Occasionally, I get access to top quality leaders who share their wisdom. Today was one of those days. And I just HAD to share this…

Here are my notes from a powerful presentation on developing yourself as a leader. The speaker was Dr. John Agwunobi, four-star admiral, former Asst. Secretary of Health in the U.S., and currently the SVP of Health and Wellness for Walmart.

May I suggest that you slow down and read this with a fair dose of self-reflection? You might actually want to read, then re-read this. I think it’s explained that well. Just sayin’…

4 Keys for Developing Yourself as a Leader

1) Know your purpose – Be able to answer the bigger question of “why?” you do what you do in life. A great way to zero in on your purpose is to ask this question: do you know the LAST job you want in your career? Most people are only focused on their next job. They are missing the greater purpose for their life. Perhaps your ideal last job is not a job at all. Whatever your answer is, knowing where you want to finish will help you determine how you are going to get there. And remember this… Without purpose, you are just floating through life.

2) Follow your passion – Be able to express your purpose with your day-to-day behaviors. Your level of passion shows your level of purpose. Ask yourself this: does your passion inspire others to support your purpose? People will follow you as a leader when they see your passion. It’s contagious. Your passion will inspire the passions of others. And that’s a good thing. And remember this… Passion is energy, energy is action, and action is results. Not following your passion will actually limit your results.

3) Fight for/protect your humility – Be able to tackle your insecurities and accept your weaknesses as fuel for learning/improving. Your humility will keep you thankful (remember, you didn’t get “here” on your own). Acknowledge the gifts and contributions you have received from others and verbally tell them how grateful you are for them. Your humility will also drive you to build teams/hire people who are better than you. It is really true – surround yourself with people who can do a better job than you, then celebrate when they succeed. And remember this… It’s not a good sign if you are the best player on the team. Your greatest contribution to the organization is the development of the people that you have been given responsibility for.

4) Live your integrity – Be able to exude the truth at ALL times (even when it is inconvenient or difficult to do). Your integrity should be transparent enough that others can not only see what you did, but how you got there/how you made your decisions. Your integrity becomes the foundation of trust in your relationships. And remember this… Being trustworthy is the foundation of earning the trust of others.

I mua. Onward and upward.

By Tim Ohai