 14-time All-Star, two time Olympic gold medalist, countless MVP’s to his credit and inducted as one of 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. There is no question that Jordan was a winner, here are some timeless lessons we can learn from his legacy:

1. Winners Aren’t Afraid To Fail

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan

Jordan ended his amazingly stellar career with a field goal shooting average of 0.497%. Imagine one of the greatest players in history missing nearly one in every two of his shots, some of which were no doubt in pivotal moments of the game and even potential game winners. Most people make decisions in their life as if one misstep or setback would cause their house of cards to come crumbling down beneath their feet. They fear failure, fear letting down their friends or family, fear what others might think about them, fear the consequences of their actions and thus visualize the worst case scenarios in their mind.

Winners are those rare individuals who in spite of all odds, choose to put their hand up for that game winning shot and whether they make the basket or not, know that they put 100% into that moment. The difference between hero and villain is a fine line and winners know the highs and lows of both. To be given the responsibility and the privilege like Jordan did over and over again in his
career to take the game winning shot you must prepare the best you can, live the best you can and believe in every ounce of your ability. Winners don’t just rely on blind faith and see failure as a lesson to learn from. Failure is one of
life’s greatest teachers and if you but embrace those lessons you will be
stronger for it.

2. Winners Work Harder And Smarter

“I’ve always believed that if you put in the work, the results will come. I don’t do things half-heartedly. Because I know if I do, then I can expect half-hearted results.” – Michael Jordan

It is always surprising to hear people who talk about achieving success in their field, instead of being willing to put in the hard work they look for short cuts. They look to gain as much as they can by working as little as they can. To look for shortcuts is a fools game, no one ever achieved excellence in any great undertaking by subscribing to the ethic of laziness. Jordan was cut from the varsity team as a sophomore during his time at Laney High School in Wilmington. “Whenever I was working out and got tired and figured I ought to stop, I’d close my eyes and see that list in the locker room without my name on it,” Jordan said, “and that usually got me going again.” He eventually made the team and led it to the state championship.

At age 35 he was still working harder than most of the players half his age, and he was still out maneuvering them on the basketball courts. He out hustled, out played, and out skilled his contemporaries a fraction of his age. Jordan’s secret was his work ethic was like no other, even at an age where he had already proved he was the greatest living basketball player, he still worked harder than everyone else to continue to develop his game.

3. Winners Rise Above The Low Expectation Of Others

“If you accept the expectations of others, especially negative ones, then you never will change the outcome.” – Michael Jordan

You have to be willing to rise about the mediocrity of your peers and critics. Mediocrity is a disease that takes hold on those who aren’t strong enough to hold onto their dreams, who don’t have enough belief in them self or too scared to rise above the crowd. When Jordan was cut from the Varsity team
in high school, he was relegated to playing for the Junior Varsity team and
worked on his skills during the summer with his brother. He spent that year
developing his skills and honing his craft earning him a spot in the varsity
team a year later. The rest is history. If he was to have believed that he
wasn’t good enough like his coach then imagine history without
Jordan jumping through the air and making impossible jump shots. Winners aren’t confined to the domain of the most gifted, the most talented or the one with the most opportunities and resources. At the end of the day winners are the ones who rise above everybody else’s thinking and believes in themselves. They pay the price to become the best.

4. Winners Love What They Do

“Even when I’m old and grey, I won’t be able to play it, but I’ll still love the game.” – Michael Jordan

It doesn’t take a genius to work out that Jordan loved the game. Basketball for
Jordan was something that brought him joy and fulfillment. He played basketball as a young kid with his father and older brother way before his skills and talents were even known. He worked hard to follow his passion even when obstacles were presented in his path. The path to greatness is all uphill and if you aren’t doing something your passionate about then that road uphill very quickly becomes a grinding slog. Life is too short to slog your way through life, if you know the path is uphill then at least find something that you love to do so that you can have fun while doing it.

5. Winners Are In It To Win

“I play to win, whether during practice or a real game. And I will not let anything get in the way of me and my competitive enthusiasm to win.” – Michael Jordan

Jordan might be considered an over achiever, but he wasn’t sweating it out week in week out to just be in the game. Jordan’s tenacity and drive to win is
what fueled much of his devotion to the game and his outstanding record of
success was the scorecard. He pushed his body to it’s limit so that he could see
what it was possible in achieving. Sure you might argue that it’s just a game,
it’s not like world peace is at stake but what separates winners from losers is
their willingness to get off the sideline and play all in. They dedicate
themselves to an undertaking of excellence in everything they do and commit to a path forged with professionalism.

6. Winners Overcome Obstacles In Their Path

“If you’re trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I’ve had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.” – Michael Jordan

It is amazing how often people quit at the first sign of defeat. Instead of pushing through that defeat they see it as some sort of sign that this path was not theirs to begin with and go seeking another path for their life. The problem is that these people never stick to one thing long enough for success to sprout. They dabble at this and dabble at that and achieve mastery at nothing in life. Obstacles are put on your path to challenge you to rise to a whole new level, a level often time you didn’t even knew existed in your human potential. Obstacles give you a reason to strive further, work harder and find that inner strength that each and everyone of us possess if we just are willing to tap into it.

7. Winners Make Things Happen

“Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.” – Michael Jordan

Opportunities don’t magically fall into your lap, you have to create those opportunities. Winners are proactive with their dreams, they are willing to do what the loser’s only dream about. Instead of complaining, getting upset or trying to explain why things didn’t happen for you, stand up and take charge of your destiny. Shape it the way you want, if one door closes, work twice as hard till the next door opens. You can turn around your life today if you just subscribe to the winners mindset that all things are possible if you put your mind to it. Jordan revolutionized the game of basketball, he created what to mere mortals look like impossible shots from impossible angles.

He dazzled professional athletes by making them look amateurish by dribbling around them and pulling out jump shots. Jordan devoted his life to mastering
his craft and created shots that generations to come would emulate. He didn’t
just play the game, he created the game as he went and defined the game.

I found a Q&A session with Jim Collins in Fortune Magazine.  Jim Collins is the author of Good to Great which is one of my favorite all time leadership books.  I believe the Team leaders display many of the Good to Great principles.  One question describes the importance of building the right team before building the right business.  The more I read about the future of business the more excited I am to be involved with the Team leadership!  Here is the article’s questions.  God Bless,
Orrin Woodward

If you were to offer advice to a beginning entrepreneur, what would it be? –Francisco Romero, Albuquerque

First, don’t obsess on finding the “great idea.” In fact, our research shows a somewhat negative correlation between
pioneering a great idea and building a great company. Many of the greatest
started with either no great idea or even failed ideas.

Sony (Charts) started with a failed rice cooker. Marriott (Charts) started as a single root beer stand. Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard’s great idea was simply to work together – two best friends who trusted each other – while their first four products failed to get the company out of the garage.

They followed the “first who” approach to entrepreneurship: First figure out your partners, then figure out what ideas to pursue. The most important thing isn’t the market you target, the product you develop or the financing, but the founding team.

Starting a company is like scaling an unclimbed face – you don’t know what the mountain will throw at you, so you must pick the right partners, who share your values, on whom you can depend, and who can adapt.

“Good to Great” looked at companies with long track records. How do the ideas in the book apply to disruptive startup companies, like YouTube or Google (Charts)? –George Kim, Washington, D.C.

My colleague Morten Hansen and I are nearing completion of six years of research studying companies that went from startup to greatness in environments characterized by turbulent disruption. We’ve deliberately selected entrepreneurial companies in the most severely disruptive industries, using the following analogy: If you wake up in the security of base camp and a storm moves in, you’ll probably be fine. But if you find yourself at 27,000 feet on the side of Mount Everest, where the storms are faster moving and unpredictable, a storm just might kill you. Most leaders today feel they are moving higher on the mountain, whether in Google’s world or traditional industries, and we want to know, Why do some prevail from vulnerability to greatness in the face of turbulent disruption, while others don’t?

Most founders fail to become effective managers after the companies they started become too large for them to control. However, a few, such as Bill Gates, managed to grow into top-tier CEOs. What are the distinguishing factors between the transformed entrepreneurs and others? –Haimu Sun, Evanston,
Ill.

It’s simply a myth that entrepreneurs can’t evolve into company builders. Our research shows quite the opposite: In great companies the entrepreneurs generally grow as the company grows.

Here is a short list of those who evolved into company builders: Henry Ford, Sam Walton, Hewlett and Packard, J.W. Marriott, Sony’s Akio Morita, Walt Disney, Intel’s Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore, Southwest Airlines’ Herb Kelleher, and of course Gates and Phil Knight. They made the shift from time telling to clock building – to seeing their primary creation as the company itself: what it stands for, its culture and how it operates.

If forced to choose just one, what do you feel is the most important quality in a successful business leader? –John Mierzwa, Las Vegas

Willful humility. The best CEOs in our research display tremendous ambition for their company combined with the stoic will to do whatever it takes, no matter how brutal (within the bounds of the company’s core values), to make the company great. Yet at the same time they display a remarkable humility about themselves, ascribing much of their own success to luck, discipline and preparation rather than personal genius. 

Do you find that the leaders of great companies are less likely to be paid excessively, but more consistently with the others in their organization? –Bill Maltarich, Bonita Springs, Fla. 

Our research found no correlation between executive compensation and shareholder returns. Excessive executive pay tends to lead to one thing: even more excessive pay, not increased shareholder value.

What is the subject of your next book, and when is it due out? –Michael Sharrow, San Antonio 

I haven’t yet decided on my next book. I’ve got the two big research questions in late stages: “great to good,” which I’m writing up now, and the turbulent-disruption research. One of those might become a book, but my first focus is to make sure we successfully answer the questions we set out to answer.

PEER QUESTION

Jeff Sonnenfeld, founder of the Chief Executive Leadership Institute and professor at Yale University School of Management

The quest for greatness that you’ve studied fits well in America’s tradition of
success-absorbed self-improvement wisdom ranging from Benjamin Franklin to
Stephen Covey. Do you think we should also focus on the wisdom from failure?

Thanks, Jeff. I appreciate the question, because it gives me a chance to correct a common misinterpretation of our work. Our research is not based on studying success. We study the contrast between highly successful and less successful outcomes. We put as much weight on those that failed to achieve (or sustain) great results as on those that did, asking the question “What principles explain the difference between the successes and the failures?”

We’ll be releasing the results of a new piece of research that examines the inverse of “good to great” – namely, “great to good”: Why do some great companies fall and not others?

I was reading the introduction to a book of quotes on wisdom and was impressed by a page called, “What This Book Will Do for You.”   I want to share with you the thoughts, but change it slightly to make it fit Chris Brady and my leadership blogs.  This introduction captures the essence of why Chris and I write blogs and books.   Here it is:

This self-help leadership blog will give
you a priceless liberal (old meaning of liberal, meaning well rounded in classic literature and thought) education, and it includes the prescriptions for successful living.  Here is a blog that will stimulate your thinking and help you to be successful in your work, your study, and in your everyday living.  The
prescriptions spelled out in these pages, will, if followed, help develop your
inner qualities, for that is where your real wealth is.

Employ your time in improving yourself by other men’s writings so that you shall come easily by what others have labored hard for. – Socrates

This blog is compiled and written for the express purpose of condensing the best thoughts and advice of the greatest men and women in history in the hope that their distilled wisdom will be a guide to inspire you to build a solid bedrock foundation for a better, nobler life. This leadership blog contains some of the most powerful and persuasive utterances of man—words that will inspire, help and delight you.

The short sayings of wise and good men are of great value.  They are like the
dust of gold or the sparkle of the diamond. – Tolstoy

Through the centuries great men and women have stood out like the beacons of a lighthouse to guide and enrich their fellows.  The examples of these greats
live on through the years; everyone can benefit by the trails they have blazed
toward a better life.  No person is great in and of themselves; they must touch the lives of other great beings who will inspire them, lift them, and push them forward.

He is a rich man who can avail himself of all men’s faculties. – Emerson

This leadership blog of wise sayings was undertaken in the belief that there was a need for a blog of practical, everyday, usable sayings, thoughts and articles—that would help modern man develop his full potential and be the person they are capable of being.  If we are to be highly successful in life, we
must look backward to learn from the experience of the greatest minds of the
past, and then apply this wisdom to the greatest fulfillment of our everyday
living.  The experience of the sages coupled with our own gives us the unbeatable combination to reach our worthy goals.

The wisdom of the wise and the experience of the ages are perpetuated by quotation. – Disraeli

Isn’t that a phenomenal introduction of why a leadership blog?  It was so good I had to share it!  Let’s develop and apply wisdom together, so we can make a difference.  God Bless, Orrin Woodward

Here is a great article by John C. Maxwell from one of my favorite leadership books – 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.  This ties right in with the quote, “Example isn’t everything, it is the only thing.”    John has some phenomenal points to contemplate on your leadership journey.   John’s article agrees perfectly with Chris Brady and my thoughts in the best selling book, Launching a Leadership Revolution.  This proves that leadership is leadership in any area and when you learn to lead—you are invaluable to any business. 

This fall I had a rare opportunity to update and revise a book I wrote 10 years ago. When I wrote The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, I attempted to share everything I knew about leading people by teaching the timeless principles I had discovered. The book became very popular, appeared on The New York Times best-seller list and remained on the Business Week best-seller list for nearly two years. It is by far the book I’m best known for.

However, not long after the book was published and I began teaching the leadership laws internationally, I realized that I had left out a couple of very important concepts. When my publisher, Thomas Nelson, invited me to revise the book, I jumped at the chance. I had learned so much in those 10 years, and I wanted to share it. What began as a minor update turned into a major revision in which I rewrote about 70% of the book.

One of the concepts I included in the new edition is something I call “The Law of the Picture: People Do What People See.” It deals with the importance of the examples leaders give to their people. You see, good leaders must communicate vision clearly, creatively, and continually. However, the vision doesn’t come alive until the leader models it.

Good leaders are aware that others do what they do. And they always keep in mind that:

1. Followers are Always Watching What Leaders Do

If you are a parent, you have probably already realized that your children are always watching what you do. And just as children watch their parents and emulate their behavior, so do employees who are watching their bosses. If the bosses come in late, then employees feel like they can, too. If the boss cuts corners, employees cut corners. People do what people see.

Followers may doubt what their leaders say, but they usually believe what they do. And they imitate it. Former U.S. Army General and Secretary of State Colin Powell observed, “You can issue all the memos and give all the motivational speeches you want, but if the rest of the people in your organization don’t see you putting forth your very best effort every single day, they won’t either.”

2. It’s Easier to Teach What’s Right than to Do What’s Right

Mark Twain quipped, “To do what is right is wonderful. To teach what is right is even more wonderful — and much easier.” That’s one of the reasons why many parents (and bosses) say, “Do as I say, not as I do.”

One of my earliest challenges as a leader was to raise my living to the level of my teaching. I can still remember the day I decided that I would not teach anything I did not try to live out myself. That was a tough decision, but as a young leader I was learning to embrace the Law of the Picture. Norman Vincent Peale said, “Nothing is more confusing than people who give good advice but set a bad example.” I say, “Nothing is more convincing than people who give good advice and set a good example.”

3. We Should Work on Changing Ourselves Before Trying to Improve Others

Leaders are responsible for the performance of their people. The buck stops with them. Accordingly, they monitor their people’s progress, give them direction, and hold them accountable. And to improve the performance of the team, leaders must act as change agents. However, a great danger to good leadership is the temptation to try to change others without first making changes to yourself.

As a leader, the first person I need to lead is me. The first person that I should try to change is me. My standards of excellence should be higher for myself than those I set for others. To remain a credible leader, I must always work first, hardest, and longest on changing myself. This is neither easy nor natural, but it is essential.

4. The Most Valuable Gift a Leader Can Give is Being a Good Example

A survey conducted by Opinion Research Corp. for Ajilon Finance asked American workers to select the one trait that was most important for a person to lead them. Ranked No. 1, with 26% of votes, was leading by example. Second, at 19%, was strong ethics or morals. More than anything else, employees want leaders whose beliefs and actions line up.

Leadership is more caught than taught. How does one “catch” leadership? By watching good leaders in action!

So as you approach the end of the calendar year and start thinking about the performance of the people you lead, stop for a moment of honest reflection and ask yourself this question: What kind of example am I setting? If you’re setting a high standard for integrity, competence, work ethic, and professional growth, if you’re being all that you desire your people to be, then you’re setting up yourself, your people, and your organization for success. If not, you need to make some changes.

Assignment: Are you leading with character and integrity?  Would you want 100 people in your community who lead, act and respond exactly like you do?   For 2008, what areas of leadership will you personally improve in the most?

I have been asked by many to comment on this year’s presidential elections.  I can certainly comment on the principles involved and share some of the major issues with you.  Because I am constantly thinking about the future and reading about the past—I am not the best guy to talk to about current events.   I will not be recommending a candidate for you to vote for, but I will share the principles for you to analyze each candidate by.  For the sake of clear writing I will not place he/she every time it is needed, but I do recognize the president can be either a man or woman.

When I look for a leader of the most powerful country in the world—I look for four major things:

1. Does the candidate believe in God and understand the blessings this nation has enjoyed because of our faith in God? 
2. Does the candidate have a proven track record of personal and professional integrity and character? 
3. Does the candidate believe that a free people not a controlling government is responsible for our economic blessings?
4. Can the candidate lead people and supply a principle-based vision for America?

There are many subsections to each of these four points that I will expound on over several post.   Let’s start with the candidate’s Faith.  Faith in the Biblical God will shape a person’s world-view and how he or she sees people.  If people are made in God’s image, then they have God given rights and responsibilities and the president ensures justice for the game of life.  If people are merely higher forms of animals, then they have no inherent rights or responsibilities and the president is more of a zoo keeper.   The president’s world-view will affect every decision he will make during the presidency.  I am surprised that more people do not study the leader’s world view before supporting them.   What could be more important than understanding how he will weigh the pros and cons of every issue he confronts?

What is a world-view?  Francis Schaeffer in his classic, How Should We Then Live described a world-view as a grid:

People have presuppositions, and they will live more consistently on the basis of these presuppositions than even they themselves may realize. By presuppositions we mean the basic way an individual looks at life, his basic world-view, the grid through which he sees the world. Presuppositions rest upon that which a person considers to be the truth of what exists. People’s presuppositions lay a grid for all they bring forth into the external world. Their presuppositions also provide the basis for their values and therefore the basis for their decisions.

Can you see why a person’s world-view would be critical in analyzing whether to vote for them?  When I meet new people, my goal is to get to know them.  I do this by asking questions and listening to determine their world-view.  In order to lead people, you must know where a person wishes to go and where they are starting from.  I believe all mentoring breaks down to: determining a person’s current world-view, determining what a person wishes to accomplish, and determining the world-view necessary for them to achieve their goals and dreams.  In several future post, we will delve into each of the four bullet points and develop a grid to analyze the candidates.  God Bless, Orrin Woodward