Leadership - A discussion of traits, characteristics, and current news of leaders.

I spent my lunch hour today with some wonderful people. I was the guest speaker at a local Rotary Club. Rotary International  describes itself as a “global network of community volunteers.” I saw that first hand today and thought back to the quote by Martin Luther King, Jr.,  “Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve.”

In addition to serving, great leaders seem to know instinctively or perhaps learn by experience that leadership requires truth.  For a leader to have the confidence, trust and commitment of her followers, she must always speak the truth.

I didn’t know much about Rotary when I arrived but one thing stood out. At the front of the room hung a banner with these words


The Rotary Four Way Test is a pretty good gudeline for aspiring leaders. Truth, fairness, goodwill and beneficial to all are guiding lights for the decisions and actions of leaders.

This does not mean that someone will not feel that they were treated unfairly or that someone may bear a cost for a leaders decision.  The point is that leaders should strive for these values.  Most people will respect you if you lead by this standard, even if it cannot always be achieved.

It was my  pleasure to be among people who held this as their objective.

FYI -

"Rotary is a worldwide organization of business and professional leaders that provides humanitarian service, encourages high ethical standards in all vocations, and helps build goodwill and peace in the world. Approximately 1.2 million Rotarians belong to more than 31,000 Rotary clubs located in 167 countries."

You can read more about my experience on Know More Media.