I’ve just read the first section of One Piece of Paper:  The Simple Approach to Powerful, Personal Leadership by Mike Figliuolo.  Here are two quick observations.

Observation #1 — Leadership is as multifaceted as life itself.  He writes:

The four aspects of leadership (are)
Leading yourself
Leading the thinking
Leading your people and
Leading a balanced life.

In other words, leadership involves thinking about, and creating strategy for, the best future for your organization, plus creating your inner (inner) life so that you are equipped to do that kind of thinking, plus gaining the followership of the people you lead, plus maintaining your balance.  As I said, leadership is a multifaceted challenge.

Observation #2 – Leadership requires exceptional ability to “make it simple, and communicate it thoroughly.”  From the book:

One thing all leaders have in common is the need to understand, articulate, and continuously improve their leadership philosophy and do so in a simple and straightforward way. 

Mr. Figliuolo insists that the leader arrive at, through a step-by-step process, his/her own set of “maxims” to follow.  And then for these maxims to be communicated clearly, repeatedly, throughout the organization.

One example, from his own time as a leader in the army, is this simple phrase:  “work hard and be honest” (emphasis added).  This is a terrific example of “simple, yet substantive.”

Of course, as always, the real challenge is follow-through.  Actually putting into place, and into practice, the implementation of your principles as revealed in your selected maxims is the ongoing challenge.  Again, from the book:

Theory is nice.  Application is where you have an impact on the world around you.

My time with a portion of this book this morning served as a good, always-needed reminder of the challenge of leadership.