The team you belong to must come ahead of the team you lead: this is putting team results (e.g., organizational needs) ahead of individual agendas (e.g., the team or division you lead, your ego, your need for recognition, your career development, etc.) Confidentiality is respected downward more than it is respected upward. Organizational alignment is a direct result of this hierarchy (if it were the other way around, organizational alignment would be very difficult to achieve).

Leaders must display their humanness. Those under their authority must be empowered & have the courage to engage in honest dialogue.

As a leader, you're probably not doing a good job unless your employees can do a good impression of you when you're not around.

Open, frank communication is the lynchpin to teamwork. A fractured team is like a fractured bone; fixing it is always painful and sometimes you have to re-break it to heal it fully - and the re-break always hurts more because it is intentional.

Trust is knowing that when a team member does push you, they're doing it because they care about the team.

. . . his biggest problem was his need for a problem.

Building a cohesive leadership team is the first critical step that an organization must take if it is to have the best chance at success.