As we walk daily through COVID-19, at times it seems minute by minute, we observe leadership. Regardless of the outcomes and personal opinions of decisions, we are learning what choices mean to leadership.

After finishing Harvey Kanter’s book Choosing to Lead, I’d encourage all leaders of any position to use your downtime in the next few weeks to dialogue with it. He addresses several practical and vital aspects of leadership such as communication, optimism, values, curiosity, humility, and decisiveness. His definitions are experientially based; his directions are growth oriented. His encouragement is that many people have position to lead but have yet to actually choose to do it, and pursue doing it well. Kanter doesn’t claim to have all the answers; maybe that’s why his thoughts are worth considering. His words model his values based on his choices. Below are a dozen highlights.

• I am not my resume.
• Leaders keep seeking answers until they find them…asking questions is paramount to leading well.
• When a leader is seen “doing what needs to be done,” a precedent is established for the team that you need to jump in and take action, not wait for someone else to act.
• Your ability to learn through the unexpected will grow your leadership capacity…the kind of leader you are shows up in adversity.
• Your ability to grow is in direct correlation to your level of curiosity and inquisitiveness. Your orientation towards learning will either stretch you to expand your thinking or constrain you to live in a static world.
• A confident leader is one who recognizes the best qualities in others without being threatened.
• We like to work with people we can believe in. We tend to believe in people who genuinely believe in themselves.
• Leading people in sharing their views, risking that they may be misunderstood or that their view may not be appreciated by others, is a critical leadership skill.
• Trying things new and unfamiliar stimulates subconscience problem-solving, forcing you to see things from a new point of view.
• Actions are the truest reflection of values.
• Accountability requires vulnerability.
• The smartest people surround themselves with even smarter people.