John Gronski's Leadership Philosophy

Character. Competence. Resilience.

“It is people, not things, who nurture our souls.”

Character

Character is the root of leadership.

A leader of character must establish a culture of trust. A leader grows trust by trusting others first, providing a vision, displaying integrity, leading by example, and sincerely caring about others. A leader must have values and principles.

Leadership expert and author Gus Lee says there are three high values: Integrity- acting for what is right regardless of risk; Courage – Correcting wrongs regardless of danger; Character – The sustained display of integrity and courage over time. Showing that you care about your followers in an important element of character.

A leader must care more about their followers than they do about their own needs.

Competence

There are many elements that make up competence but the three most imperative are providing a vision for the organization, decision making, and coaching and developing others.

A leader must be able to articulate a simple, unique, ideal, image of the future.

Leaders must explain the “why” behind the vision and tell their followers what they believe.

When a leader provides a vision and purpose, they instill confidence and provide inspiration that fuels energy within an organization that will lead to success.

A leader must be an effective communicator.

A leader also must possess the courage to make a decision.

A leader must be able to communicate in a clear, consistent and positive way.

Resilience

Positive energy is essential when leading a large organization or a small team.

Optimism and enthusiasm are two key traits of a resilient person. Like any other trait, they must be exercised in order to become a strong part of one’s make-up.

Master psychologist and hall of fame pro football coach, Vince Lombardi, famously said, “The greatest success is not in never falling, but it is in rising every time you fall.”

Anyone who has ever led anything will tell you that at some point in time the organization you lead will face adversity. For that matter, every living person faces adversity at some point in their life. It all comes down to how prepared one is to face these challenges and how one responds.

A leader must prepare themselves and their followers to overcome challenges.

A leader must be psychologically, physically, emotionally, and spiritually fit.

Leading an organization of any size takes rigor and one must lead by example.

A leader must take care of their own inner well-being before they can take care of others.