34. Leaders know: Energy begets energy.
Way back when I was a teen I noticed something strange. I had certain friends I really wanted to be around. It was like they radiated energy, you could literally recharge yourself in their presence. I never forgot those early experiences. At the time I was too young to […]

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33. Leaders wear their passion on their sleeve 
In 2005 I conducted a research study into the origins of leadership. My goal was to understand the early signs and behaviors of emergent leadership. My theory was that if you could identify from new leaders the characteristics and behaviors common in them you might be able to […]

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26. Leaders don’t create followers, they create more leaders. YES YES YES they do! This is the core of what they do! Challenge: Who are you developing as a leader right now? If you are not why not?!

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25. Leaders have taste. 
Yeah I’m not so sure about this one. Sure leaders have taste so do many other individuals. I just do not believe this is a defining characteristic of a leader. Perhaps from a follower point of view it could be said that they do but for me looking at other leaders I […]

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24. Leaders also know when to challenge design specs. 
Okay so this one is obvious if we continue on from the last post. There is always a leader a level or two up that sets the design spec for you. As a leader if something in the spec does not make sense it is your responsibility […]

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23. Leaders set design specs. 
When I first saw this rule I thought what the heck is Peters talking about here?! I thought we were talking about leadership not engineering or architecture. Then it struck me this rule is more about team culture and “the how” a team achieves the goal. Certainly a leader has a […]

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22. Leaders can laugh. 
At themselves. One of the aspects of a mature seasoned leader is confidence. Confidence is an interesting thing, when you have it you know when to take yourself seriously and when to realize you are being ridiculous. Being able to laugh at yourself is one of the best ways to build trust […]

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21. Leaders love to work with other leaders. 
The other day I met a guy who was in charge of a large corporation. I knew from the minute he opened his mouth to talk I was going to like working with him. He was a leader. Not because of his title or position but rather he […]

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20. Leaders make mistakes — and make no bones about it. 
Yes they do and they do not like to make them. Ultimately they realize that making mistakes is a prerequisite of learning. Learning is at the very core of effective leadership. So a great leader gets over his ego quickly and goes into the learning […]

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19. Leaders bring in different dudes. 
Who is the best person for the vacancy in your team, department, division etc? The person with the best skills abilities and cultural fit. Certainly there are other factors as well but you want the best person. If you stop there you could potentially end up filling a vacancy with […]

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