Are leadership standards important?

Recently I came across an article titled Proper Spelling? Its Tyme to Let Luce. In the article, Anne Trubek discusses the English language and words with multiple spellings.

She wonders if readers would care if journalists and authors misspell words. And who should have the deciding factor in proper spelling.

Anne closes the article by stating YOU should decide how to spell a word. Do not worry about standards. Worry about yourself.

Image via Wikipedia

The article made me think about leadership.

Should there be guidelines for leadership? Should there be a way to gauge proper leadership? Should there be leadership standards?

The answer to the question is a resounding YES, there should be leadership standards.

Standards like:

Concern For Others:
If you do not care for others, they will notice. You will not come across as authentic.

To be effective, you need to have a desire to help others. Concerns need to be addressed and conflicts resolved. You must show them you care.
Integrity:
I hit on this in my post A Question of Ethics.

You need to have high ethical standards and personal values. They will keep you grounded and give you a map to lead by.

Your team and followers are looking at you for moral direction. Do not lead them astray. Give them a great example to follow.
Personal Growth:
If you stop growing, your leadership will become stale. You need to be a learner to propel your team forward.

Look for new books you can read or classes that you could take. Anything to could improve your skills.
Self Control:
You need to be able to control yourself. This includes areas of speech, substance abuse, and actions.

If you are unwilling or unable to control yourself, why should anyone listen to you?
Team Development:
You must encourage your team to continue their personal growth. Without it, their skills and assets will become stale.

Give your team great materials and courses. Purchase books that may help them grow, send them to conferences, or create a retreat for your team.

When you have concern for others, integrity, personal growth, self control, and team development as standards for your leadership you are creating a firm foundation.

By having leadership standards, you will be able to examine your leadership skills and see if they are aligning to the standards. Without them, you will not know if you are leading well.

Take time today to set leadership standards for you and your team. Or feel free to use the five I have presented here.

Whatever you do, be sure to have, at a minimum, quarterly reviews of your leadership standards. Correct course if you need or continue on the correct path.

Question: Have you created leadership standards for you and your team? Should I add any to my list? Please share and discuss your answers in the comment section below.