Huffington Post: The Heart of Leadership – five character traits shared by the best leaders.
In our interview, he discussed two of the five from the book.
Think Others First
When Blake, the main character of the book, meets the first of the five mentors that help him develop the heart of a leader, he is told that leaders think, “Others first.”
Leaders who think, “Others first,” develop loyal followers who trust the leader and are much more likely to believe that the leader has their best interest in mind when the leader has to make a tough call.
Blake realizes that he doesn’t think, “Others first,” and is given a simple practice that will help him begin to better serve others and help him develop the heart of a leader.
Blake is instructed to make the effort to consider how he can add value in some way for every person with whom he interacts.
What could you do to ensure that you add value for each person you encounter?
Expect the Best
Blake also learns that, although well grounded in reality, the best leaders are highly optimistic.
Mark Miller stated in our interview that most people think of a person as an optimist if they say that the glass is half full versus half empty. However, the best leaders actually say, “The glass is ALL full! It’s half full of air, and half full of water.”
If a leader is unable to communicate a compelling vision that is better than the current situation, why would anyone want to follow her or him?
Great leaders work to do develop optimism so that they can inspire greatness in the people around them.
If you’d like to see the video of the interview, you can simply click here. (It’s worth the time. Mark Miller is very engaging.)
Chez Froggie 