The 19.5 Principles of Leadership

1. Your philosophy of life and leadership determines the process by which you lead.
2. Your positive attitude affects everyone around you.
3. Your experience and past history of success provides comfort and assurance as you make decisions to move forward.
4. When you lead by example, there is nothing your people will not do for you and with you.
5. Your “likeability” can affect the quality and effectiveness of your leadership.  Be or become likeable.
6. Clear communication leads to understanding and action.
7. Responsibility is not given: it’s taken.
8. Collaboration will earn respect, results, and reputation.
9. Do what you say.  Fulfill what you promise.
10. Take more than a minute to praise, coach, inform and train.
11. Know the high ground of winning, and the stomping ground of defeat.
12. Resilience is your internal force to react, respond, and recover from events and people.
13. The courage to risk, be right, and be wrong.
14. Separate task from person.  Then assign them and combine them to achieve a positive outcome.
15. Reward individual and group achievement.
16. You must earn, not command, both trust and respect.
17. Encourage THEIR success to earn and achieve yours.
18. Your ability to influence people will manifest itself in successful outcomes.
19. Your reputation precedes you, and defines you.

19.5Legacy is built with single achievements piled high on one another (Gitomer, 2011, p. 17-21).

• What additional principles of leadership would you add to this list?

From:  Gitomer, J (2011).  Jeffrey gitomer’s little book of leadership: the 12.5 strengths of responsible, reliable, remarkable leaders that create results, rewards and resilience.  Hoboken, NJ: Wiley and Sons