In our lifetimes, many of us have had the opportunity to work with leaders who displayed great leadership values every day. These true leaders were interested in our personal growth, showed compassion to every team member and cared for the success of the entire organization. I am sure a few of us have had the unfortunate times of working with managers who we want to stay away from for ever. How do we identify the creme de la creme among the leaders that we want to work for? What do we look for in a leader or a budding leader?

If you would like to understand how well a business is doing, you would check the pulse on the financial health of the company. Revenue and profit growth, earnings per share, growth of share value are some of the financial metrics that are considered. Similarly, cholesterol level, blood pressure and pulse rate are measured to check the health of any individual. What metrics would you use to check the capability of a leader? A true leader must possess great business acumen and a strong set of leadership values.

Ah hah! Leadership values! I think there is a simple set of TEN values that is a base line for any leader of any organization in any part of the world. This base line set of leadership values consists of a set of ‘core values’ and a set of ‘performance values’.


Core Values: Integrity, Trust, Selflessness, Passion, Respect

Performance Values: Vision, Innovation, Empowerment, Coach, Results


I would imagine this Leadership Value System like our Earth. The ‘core values’ form the nucleus and the ‘performance values’ the outer shell of the leadership value system. The core values are an essential set of human values that builds a sustainable bond between the leader and the followers. The performance values support the core values and help in maximizing the productivity of the entire organization. A leader may possess different levels of these values at various stages of their life time. However, a complete lack of these core values (a collapse of core) will deter in building a solid foundation of leadership.


Look for these values in your leader. If you find that you are working for someone that lacks all of the core values, move on. Find another manager or find another company. If you are a manager and you see these values in one of your employees, help them grow. You could be looking at the next 21st Century Leader!