Are You An Exceptional Leader?
Over the last month I’ve been blessed to spend time with some amazing people discussing a variety of issues: from the economy, to scaling business, to exceptional leadership. During a conversation on what makes for exceptional leadership the following quote from Dr. Martin Luther King came up:
“It may well be that we will have to repent in this generation. Not merely for the vitriolic words and the violent actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence and indifference of the good people who sit around and say, "Wait on time.” –Dr. Martin Luther King
One of my favorite people and the best leader I’ve ever met, Warren Rustand, provided us with two lists for exceptional leadership:
Exceptional Leaders at their core:
- Pursue purpose with passion
- Practice their values - role model their values without exception
- Lead with their heart
- Develop deep connection
- Lead with self-discipline
Exceptional Leaders:
- Are always true to self and their beliefs
- Are always willing to go it alone
- Are always concerned with serving others
- Are always focused on learning
- Have and develop extraordinary relationships
- Always build trust
- Empower others to act
- Motivate and elevate others to perform at and be exceptional
I know I fall short of the ideal; so it is with humility, as the CEO of Absco Solutions, that I encourage you to take the long view of your life-safety and security master plan, to take action towards its attainment, to ensure your plans are serving our community, to take a stand when you know something is wrong, to continually learn and evolve your plans; and as a leader, to continually build trust and be trustworthy of the safety of our community, to motivate others to do exceptional things and build systems and processes that empower your teams to protect our community. Let us not simply be frustrated with the inappropriate actions of those that would do harm, but let’s take action to protect the innocent among us. I am proud of the work we do together and the resulting lives that have been saved as a result.
Thank you for allowing us to be part of your team.
-Erick
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