The Leadership Manifesto

For the past 15 years, I’ve advised leaders on how to grow their organizations and increase their impact. I’ve had the great blessing to work with leaders from around the world, in businesses, governments, and non-profit organizations. While there are differences, the commonalities are what stand out.

Here are the twelve observations that I’ve made that are true in every leadership situation.

1. Leadership is a relationship. The quality of your relationships reflects the quality of your leadership.
2. You can only lead out of who you are. You cannot lead beyond who you are. Personal development is leadership development.
3. The ability to create and communicate vision differentiates leaders from everyone else. The ability to encourage and motivate others is what builds the loyalty of those you lead.
4. Conflict is good. It clarifies what is important to or what motivates those you lead. Use it to transform yourself, your team, and your organization.
5. The costs of deferred leadership will be paid and at a premium. Don’t kick cans down the road or hope answers will magically appear. Do your job and lead.
6. Most leaders put more time into choosing a perfect logo then clarifying a sound strategy. Spend your time and attention where it matters.
7. Planning without the habit of accountability means nothing. The ability and willingness to relentlessly execute and ruthlessly self-evaluate are trademarks of highly successful leaders.
8. Leadership without management is unsustainable and unscalable. Management without leadership creates stagnation. Neither is better than the other; both are interdependent if you hope to accomplish something worthwhile.
9. You’ve either got a knot in your rope or slack in your line. Most organizations are working hard but dramatically underperforming in contrast to their potential. Usually, the answer lies in untangling priorities or operations – or getting the right hands on the right line so they can pull together.
10. Many strong leaders fall victim to the reverse Peter Principle: Their success outgrows them. It doesn’t matter if you choose to keep growing yourself or know when to hand off the baton. But what it took to start a success isn’t what it’ll take to grow or sustain it. Smart leaders recognize this.
11. Trust limits success. Most teams and organizations have more potential and capacity than what they are trusted to pursue. Great leaders identify and deal with their trust issues.
12. People follow leaders. Despots drive them. People will follow a leader who cares about them, who they trust, and who they believe can solve problems. Follow through on the promise of your leadership. Take care of your people. It will become much easier to lead.

Take good care,

Christian

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