10 Principles Necessary for True Leadership—GLS22 Faculty Spotlight

What is the role of a leader? The answer to this question can often get mixed responses depending on how you view leadership. The truth is, regardless of your position in your organization, practicing leadership principles can help you confidently navigate both your professional and personal life, whatever your role may be.

Bob Iger, Former CEO & Executive Chairman of The Walt Disney Company shares principles of leadership that may feel counterintuitive to the typical stereotypes—fostering risk-taking and creativity; building a culture of trust; fueling curiosity; inspiring people around you; embracing change; operating with integrity—yet principles like these are what leaders worth following embody most. By building these values and principles into your own life, you can become a leader worth following.

We’re excited to welcome Bob Iger to The Global Leadership Summit stage in August 2022!

There is much to learn from his award-winning career in media and entertainment. Over his 15 years of leading The Walt Disney Company, Bob Iger built Disney into one of the largest and most admired media entertainment companies in the world. As CEO, Iger expanded on Disney’s rich history of unforgettable storytelling with acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, and 21st Century Fox. Always one to embrace new technology, Iger has made Disney an industry leader through its creative content offerings across multiple platforms.

Featured on Good Morning America to discuss his latest New York Times best-selling book, The Ride of a Lifetime, Bob Iger shared some of his top principles as a leader over the course of his career, including the values of taking risks, treating people fairly, and others.

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Get your tickets to join us to hear more from Bob Iger at The Global Leadership Summit on August 4-5, 2022, and until then, enjoy this excerpt from the prologue of his latest book, The Ride of a Lifetime, where he breaks down the principles necessary for true leadership.

10 Principles Necessary for True Leadership

1. Optimism.

One of the most important qualities of a good leader is optimism, a pragmatic enthusiasm for what can be achieved. Even in the face of difficult choices and less than ideal outcomes, an optimistic leader does not yield to pessimism. Simply put, people are not motivated or energized by pessimists.

2. Courage.

The foundation of risk-taking is courage, and in ever-changing, disrupted businesses, risk-taking is essential, innovation is vital, and true innovation occurs only when people have courage. This is true of acquisitions, investments, and capital allocations, and it particularly applies to creative decisions. Fear of failure destroys creativity.

Fear of failure destroys creativity.

3. Focus.

Allocating time, energy, and resources to the strategies, problems, and projects that are of highest importance and value is extremely important, and it’s imperative to communicate your priorities clearly and often.

4. Decisiveness.

All decisions, no matter how difficult, can and should be made in a timely way. Leaders must encourage a diversity of opinion balanced with the need to make and implement decisions. Chronic indecision is not only inefficient and counterproductive, but it is deeply corrosive to morale.

5. Curiosity.

A deep and abiding curiosity enables the discovery of new people, places, and ideas, as well as an awareness and an understanding of the marketplace and its changing dynamics. The path to innovation begins with curiosity.

6. Fairness.

Strong leadership embodies the fair and decent treatment of people. Empathy is essential, as is accessibility. People committing honest mistakes deserve second chances, and judging people too harshly generates fear and anxiety, which discourages communication and innovation. Nothing is worse to an organization than a culture of fear.

Nothing is worse to an organization than a culture of fear.

7. Thoughtfulness.

Thoughtfulness is one of the most underrated elements of good leadership. It is the process of gaining knowledge, so an opinion rendered, or decision made is more credible and more likely to be correct. It’s simply about taking the time to develop informed opinions.

8. Authenticity.

Be genuine. Be honest. Don’t fake anything. Truth and authenticity breed respect and trust.

9. The relentless pursuit of perfection.

This doesn’t mean perfectionism at all costs, but it does mean refusal to accept mediocrity or make excuses for something being “good enough.” If you believe that something can be made better, put in the effort to do it. If you’re in the business of making things, be in the business of making great things.

10. Integrity.

Nothing is more important than the quality and integrity of an organization’s people and its product. A company’s success depends on setting high ethical standards for all things, big and small. Another way of saying this is: The way you do anything is the way you do everything.

This excerpt preview is from the prologue of The Ride of a Lifetime publicly provided by Google Books.

Want to hear more from Bob Iger? Join us at The Global Leadership Summit on August 4-5, 2022! Get Tickets >>