The Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordan England has a simple foundation for how to "make" a leader:
- Treat every person with dignity and respect – nobody is more important than anyone else
- Be forthright, honest and direct with every person and in every circumstance
- Improve effectiveness to gain efficiency
- Cherish your time and the time of others – it is not renewable
- Identify the critical problems that need solution for the organization to succeed
- Describe complex issues and problems simply so every person can understand
- Never stop learning – depth and breadth of knowledge are equally important
- Encourage constructive criticism
- Surround yourself with great people and delegate to them full authority and responsibility
- Make ethical standards more important than legal requirements
- Strive for team-based wins, not individual
- Emphasize capability – not organization
- Incorporate measures and metrics everywhere
- Concentrate on core functions and outsource all other
