A leader impacts 100s of lives, sometimes millions. A leader makes others believe in themselves. A leader solves when others feel paralysed.

A society is defined by the leaders it has.

In the past 24 years of mentoring, I have been blessed to watch many top class performers very closely. While it was my job to mentor them, invariably, I ended up learning soooo much from them.

I am summing up my learnings in bullet points and sharing it with you here.

1) Leaders role-model the behaviours they want in their team. They will never get reliability if they are unreliable themselves.

2) Great leaders practice complete ownership. The team owns the victories. The leader owns the failures.

3) Great leaders have a bias towards action. They avoid the trap of analysis paralysis.

4) Great Leaders adopt a beginner’s mindset. They know there is so much more to learn.

5) Leaders think influence, not control. Leading isn’t about control. It is about influencing others to give their best.

6) Emotional intelligence (EQ) trumps IQ every time. A leader who displays emotional maturity will any day build a stronger and more capable team.

7) Everyone in the team should know where we are going, why it matters, and how their work contributes to the journey.

8) Leadership is about leverage. Master the art of identifying the 20% that will drive 80% of results. On yourself. And on others.

9) A leader’s influence diminishes when they stop listening. They must keep listening to their team, their customers and their competitors.

10) There is a major difference between confidence and courage. Confidence ALWAYS makes one feel good. Courage doesn’t.

My darling reader, did you find this list worth your time and attention? Did any point resonate very deeply with you? If you had to add just one more point, what would that be?

I feel so blessed that we are able to connect every week. Thanks for giving my Tuesdays a purpose.