Maybe Integrity Is Most Important

You know what?  Maybe it’s integrity that’s the most important leadership characteristic.

Yes, definitely, integrity has to be the most important leadership characteristic. How could it not be?

Isn’t integrity the most critical of all leadership values? A great leader must have integrity.

Someone who adheres to moral and ethical principles. A person with sound moral character.  An honest person.

All of this sounds great – a leader who is honest, with sound moral character. A perfect person. This makes a great leader.

Waaaaait a minnnnnute.  Who knows anyone who is perfect?

Passion Trust Vision Decisiveness

Passion Trust Vision Decisiveness.

Wait, jungle jeff is going to change his top leadership characteristic again. First it was Trust, then Vision, and finally Passion.

Now you’re saying it’s decisiveness?

Well, maybe.

Just kidding.  Passion.  Number one leadership trait. Passion.

Can you imagine trusting someone without passion? Can you imagine a vision not inspired by passion?

Leader Vision Leader Passion

The most important leadership characteristics have been the jungle jeff topic on the past few blog posts.

First it was trust.

Then vision.

Now, actually, I’m going to just come out and say it.

The number one leader characteristic is passion.  Hands down, passion.

Final answer.

Passion!

Agree or disagree?

Leadership Vision Leader Trust

Okay, so if trust is the most important great leader characteristic, where does vision fall?

Well, as crazy, and contradictory as this is going to sound, vision is actually the most important.  What the?  Exactly.

Vision is the reason we wake up in the morning.  Vision is the reason we wake up in the middle of the night.  Vision is the reason we can’t fall asleep. Vision is what makes us do ordinary things in an extra-ordinary fashion.

Vision is a view of the future that is better than the current view.

Not talking vision statement here.  Heck, no one knows that it is anyway.  Seriously.  No one does.  And if anyone does, it’s someone who wrote it – and by now they’re probably retired or dead.  But no one else. (I’ll call your bluff on this one if you really want to disagree)

This is what makes leaders great.  A vision for the future that is better than the current vision.

A vision that is lofty, hard to articulate and you may not say it the same way twice.  A vision that is impossible.

A vision is more important than trust.

Transformational Passion

Been thinking  a lot lately.  Now there’s a surprise, eh?  Me.  Thinking a lot.

Anyway,  what I mean is, thinking a lot about what motivates people.  Especially in these tough economic times. Everywhere you look, there is tension, anxiety, uncertainty, and maybe even an honest fear of the future.

It can be crippling.  How do I know?  Because I’m one of you. A husband, father, son, leader, volunteer, neighbor, worrier.

Yesterday, while visiting The American Adventure Pavilion at Disney’s Epcot Park, there was a quote that basically said, “The early founders of the United States came to this country with little more than their vision”.

Their vision, their passion, transformed government.  The pursuit of happiness and all men are created equal.

Next time you look in the mirror, do you see a mountain or a molehill of a vision?

Wait.  Stop.  Go look in the mirror right now.

What did you see?  What do you see now, in your mind?

Perhaps a decade ago, a transformational seed was planted, scattered by the wind.  And then sometime last year, I started to see it really grow.

And out of nowhere, this Spring, well, all I can tell you is that a daily habit of writing five blogs took off.  Got sick of not seeing a mountain of passion in the mirror.  It hit me, you want to see a mountain, you better start transforming yourself.

The clock is ticking.

PS.  Here’s the catalyst for this post.  Wasn’t three minutes into it when the revelation came. After writing the post, I finished watching it.  August Turak’s speech can be watched by clicking here.