Тhe 10 Commandments of Leadership

Becoming a great leader comes down to remembering and following these 10 simple rules

by GEOFFREY JAMES

A group of archaeologists digging through ancient corporate archives recently
uncovered two mysterious tablets (aka "wall plaques") engraved with the
following laws:

I. Thou shalt remain optimistic.

Since thy employees look to thee for leadership, thou must not let thy
worries and concerns cast a black cloud over everyone else, for that
way lies certain failure.

II. Thou shalt set a clear direction.

If thou wouldst be a leader, thou must create a vision in the minds
of your followers whence and whither thou art leading them. Fail
at this, and thy organization will wander into the wilderness.

III. Thou shalt create a workable plan.

While no plan should be engraved in stone and plans should be amended
when conditions change, if thou hast failed to plan, then verily thou hast
also planned to fail.

IV. Thou shalt secure sufficient resources.

While it is written truly that faith can move mountains, that faith must be
accompanied by bulldozers, dump trucks, and paid employees who know
how to use them.

V. Thou shalt listen more than talk.

Leadership doth not consist of giving lectures and then issuing orders.
Leadership consists of understand what others desire and harnessing that
desire to serve the common good.

VI. Thou shalt not hold meetings without agendas.

Before each meeting send out a decree defining what will be discussed and
for how long. Then adhere to thy own decree as if the productivity of the
entire team depended on it. For verily it doth.

VII. Thou shalt not criticize in public.

Though thy staff and colleagues consist of fools and rogues, public shaming
creates resentment. Should a follower deserve a reprimand, provide it in the
privacy of thy office.

VIII. Thou shalt not ask an employee to do something that thou wouldst not
 do thyself.

Truly great leaders, should they perceive a scrap of litter on the floor of a
hallway, will bend down, pick it up and throw it into the trash.

IX. Thou shalt not make of thyself a bottleneck.

If thou insist upon making every final decision, the progress of thy organization
will grind to a halt. If thou canst not delegate, thou hast no business pretending
to be a leader.

X. Thou shalt give thy team the credit.

True leaders accept the blame when things go awry and take no credit when things
go right. Thy rightful reward will the love and commitment of those who continue
to work for thee.

Source:

http://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/the-10-commandments-of-leadership.html