Leadership Rules "A leader is best when people barely know he exists. When his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves." --Lao Tzu Leadership is hard. Too many people confuse it with authority and power. And too many in positions of authority are not good leaders. A good leader doesn't need authority to lead. I compiled the following list over a period of years. They have come from everywhere ... Sun Tzu, Reader's Digest, leaders I have followed, and my own experience. Most of these are unordered, but #1 is definitely #1 to me as a leader, teacher, and parent. ~Jeff Offutt, 2010 #1: If you don't care about them, they won't care what you say #2: They won't do more than you do #3: A leader is not powerful, but responsible #4: A true leader works for all he or she leads, not the other way around #5: Don't take success to your head or failure to your heart #6: To be a good leader, you must first learn to follow #7: A leader is proactive, a follower is reactive #8: Their time is more valuable than yours #9: Only throw temper tantrums on purpose #10: Get to the point! #11: Tell the truth, especially if the news is bad #12: Don't apologize for doing the right thing #13: Always apologize for doing the wrong thing #14: Say thank you #15: If you don't know the answer, know who does #16: Leadership is service #17: Good leaders are good under pressure #18: A leader has to be trusted #19: Seek first to understand, then be understood #20: Leaders think about the future, followers the present, complainers the past #21: Leaders don't get people to believe in them. Leaders find ways to get people to believe in themselves. "Try not to become a person of success but rather to become a person of value" --Einstein "Be the chief but never the lord." --Lao Tzu