Walk Off Winning

1You Need Values, But Keep Them Simple

When it comes to the hot topics in today's world of leadership, there is much confusion about the path you must navigate as you embark on improving as a leader. The market is saturated with leadership books, and certainly many have great value. Yet many of the theories and ideas tend to mimic one another.

However, I find myself a bit confused when I research the components it takes to be a great leader. The jumble of words and subtopics can be intimating and overwhelming. Here is where I believe many go down the wrong path, either trying to be someone they are not, or attempting to implement too many ideas. I always preach to be great at one thing instead of being good at many. It allows you to stand out among your peers.

The Flowchart of True Success

I want to take a moment to talk about a sort of flowchart that can better describe a path to being a successful leader. I like using flowcharts because they summarize the decisions and movement of information, giving us a clear and concise path from beginning to end to solve an issue or problem. And although leadership should not be considered an issue or problem, it certainly has steps to follow as you work to lead your group and organization to true success. You can always revert back to each step as you set new goals, but the steps tend to happen in the order shown in Figure 1.1.

Leadership, in my mind, begins with traits. Traits can be a characteristic quality that distinguishes certain ...