- Leandro Herrero - https://leandroherrero.com -

My 20 Rules of Leadership, ‘following extensive research’ (inside my mind)

These are my 20 Rules of Leadership. After extensive research… Oh, no, wait a minute. It is true field research. And including drilling. About an inch long inside the scalp.

These are my Rules. My pool is about 100. I have looked at them time and time again and finally chose 20 that (1) share with my clients on regular basis, one way or another, and (2) have become a bit of my ‘universals’.

I am not talking from a position of moral authority, or as a Super Practitioner of them. I am doing very well with some. I am terrible at others. But I believe deeply in The List. Here they are. For leaders, followers and in between.

My 20 RULES OF LEADERSHIP

  1. Earn credibility all the time. Stocks deplete easily.
  2. Act as if you did not have anything to loose.
  3. Be unreasonable in your demands, the reasonable ones are taken.
  4. Detect bullshit and become proficient at detecting it. Then, protect yourself and others.
  5. Exercise provocation with panache and respect. Aim at being appreciated, not hated, for it.
  6. Don’t be a provocateur, rebel, maverick, contrarian or challenger for the sake of it. Have a good ‘because’ ready.
  7. Infect others, don’t do it alone.
  8. Be restless, be uncomfortable (and foolish and hungry and the rest…). They’re the only things that confirm that you are alive.
  9. Watch you ego. Most of the time is not your friend.
  10. Never settle for one possibility only.
  11. Don’t waste your time managing the ‘inevitable’. There is a lot of ‘possible’ waiting for a leader. Look for what would not happen without you.
  12. Seek unpredictable answers. The predictable ones are already seeking you.
  13. Don’t be against anything. Don’t create enemies. The exceptions are mediocrity and dishonesty.
  14. Write down your little bit of daily legacy in a secret little book.
  15. There is only one test: what will you tell the children? (that you do, you did, you didn’t do).
  16. More important that what you say is what people hear when you are saying it.
  17. Practice ‘I don’t know’, possibly followed by ‘And I don’t think you know either, so let’s figure it out’.
  18. Make things happen first, then clean up the process for the next time. In that order.
  19. The unexamined leadership, like the unexamined life, is not worth living.
  20. Play as many roles as you want, but never a victim or an enemy. Both being ‘victim’ or ‘enemy’, requires your full consent.