What does Memorial Day have to do with effective leadership? Quite a bit, actually. Memorial Day honors people who have died. But on Memorial Day, we should not honor their deaths – we should honor their lives – what they stood for, how they made their corner of the world a better place. We should honor the way they challenge us to become better, to emulate the best parts of their lives.

Honoring the best aspects of people – holding it up for others to emulate – is one characteristic of an excellent leader. This practice gives people a good example to emulate, a positive goal to strive for. It is far more effective in creating desired attitudes and behaviors than negative reinforcement.

Who does your leadership honor? How do they do it?

Gary Langenwalter