“Professional accountability is a good thing. Without it, excellence is merely a pipe dream and even average performance isn’t a realistic expectation.”

“Good teams are committed to the team mission and to each other personally. Good leaders inspire and build this commitment and trust.”

“Over-communicating is the glue that holds a high-performing team together and keeps them focused in the same direction. And, it circles back to clarity. Without good, consistent communication, you don’t have clarity.”

“Courage is leaning into the doubts and fears to do what you know is right even when it doesn’t feel natural or safe.”

“Leaders must be good listeners. It’s rule number one, and it’s the most powerful thing they can do to build trusted relationships.”

“Leaders devoid of crucible experiences are likely to be overly confident about their ideas, and surprisingly more susceptible to fears; this is also true of children who are overly sheltered from facing challenges and experiences that help build their character. Courageously facing our fears in the difficult times gives us both humility and real confidence.”

“An honorable leader must demonstrate a willingness to reveal his or her ‘inner self’ to their team. It builds trust and trust is essential. It’s also a sign of strength and authenticity, and people are attracted to those who are ‘real’ and authentic.”

“To guard our character with unwavering commitment, our best protection comes from being humbly aware of our vulnerability.”

“Fearful leaders side-step issues instead of dealing with them, cover up mistakes instead of owning up to mistakes; they skulk back into the shadows and hope that the crisis—whatever it is—will somehow blow over instead of facing their fears. Worse, they resort to lies and deception to cover up the truth.”

“Voters—here’s the real challenge: we don’t need empty promises made by politicians whose only goal in life is to get elected or re-elected. We need leaders with attributes that qualify them to lead us through the difficult challenges we’re facing.”

“Affirming others isn’t ‘flattering’ them—it’s when you genuinely and consistently acknowledge their efforts and accomplishments, both large and small. Make affirmation a habit and watch what happens!”