Being a Leader People Want to Follow

I love the way Mark Miller writes. He is very similar to Patrick Lencioni in writing business/leadership fables. His latest book The Heart of Leadership: Becoming a Leader People want to Follow (kindle version) is no different.

Here are a few things I highlighted:

If your heart is not right, no one cares about your leadership skills.
I’ll let you in on a little discussed fact about leadership: As important as the skills are, lack of skills is not what derails most leaders; skills are too easy to learn. If you want to predict people’s ultimate success as leaders, evaluate not their skills but their leadership character.
There is a lot more to leadership than great individual work
You can lead, with or without, a title. If you wait until you get a title, you could wait forever.
Ninety percent of our success as leaders will be determined by what’s below the waterline. It’s our leadership character that ultimately drives what we do, and why. It is a true reflection of who we really are as human beings.
Leadership character is the primary driver of your success as a leader.
The lack of skills is not what derails most leaders—skills are too easy to learn. It is ultimately leadership character that determines our opportunity for influence and impact.
When leaders fail to thrive, the culprit is often their leadership character, not their lack of skills.
The servant leader constantly works to help others win.
Don’t confuse opportunity with leadership.
Get ready to lead and opportunities to lead will not be your problem.
Many people in the world see events as they are; leaders are different in that they see things that could be. And the future they see is always a better version of the present. We believe we can make a difference; we think we can make the world, or at least our part of it, better. Leaders are generally more optimistic than nonreaders.
People generally rise to the level of expectations placed on them.
When faced with a challenging or difficult situation, the best leaders most often respond with courage; less mature leaders, or nonleaders often choose another path—a path with less risk, less conflict, and less personal discomfort.
Leaders usually don’t wait—they initiate.
Leaders get what they create and what they allow.
Leaders respond with courage when they: Articulate the vision for the future. Build relationships with challenging people. Challenge people to grow and change. Mend broken relationships. Confront difficult problems. Make hard or unpopular decisions.
When leaders lead well, not everyone is going to be happy.
If there were no challenge, there would be no need for courage—or leadership.
To blame others is not the path leaders take. Leaders accept responsibility, in part, because they are sold out to the vision.
Leaders are different. They see the world differently and they cultivate different character traits.