Leaders should always expect the very best of those around them. They know that people can change and grow.

Learning to be an effective leader is no different than learning to be an effective person. And that's the hard part

Walt Disney, of all people, did a good job of describing his own netony. "People who have worked with me say I am 'innocence in action,'" he wrote. "They say I have the innocence and unselfconsciousness of a child. Maybe I have. I still look at the world with uncontaminated wonder."

In the face of ambiguity, uncertainty, and conflicting demands, often under great time pressure, leaders must make decisions and take effective actions to assure the survival and success of their organizations. This is how leaders add value to their organizations. They lead them to success by exercising good judgment, by making smart calls when especially difficult and complicated decisions simply must be made, and then ensuring that they are well executed.

Every great group is an island... but an island with a bridge to the mainland.

I am reminded how hollow the label of leadership sometimes is and how heroic followership can be.

Leaders should always expect the very best of those around them. They know that people can change and grow.