Often I refer to our society and culture today as a drive-thru one. Everything we want, need, or can have is immediately at our fingertips and we expect it that way. We expect things to be quick and handed to us with little to no effort — much like a drive-thru. Then there are the “hackers.” Those people looking to find ways to get from the start line to the finish line without actually running the whole race. They want the results without the work, the benefits without the sweat, the rewards without the risk.

Unfortunately for those types of people, personality skills are far from that. Simon Sinek said it best when he said “there’s no app that.” No these skills need to be developed, established and occasionally broken down and built back up. In fact, looking for and using a “drive-thru solution or hack” will only ruin your reputation as leader not lift it.

Understand that leadership is influence and you develop your ability to influence those around you by their thoughts of you. If you hack something or simply do the bare minimum you will come off as fake or self-centered. And this is death for a leader.

Understand that it takes time to develop leadership skills and style. Everyone is different. However, I have come to the conclusion that there are 9 foundations in which a leader must have and from there they can built their additional skills into a style. Those 9 foundations are:

Be the Expert Be a constant change for improvement Be the example for all Be one to communicate the goal and move towards it Be respectful to your people and support them Be a mentor Be decisive Be constantly building the team Be present

However, it was not enough for me just to realize that these foundations were there. I needed to build on it… so I did! In my eBook The 9 Foundations of Leadership, I discuss each foundation — what they mean, I give relevant examples of how I have employed these foundations in actual circumstances.

Regardless if you buy my eBook or not, you now have the foundations of leadership. These will enable you to build off of these and become the type of leader you envision for yourself. I have used these foundations my whole leadership journey, some 20+ years. Hopefully they will help you.

If you want more, just swing by my site and have a look at all the other leadership resources I have for you.