My Leadership Maxims

Recently I was asked to name some of my leadership maxims. I sat down and began to compose a list. I kept my document open and began to add, and sometime sort. The following is the list that I have to come to believe, and make serious attempts at practicing.  

-       Flexibility, humility, trust, risk, respect, and love make a great work environment

-       Everyone is meant to be a leader 

-       Everyone has a purpose; their best work happens when it connects to their purpose

-       Mentoring and leadership praxis are central to human flourishing

-       Experienced and competent leaders lead and take risks

-       It is good to raise questions and solutions that emanate from a variety of perspectives

-       Leaders are readers; failure to read, is failure to lead (reading takes in everything: the culture, the environment, the room, the library, etc.)

-       Leaders will be criticized; lead anyway

-       Good, lean governance is essential

-       Action should be informed by research, but not bogged down by manufactured constraints; Uninformed action will often break Wesley’s role of “Do No Harm”

-       Results should receive equal or greater attention than Aspirations

-       Good Character and Chemistry within a team of leaders can grow Competency

-       Misconduct should be dealt with in good order, in a timely fashion, with appropriate counsel

-       Collaboration is crucial for organizational momentum; dissent that is latent or long unresolved must be faced with courage and compassion  

-       Choose business and ministry partners wisely

-       Honoring the past is done well when we press into the future with faith, boldness, appreciation, and love 

-       No Margin, No Mission; Non-profits must have healthy balance sheets

-       No Mission, No Margin; money is looking for a mission to invest in

Do you have a list of your own? What is on it? What would you recommend I put on my list?