Over the last couple of weeks these articles on leadership have really gotten my attention. Each has caused me to ask myself hard questions about how I lead and why I lead that way. If you haven’t seen them already, I hope they cause you to ask yourself the similar questions.

The Importance of Philosophy to Great Leadership

Four Dimensions of Trust

What Makes a President Great

McCain and Obama: What Kind of Leaders Are They?

Developing People

Everyone who is a leader is building a legacy. It doesn’t matter if you are the President of the United States or a little league baseball coach. Our legacy will be a by product of how people (those who worked with us and those benefited from the work we did) remember us and how we are remembered will ultimately boil down to our philosophy on leadership.

The cruel thing about philosophy is that you can’t fake it. Whether you can write it down or not, your philosophy is visible in the attitude and actions of those who follow you.

One thing I need to do is determine the legacy I wish to leave and then make sure my philosophy on leadership and my team’s actions are in sync with that goal.