Your job is not to lower the bottom by adjusting for and accommodating the lowest-performing employees. You should be raising the top by recognizing and rewarding superstar behavior.

Until you accept total responsibility - no matter what - you won't be able to put plans in place to accomplish your goals.

When you accepted your job, you were not chosen solely to fill a position on the organization chart; you were chosen to fill a responsibility.

Your job is not to lower the bottom by adjusting for and accommodating the lowest-performing employees. You should be raising the top by recognizing and rewarding superstar behavior.

For you to be successful and provide your employees with the necessary tools for success, you and your boss must work together - no matter what.

Press on. Your defining moment may arrive just when you feel surrounded by adversity.

Leadership can't be claimed like luggage at the airport. Leadership can't be inherited, even though you may inherit a leadership position. And leadership can't be given as a gift - even if you've been blessed with an abundance of leadership skills to share with someone else. Leadership must be earned by mastering a defined set of skills and by working with others to achieve common goals.