The Dynamic Dozen

There are 12 things exceptional leaders do well:

1. The best leaders impress at a distance and impact up close.

You hear her speak, and you are impressed with what she has to say. Then you meet her face to face, and she impacts you with the questions she asks and how intently she listens to you. You are inspired and want to do better in your life because you spent meaningful time with her. 

2. The best leaders are outstanding brand polishers.

They polish their company’s brand daily and do the unexpected for others. They know everything they do is seen and everything they say is heard. 

3. The best leaders communicate with clarity and consistency. 

Leaders are emphasizers with the messages that need to be heard by their most important audiences. This rinse-and-repeat message formula is done with discipline. Why? Because the best leaders understand effective communication decreases tension while ineffective communication increases tension. 

4. The best leaders believe in the underlying importance of culture.

They are proponents of what I call 5Fs of a healthy culture: fun, fascination, future, financial and freedom. 

5. The best leaders know what is below their organization’s waterline, the sacrosanct values of their organization.

These values are lived out daily. 

6. The best leaders are intuitive. 

They have a very high EQ and superb clarity of judgment. This judgment leads to wise decisions that are thought through, not rushed. They sleep on decisions, giving big decisions to the sleep committee. 

7. The best leaders get things done.

They are about action, follow up, putting points on the board for their clients and their business. They move out and also know when to slow down to speed up. 

8. The best leaders listen.

They lead with questions. They are slow to speak, slow to anger and quick to listen. 

9. The best leaders trust their teams and believe in the intrinsic power of teamwork.

“I trust you.” Three of the most important words you can say and display to your team as their leader. 

 10. The best leaders invest in meaningful relationships.

These leaders end up generating enormous relational capital, understanding that networking is transactional while relationship building is transformational. 

11. The best leaders have an inner circle that is rock solid and beyond reproach.

This inner circle provides them immense inner strength and confidence in the future.  

12. The best leaders serve and are of the highest integrity.

 As part of this embodiment, they possess intense professional willpower and extreme personal humility, more workhorse than show horse as author Jim Collins succinctly penned. 

Why do they strive to do all these 12 things?

Because these leaders want to fulfill their organization’s clearly defined purpose. Every business should have a purpose, and every person should have a purpose, too. It’s a very powerful combination when you have both.

Here’s to a purposeful rest of the year and the opportunities that await those who lead with the dynamic dozen keenly in mind.

Strength for the journey.