Work That Works

Principle #1Leadership is an Inside JobKnow Yourself

Thousands of articles and research papers have been written about leadership. This, the first principle, deals with you as a leader: your values, the ways in which you think and behave, and how these affect your actions and your communication with your employees.

Let's start with three universal questions:

1. Who are you?
2. What do you love?
3. How can you restore balance to a troubled world?

After you are able to answer these questions, you are ready to start reflecting on how to be a leader.

Who Are You?

We live in a world that is more transparent than ever. The Internet has afforded everyone unprecedented access to information that permits unlimited discoveries.

People are using this information for everything from checking out a rash to creating political movements. Using this window into the world, sophisticated users can research the most advanced studies and esoteric information, while even basic users have learned to research the goods and services they need before they pay up or sign up. Before going out to eat, they will check a restaurant's online reputation. If the reviews are bad, they will look in another direction. If the reviews are good, they will proceed with their research and find the menu.

Think of a large purchase you have made recently. I'm willing to bet that some of you obtained a variety of information ...