On one occasion I asked my father what he thought a good definition of leadership was. He said, “Leadership is communicating to another person their worth and potential so clearly they are inspired to see it in themselves.”
– Stephen R. Covey, Primary Greatness
I have the privilege of speaking with college students, early career professionals, and emerging leaders in the workforce on a regular basis. This group roughly spans Gen Z to younger Millennials. I also actively coach and mentor one on one a number of early career professionals each year with new faces joining this loose cohort on a fairly frequent basis. I am energized by these conversations and have a passion for not only investing in these future leaders but also learning from them.
Recently, I was reflecting on my many conversations with this group and how I can better serve their professional and personal development and help them unlock their potential. I have long believed and consistently shared with others that this group of early career professionals will soon run the world, and I am excited for the future they will create. But I also feel that more experienced generations like mine owe it to this next generation of leaders to share with them our knowledge and experiences, listen to their ideas, and openly discuss mistakes we have made and the lessons learned. We have an obligation to actively guide, coach, and encourage them to be prepared to lead . . . and lead well. My hope is that these emerging generations will embrace the mantle of leadership and become leaders actually worth following.
There are so many approaches we can take to help this generation lead well, become better human beings, and do the right thing at work, and I would suggest the most compelling and helpful path leads through sharing and modeling the merits of the consistent practice of virtue. The journey to become a leader worth following must necessarily involve a journey to become a better human being. This is why virtue matters . . .
To consistently practice virtue means to habitually and deliberately act in accordance with moral principles, repeatedly choosing to behave in a way that aligns with positive character traits like gratitude, generosity, kindness, justice, humility, and patience, even in difficult situations. It’s essentially making ethical behavior a regular part of the way you live and your decision-making process. Virtues are developed through repeated daily practice, becoming ingrained habits that guide your actions naturally. All of us, regardless of title or experience, have the ability to develop, practice, and refine our virtuous behavior. Hopefully, we learn the merits of virtuous behavior from our parents, our faith, friends, and our community. Even if that is not the case, virtues can always be learned and applied in everyone’s life.
As an executive coach and the author of a dozen books, I have long been focused on creating practical tools for my clients and sharing helpful insights with my broader network. Over the last fifteen years, I have written about dozens of helpful virtues in my blog posts and books. I have written a brand-new book called Practical Virtue: An Actionable Guide to Help You Become a Leader Worth Following, which is my humble attempt to pull together favorite virtues from my previous work as well as new writing with a focus on helping early-career professionals become great leaders. In each short chapter, you will encounter true stories from my coaching work, experiences with friends and my own life experiences, along with actionable best practices to help you better understand and apply each virtue in your life. The book is now available from Amazon.
Where this book may differ from other books on virtue is that each virtue is presented as a necessary soft skill leaders and aspiring leaders should fully embrace. For example, patience is certainly an admirable virtue, but practicing patience is also a great way to live and lead. My hope for you is that as you work your way through the short and actionable chapters, you will learn invaluable leadership skills, experience considerable personal growth, and pick up life-changing, virtuous habits that will help you do the right thing at work and become a leader others are eager to follow.
This book on practical virtues is meant to be a bridge to a better life and a better career, but it is not the end of the journey. There is no magic formula, but consistently practicing what you learn in this book will greatly accelerate your personal and professional growth. The Resource section at the end of the book will point you to additional books and websites that will help you continue the growth you have hopefully experienced with the help of this new book. I stand on the shoulders of giants as I offer through Practical Virtue a simple introduction into helpful virtues for life and work. I hope what you read in the book will be the catalyst for further exploration into the writers who have shaped my thinking on virtue over the years.
If you are a more experienced leader eager to help and mentor the next generation of leaders, I hope you enjoy the book and will share copies with college students, early career professionals, and any aspiring leaders in your sphere of influence. We need to not only pass the leadership baton on to them but also be willing to accompany them in the early stages of their journey. If you are seeking an actionable guide to facilitate meaningful conversations on substantive topics with this group, Practical Virtue was mainly written for this purpose. I will be introducing something called the 1 + 3 Project in the coming weeks to hopefully inspire experienced leaders to invest meaningful time in developing and learning from early-career professionals, using Practical Virtue as a tool to guide the conversations.
If you are an early-career professional eager to grow into a leader worth following, this book will help you, challenge you, and offer you a glimpse into a compelling future where you will be more engaged in your work, leading with excellence and reaching your God-given potential. I want you to know I am cheering for you and excited to accompany you on the journey as you read the book and absorb the lessons it contains. I wrote Practical Virtue for you.
Thank you, and I wish you the best of luck.
*Practical Virtue is now available from Amazon! Click here to learn more, read helpful recommendations and purchase your copies.
