Being the father is a huge humbling responsibility. I remember being given the assignment of speaking in church on fathers day about the importance of fathers, when I realized in five years I went from not even being married, to having a wife and five children to care for, teach and lead in a positive direction. Always be prepared you never know when you will have the opportunity to lead others. Everyone is a leader to someone so make it count.

I have thought about some ways to be a great leader. First is to inspire trust. You build relationships of trust through both your character and competence and you also extend trust to others. You show others that you believe in their ability to live up to certain expectations, to deliver on promises and to achieve clarity on key goals. You don’t inspire trust by micromanaging and second guessing every step people make.

The second is to clarify purpose. Great leaders involve their family, friends and coworkers excluding no one. Involving everyone in the communication process to create the goals to be achieved. If people are involved in the process, they psychologically own it and you are on the same page about what is really important, with the same mission, vision, values, and goals.

A great leader is one that will never ask the question, “What’s in it for me?’ When asked will say, “What’s in it for all.” A great leader never puts themselves above others on their team and is willing to do even the lowliest of tasks to benefit the team.