I believe there are 13 “C” that make a great leader: Compassion, Creativity, Confidence, Consistency, Consideration, Courage, Charity, Competence, Communication, Courtesy, Comedy, Curiosity, and Collaboration.
Compassion. Medal of Honor and Carnegie Medal recipients can be our guides. In many cases, these people acted heroically because of the compassion they felt for those in grave danger. Throughout the CSRA, thousands of folks are deeply compassionate as they provide care for others.
Creativity. There are four aspects of creativity: Being creative yourself; recognizing creativity in others; operationalizing novel ideas; and protecting creative people from their bad ideas. To make creative folks happy, implement some of their ideas and give them credit.
Confidence. The best leaders have self-confidence unmarked by arrogance. Good examples in the military were Colin Powell and George Marshall. In the industry, Tim Cook, CEO of Apple. In the media, Judy Woodruff, David Gergen, David Brooks, and Tom Friedman.
Consistency. Leaders should practice consistency in their actions and decisions. Those who constantly flip-flops are tough to work for. When leaders change their minds, they should explain why.
Consideration. Years ago, my golf partner was a handicapped veteran, Jack Berlin. The opposing players gave Jack one extra stroke per hole (which was not enough). On the second nine, the kind and considerate, Herbert Elliot gave Jack two strokes per hole. To his delight, Berlin won three holes and carried our team to victory.
Courage Samuel Johnson said, “Courage is the basic virtue. Of what use is wisdom if you don’t have the courage to act wisely? Of what importance is truth if you don’t have the courage to speak it?”
Charity. Many folks throughout the CSRA dig deep to support worthy causes. However, some wealthy folks do not have the “gifting gene.” Maddeningly, they give 1 or 2 percent of their income and declare themselves generous.
Competence. This quality does not require explanation. President Eisenhower tops my list. The contrast between Rafael Warnock and Hershel Walker in this area is quite stark.
Communication. Getting into the minds and hearts of folks requires good speaking and writing skills. Extroverts have an advantage with speaking skills – especially if they are charismatic. Donald Trump, for all of his faults, is strong in this area. He can light up a crowd. Joe Biden is not as strong in this area.
Courtesy. My wife, Connor, was with Jimmy Doolittle on his 90th birthday. When the elevator door opened, the spry American hero quickly got off so Connor could be the first to get on the elevator.
Comedy. Humor can play a positive role in organizations, large and small. The self-deprecating Ronald Reagan set a fine standard for all leaders to emulate.
Curiosity. Those leaders who are constantly looking for new and better ways to accomplish tasks tend to be stuck in the past. The status quo is often a dead end.
Collaboration. The best leaders work well with folks with whom they differ. A strong conservative, Ronald Reagan, and a dedicated liberal, Tip O’Neill, often found workable solutions to tough problems. Sadly, compromise is hard for Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump.
Leaders who follow the 13 Cs make our world a better place.
Please note, two more essentials for leaders, integrity, and trust, will be examined in future articles.
Perry Smith is the author of seven books. Rules and Tools for Leaders is his most successful with 350,000 in print. Jeff Foley was the co-author of the 4th edition.
