I don't know about you but I have thoroughly enjoyed looking at and exploring the characteristics/traits of 'Great Leaders'! One of the aspects that I enjoyed the most was thinking back over the 'Leaders' in my life, particular situations they encountered and how they handled them. Over and over again I was able to pull from my 'memory' banks situations where these individuals conducted themselves personally or professionally in a way that 'demonstrated' these differing traits, first hand. These people didn't just talk-the-talk......they absolutely walked-the-walk!!!!!!

I guess the amazing piece of these traits to me has to be the 'fluidity' of how they all work and flow together. The 'connectedness', 'interwoveness' and 'interdependence' of each characteristic is truly incredible. What is equally intriguing is how 'Great Leaders' are so intuitive, they just seem to 'feel/know' when to use one trait or another or a combination of several of them at once. There is truly something almost magical or mystical about watching these types of people operate. Again, I know they are not perfect, they make mistakes too.... but the difference with these individuals is they are willing to 'embrace' trait number six above and not hide behind excuses or some 'false bravado'.

For a moment study all eleven of the traits above, re-read them right now and then contemplate this: Study and visualize how 'interconnected' and 'interwoven' they all are. Then I would like you to re-play events/situations in your life where you were around a 'Great Leader' and watched them handle a difficult decision/situation with an almost flawless ease!.........Do you notice and see the 'interconnectedness' of these traits in operation; how it just seems like one trait supports another which supports another right down the line.  

As I established a few paragraphs ago, what is also amazing is watching the absolute 'fluidity' with which these individuals glide back and forth between these traits. They combine traits when needed and seem to almost intuitively sense in which direction an individual or the team needs to move, right at the most opportune time. Athletes call it being 'In the Zone' but that is what it is like being around and working with someone who lives by and embraces these traits. Which in turn is why we RESPECT them so much, enjoy being around them, working with them, being their friends........and yes it is also 'why' we follow them too! 

We started our discussion eleven posts ago with the thought that 'Great Leaders' have as their foundation of strength, a deep 'Authenticity', a need and desire to 'live' true to their core. We also established that when you endeavor to live from your core, it seems to also create a natural style and flow to your life that is ultimately transferred into how you act/conduct yourself, personally and professionally. The beauty of being around people like this is not that we will always agree with them or see things the way they see them. The beauty is the natural trust and respect that we have for them because deep down we know.....in our heart-of-hearts....that they are doing their absolute best to be 'Authentic'.....true to their core and beliefs.......and we also know, that's all we can ever ask of ourselves and others! 

Before I conclude I want to dedicate this post to a 'Great Leader'  who I am proud to have worked with, learned from, but I am most proud to call him 'My Friend'. His name is David MacPherson and I have know David for almost twenty years. As many of you know in the early and mid-nineties I spent seven years working for 'Franklin-Covey' as an instructor. David was one of their 'Senior Consultants' when I joined FC. Shortly after joining FC I went to my first Trainer's Conference' where I was the new kid on the block, didn't know a soul and I have to say, showing up to the conference as a 'newby' was very intimidating and a little unnerving.

After the first day of the conference with no evening activities planned I wandered over to the bar to see if anyone was in there. I can remember being so hesitant and literally 'peaking' around the corner to see if any of the other consultants were there. I spotted two men sitting at the bar who I thought I recognized from the conference however I didn't know them or their names. One of them happened to be David and as I 'peaked' in he happened to look up and see me. Instantly David signalled me to come in, introduced himself and asked me to join them for a glass of wine. Little did I know at that moment that this would be the beginning of a wonderful mentorship and also turn into a lifelong friendship.

Six years later David left FC to pursue other ventures and shortly afterward I left also and that is when I formed 'Holland Meads Consulting'. David and I kept in touch every now and then but like all things; time, distance and being busy with life we fell out of touch. Yesterday I was in my office when my phone rang and the caller ID said a cell phone from Ohio. I thought, who in the world is calling me from Ohio and was busy so the call went to voice-mail. How surprised was I when I checked the message and I heard David's voice. I called him back immediately and we talked for the next ninety minutes.

We talked about life, caught up on a whole lot of things and laughed ourselves to death. It was like 'old times' and I felt like we didn't miss a beat.......I guess that is what it means to be great friends........you may not talk for a while but when you do, catching back up is easy! I know this for a fact, I haven't laughed that long and that loud in forever. We exchanged email addresses and phone numbers and made a pact to get together soon. What does all this have to do with Great Leadership and how does David fit into this picture.

Several ways; first, we have talked about True Leaders being AUTHENTIC to the core and I will tell you this........there isn't a more 'Authentic, True to the Core' person than David. Secondly, we talked about Leaders being very intuitive and in touch with their 'gut'. I asked David why he called me and he said: 'I received a brochure the other day from 'Holland Cruise Lines' and I thought of you. I just felt I needed to 'Google' you and see if I could find you and get in touch.' He went on to say: 'I typed in your name and bam.......there was your web-site. Once I found that I had to call you, re-connect and see how you were doing!'

And that my friends......is the rest of the story. To me, this story epitomizes what 'Great Leaders do......they are fluid, listen to that still small voice and respond/act accordingly. David thanks for re-connecting and once again teaching me and showing me by your actions, what true leaders do!

Now I would like to re-visit what has been our concluding thought for all these posts: 'ACTIONS truly do speak LOUDER than words......ACTIONS SHOUT.....words whisper!' So my question to you is: Do you feel you consistently practice and live the eleven traits we have discussed? If you can answer 'YES'!  Congratulations, all of us in your personal and professional lives appreciate your authenticity.

If our discussion today and in the past weeks has sparked some internal dialogues and questions for you to think about, I hope you will take the time, re-visit these posts and ask yourself some tough questions. Once you evaluate your day-to-day actions and see some areas for improvement then 'Decide' to do something about it!  Remember, true Great Leadership' comes with a price, a cost that few are willing to sacrifice and pay. Also know that committing to and becoming a 'Great Leader' is a deeply intuitive process, it comes from your gut and takes time and effort........no one is perfect and does things 'right' all the time.......it is about progress, about forward movement.....yes it is difficult and there are choices that you'll have to make.....but the beauty of it is: It is So WORTH IT!!!!!!!!    

With that said: I will continue my guarantee/promise: If you choose to study these traits, re-read them every once in a while and then commit to taking ACTION where needed, you will be on a continuous path of grow and improvement! Remember 'True Leadership' is not about the destination.......you never truly 'arrive'.......it is about the journey and most importantly.....who YOU become on the way! Enjoy the ride and always continue learning and growing....the effort is always worth it.....it just is!!!!!! 

Have a great Friday and wonderful weekend. I'll see you on Monday as we begin to study the topic of 'Stress' and how to manage it. I look forward to having you back as we look into this 'Hot' topic. As always, thanks for listening/reading and remember to:

Today, we will be looking at and exploring the eleventh Leadership Trait and then we'll bring a personal application for each of us to think about and apply. The eleventh trait in our discussion is, Great Leaders are:

           11. Committed to Lifelong Learning

I think we would all agree that the one 'constant' we are all facing in our lives is change. Not only are we facing huge amounts of change but the speed with which the change is descending upon us is dizzying to say the least. I don't know about you but when you look at the personal and professional 'life' changes we face daily it is no wonder at times we feel overwhelmed, tired and wondering if we can 'survive' and make it until bedtime.

For spring break this year we traveled to 'Ottawa' Canada for several days. This trip has been a tradition for myself, Sierra and Mariah for the last four years. We normally attend a show or two at the National Center for the Arts, go to our favorite museums and restaurants and just have fun. This year we toured 'Parliamint' and learned about how the Canadian Government functions. The tour was amazing because not only did we learn a lot about the workings of the government but we were also blown away by the architecture of the buildings. One of the areas they took us to was the 'Library' that houses all the reference books for the 'House of Commons' and 'Senate'. The beauty of the library itself was unbelievable and the amount of books it housed was three stories high and overwhelming. 

Our tour guide explained that this is where the 'research' is conducted as 'lawmakers' consider new laws and changes to existing laws. The library is where they or their staff will look up and reference any information that may be pertinent to any upcoming decision they are considering. The tour guide then asked for questions: One person asked somewhat jokingly: 'There was no one up on any of the floors researching or pulling any books off the shelves'. The tour guide smiled and then pointed out that 'ALL' the books in the whole library had been scanned and are now accessed through computer terminals on the lower floor so any 'research' being conducted would be done through the computer.

Now maybe that 'fact' would be obvious to you but for some reason it surprised me. I stood there in this huge library turning around, looking at and thinking about all the books that were housed there, and then was 'shocked' that someone actually scanned them all into a computer. I know that makes total sense but somehow for me I was mesmerized by the fact that now, this is how the lawmakers reference previous decisions and information. I looked at my two girls and we all stood there in 'Awe' at the amount of information that is now at there disposal via a computer terminal. It was also fun to point out to Sierra and Mariah how things have 'changed' from when I was their age. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised based on what I can access via my laptop and the Internet but I guess I had never made that connection before.

On the way back from Ottawa I do what I always do with my girls when we do something special or go to a certain place: I ask them what their favorite things we did on our trip and why they liked them. Both Sierra and Mariah commented about the 'Parliament' tour and how fun it was learning about how another Country operates. They also loved the beauty of the buildings and the history of it all. They also mentioned how much they loved; getting dressed up, going out to dinner at an 'up-scale' restaurant and then seeing our two plays.





This was us after dinner before we saw 'Shakespeare's, Comedy of Errors'






We had such a great time, we relaxed, had a lot of fun and guess what......we also LEARNED quite a bit. When we got home I ran into an acquaintance at the local grocery store and she was sporting a 'new tan'. I asked her if they went south for spring break and she said yes we did and we didn't do anything but lay in the sun and relax. She then asked if I did anything special and I shared we went to Ottawa and that it has been a four-year tradition. What fascinated me about our conversation was how she responded when I shared what we did. She looked at me with a look that said: 'Why in the world would you go there......it almost had a 'disgust' type of feel to it. I wanted to ask her if she had ever been there but based on her outward disgust I knew the answer and honestly.....it wasn't worth anymore of my time.....sorry, but it wasn't. As I walked away I smiled and thought wow.......we relaxed too.....had a lot of fun.......but guess what.....we also learned!

(Now folks, I'm not saying there is anything wrong with going to the beach or just relaxing.....I enjoy that too. There was just a disdain in this person's face and tone that was disheartening and I honestly could tell they had never been to Ottawa. They seemed completely  closed to this type of experience.....in essence, closed to learning new things and expanding the world they know and their 'comfort' zones of living.)

Here is what I would like us to 'take away' from today. One of the aspects/traits/behaviors I think we all appreciate about 'Great Leaders' is their 'Commitment to Lifelong Learning' . It is their ability to learn, grow and change with the times that continues to keep them 'current' and also 'effective' as a leader. I also think that truly 'Authentic Leaders', who are living from their Heart, want to constantly push themselves to learn, grow and be in  tune with the world around them. They are dedicated to developing themselves because they know that becoming a leader takes a lifetime of personal growth.

To bring our discussion to a close I want to continue the 'method' we have introduced and concluded all our Leadership posts/thoughts with: I would like you to answer the following questions as you think about the quality/trait of 'Committed to Lifelong Learning' :

Do you agree with what we've discussed today that Great Leaders are 'Committed to Lifelong Learning'? Why or why not? 

Thinking of individuals you know and would say are 'Great Leaders'; can you see this quality in them?

Can you (Honestly) say you are a 'Lifelong Learner'? 

What books have you read lately? What seminars have you attended? What 'Life" lessons have you been learning personally? Professionally?

If you aren't a 'Lifelong Learner', what would you need to do to become one?  'What would you need to 'give-up' to create the time for you to 'learn'?

What will be the 'ultimate' price you will pay personally or professionally if you choose to NOT be 'Committed to Lifelong Learning'? 

Again be honest in your self-assessment, write your thoughts down and then take some action! 
 
So far we have established that 'Great Leaders' have as their foundation of strength, a deep 'Authenticity', a need and desire to 'live' true to their core. Embracing these traits seems to create a natural style and flow to their personal and professional lives that translates into a desire to 'Be a Lifelong Learner'.

Remember our concluding thought: 'ACTIONS truly do speak LOUDER than words......ACTIONS SHOUT.....words whisper!' So my question to you is: Are you 'Comitted to Lifelong Personal and Professional Learning? As always, if you are, Congratulations, all of us in your personal and professional lives appreciate your authenticity.

If our discussion today sparked some internal dialogues and questions for you to think about, I hope you will take the time, answer the questions and then 'Decide' to do something about it!  Remember, true Great Leadership' comes with a price, a cost that few are willing to sacrifice and pay. Becoming and committing to being a 'Learner' and having a 'Learner's Spirit' is deeply intuitive, comes from your gut and takes time and effort........yes it is difficult and there are choices that you'll have to make.....but the beauty of it is: It is So WORTH IT!!!!!!!!    

With that said: I will continue my guarantee and promise from the last few posts.......If you choose to answer the 'homework' questions and then commit to taking ACTION.....you'll never, ever regret it......you simply won't!!!!!! Have a great Wednesday and I'll see you on Friday as we conclude our 'Leadership' thoughts. As always, thanks for listening/reading and remember to:

Now lets turn our thoughts to the tenth trait in our discussion which is; Great Leaders:

          10. Live by Principles and Refuse to Compromise their Principles

Lets begin again by establishing a common language/definition for the word 'Principles' in the above trait. 'Webster' defines 'Principles' as: A personal or specific basis of conduct or management:  guiding sense of the requirements and obligations of right conduct.

When I look at the tenth trait above; two components stand out to me which I think all 'Great Leaders' embrace:

#1. They are guided by 'Principles'. As we have established throughout our discussions on Leadership; there is something about 'Great Leaders', which makes them different from everyone else around them. One of the elements that makes them distinctive is the way they conduct themselves personally and around other people. I hate to point this out again but I think it reinforces a 'HUGE' premise about leaders: There is something subtle, intuitive, gut level about them......an intangible if you will.....something that makes them tick, think and see things differently than others. I feel this attribute is driven mostly from a combination of many of the Traits we have discussed so far: #1 Being Authentic, #3 Empowering Others, #4 Guided by the Heart, #5 Live with Passion and #6 Live and Lead with Purpose.

Lets again refer to the definition above: personal or specific basis of conduct or management, guiding sense of the requirements or right conduct.  Because these people embrace the above-mentioned traits I feel they naturally 'Live by Principles'. They are in tune with themselves and the result of 'being in-tune' (listening to that still small voice) is that they have developed and live-by a set of 'internal principles.....an internal guidance mechanism'. These principles in turn serve as the basis or underpinning of their personal and professional conduct.  

#2. The other component that stands out to me is: Their unwillingness to 'Compromise' when it comes to their 'Principles'. It seems that Great Leaders listen well, take-in information, ask for input, ideas, suggestions from others, but during this process 'weigh' the information received against their own 'well-defined' set of guiding 'life principles'. If the ideas presented 'align' themselves with the 'Principles' they will proceed, but if they don't the Leader will make a different choice that reflects their 'Internal, gut-level' Principles....in essence they won't 'compromise'!

Again, this unwillingness to 'Compromise' their 'Principles' is an attribute driven from the five traits listed earlier: #1 Being Authentic, #3 Empowering Others, #4 Guided by the Heart, #5 Live with Passion and #6 Live and Lead with Purpose. When someone embraces and lives by these attributes in their daily personal and professional lives there is a 'well-spring' of confidence that is evident in their life. I'm not talking about 'being cocky', 'arrogant' or having a 'false bravado', the people who exhibit those qualities don't fall into the 'Great Leader' category for me. Great Leaders have an internal confidence that isn't blatant but more subtle in nature. However that 'subtle confidence' is strong enough that others around them can sense it, believe in it, believe in them and will follow them!

When you and I look at people we would categorize as 'Great Leaders', there is a common word we would use to describe how we think about them and view them: I think in the nut-shell we would say we 'RESPECT' them. People who embrace and live by the attributes, traits, and characteristics we have been discussing in our ten posts carry with them a 'realness' or a 'deep truthfullness' that all of us appreciate. I think this is especially true of the tenth trait because when we realize that a person lives by principles and won't compromise them, we generally  will 'Repect', 'TRUST' and follow their guidance.

To bring our discussion to a close I want to continue with the 'method' we have introduced and concluded all our Leadership posts/thoughts with: I would like you to answer the following questions as you think about the quality/trait of 'Living by Principles and Refusing to Compromise them' :

Do you agree with what we've discussed today that being able to 'Live by Principles and Refusing to Compromise those Principles' is important as a Leader? Why or why not? 

Thinking of individuals you know and would say are 'Great Leaders'; can you see these qualities in them?

What are some of 'YOUR Internal Principles'?

Have you been 'Living' by these Principles? Why or why not?

If you have been 'Compromising' your principles what do YOU need to do to change this?

Where do you need to take a 'Stand and Refuse to Compromise?

What or 'Who' are you AFRAID of?

What will be the 'ultimate' price you will pay personally or professionally if you choose to NOT 'Live by YOUR Principles'?

What 'price will you pay' if you 'COMPROMISE YOUR PRINCIPLES'? ( Again, I know these are hard and deep questions.....but what could it hurt to answer them!)

Again be honest in your self-assessment, write your thoughts down and then take some action! 
 
So far we have established that 'Great Leaders' have as their foundation of strength, a deep 'Authenticity', a need and desire to 'live' true to their core. Embracing these traits seems to create a natural style and flow to their personal and professional lives that translates into giving them a strength and ability to; 'Live by Principles and an ability to Refuse to Compromise those Principles'.

As we have said all along; remember that Great Leaders are NOT perfect......we all sometimes make choices that don't support our internal values/principles....we.do.....the key is to not get down on yourself......realize what you've done and do your best to determine to not have it happen again. Make a decision to, the best you know how, Live by YOUR Principles and Refuse to Compromise them.....ONCE AGAIN, when you do, you are moving in the right direction because then YOU are living from YOUR CORE!  

Remember our concluding thought: 'ACTIONS truly do speak LOUDER than words......ACTIONS SHOUT.....words whisper!' So my question to you is: Are you 'Living by YOUR Principles and Refusing to Compromise them? As always, if you are, Congratulations, all of us appreciate your authenticity."

If our discussion today sparked some internal dialogues and questions for you to think about, I hope you will take the time, answer the questions and then 'Decide' to do something about it!  Remember, true Great Leadership' is deeply intuitive, comes from your gut and taking the time and effort to dig into 'THAT PLACE' is difficult, painful but WORTH IT!!!!!!!!    

With that said: I will continue my guarantee and promise from the last few posts.......If you choose to answer the 'homework' questions and then commit to taking ACTION.....you'll never, ever regret it......you simply won't!!!!!! Have a great Monday and I'll see you on Wednesday with more 'Leadership' thoughts. As always, thanks for listening/reading and remember to: