This Is Day One summary

Many leaders try to wing it. But to be a successful leader, you have to know your goals – only then can you develop a strategy. Without a plan, you’ll be flailing around, hoping to get lucky. So, if you’re serious about making a difference, you need to break down and identify your leadership values and philosophy. 

Unsurprisingly, leaders with a philosophy are more successful. For instance, they score 135 percent higher on trust metrics. While there is no one-size-fits-all approach to leadership, developing a personal philosophy is a perfect place to start. By considering your values and goals, you create rules to guide your actions and help you make good decisions.

Deep value questions help you figure out what kind of leader you want to be – not what others expect you to be. Values guide our decisions, whether it’s about what to wear, watch, or study.

Have you ever seen The Truman Show? It’s a film about a guy who’s entirely unaware that his life is a TV show and everyone around him is an actor. Now, imagine you’re the protagonist and people are watching you for 30 days. Which values would you hope the audience identifies in you? Here’s a list – choose three of them: accountability, creativity, integrity, positivity, respect, and vision. 

It might seem impossible to sum up everything you are into three parts. However, if you write down your values, you’ll eventually figure out what drives you. Note that these are only surface values. We’ll have to dig much deeper to get reality to match your perception.

Discovering values means considering what’s most important to you in any given situation. Say you’re trying to decide whether or not to take on a new job. You might accept it if it means being able to spend more time with your family. Other values that could come into play are authenticity – Are you being true to yourself? – and courage – Are you willing to take on a new challenge? In the end, only you can know your key values and how they’ll affect your choices. 

If you want to be a good leader, you need to know who you are and what you believe in. A strong leadership philosophy is rooted in values. They help you align decisions with your priorities. Great leaders know they have to set a good example. So they don’t just talk about their values – they live by them.