Lead Your Team to the Top

As a West Point and Wharton graduate, retired Army General Officer, former corporate executive, and President of the Joint Special Operations University, I strongly believe in values-based leadership. Words like trust, integrity, honor, service, self-sacrifice, character, competence, humility, and care and concern for others are very important to me. I started Peak 74 International so that I can share my lifetime leadership experiences with a greater audience and help more people and organizations reach their potential.

Values-based leadership has been the foundation of my leadership throughout my career. Leaders influence others. Values-based leaders take it to the next level, using their words, actions, and example to inspire and motivate others. They take the time to discover and reflect on what is most important to them, and they use their values as the basis of their decisions and actions.

There is a severe shortage of leadership in America today. Although everyone has the capacity to become a leader, not everyone will become a leader. Many people lack the will to change or to develop their potential. However, I believe that anyone, of any age, can transform him or herself if they want to.

As a manager, or more precisely, a leader (managers manage tasks, leaders lead people) everything changes. Your success is no longer about your own output, it’s about other people’s — the most important work you do is often what enables other people to do their jobs. But finding your way as a leader can be challenging. Becoming a leader isn’t easy. There are growing pains and learning experiences along the way. It takes time and effort.

Today's business environment demands values-based leaders who, in “doing the right thing,” deliver outstanding and lasting results. The journey to becoming a values-based leader starts with self-reflection. If you do not know yourself, how can you lead yourself? If you cannot lead yourself, how can you lead others?"  Before you lead others you need to understand your own strengths, weaknesses and core values; develop a personal leadership philosophy and build a leadership skills toolkit. The first person that you must lead is you.

As in almost anything in life, self-discipline is the key. Self-discipline is the ability to stick to your decisions and get things done in spite of any inconvenience whatsoever. It involves taking control over your feelings and overcoming any weakness through perseverance, restraint, dedication, and determination. In simple terms, it means finishing what you are doing or getting yourself to finish a task at hand and achieve a goal. It means choosing the harder right instead of the easier wrong.

Every organization — for-profit, not-for-profit, government — needs values-based leaders. All it takes is a desire to do the right thing by making choices and decisions that are aligned with your values.