Good leaders (good, as in “worthy,” not merely “effective”):
- shoulder, rather than shirk, responsibility.
- treat power and influence as entrustments, not entitlements, given by followers for the purpose of serving the common good.
- make tough calls for the sake of justice and compassion.
- honor principle more than popularity and personal conscience more than political calculation.
- follow an inner compass instead of yielding to external pressure.
- trust in the liberating power of dealing with reality and telling the truth.
- recognize that leadership is costly, pay the price for it, and resist the lure of unethically profiting from their role.
- own-up to their mistakes and wrongs, learn from them, and, wherever possible, repair the damage they have done.
- know that blame-shifting and scapegoating undermine their credibility and corrode their character.
- humbly admit what they don’t know and open themselves to the perspectives of other people, especially to people at the margins and on the edges.
- have a sense of gravitas—depth and weightiness of being and bearing, rather than shallowness and triviality—which shows up as dependability, dignity, and sound judgment.
- practice gratitude for the privilege of serving.
- love the people they lead.
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