James E. Loehr - Leading with Character

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“As leaders, we choose how we show up. No matter what level you are, never forget that others are watching. We model behaviors for people around us, setting expectations for how we expect to be treated and what we expect of others. This defines the character others see in you and takes courage. Always be authentic, and if you are your best in the ordinary moments of life, you will be great in the extraordinary ones.”

— Cathy Engelbert, Commissioner, WNBA, retired Deloitte CEO

“I've been extremely fortunate to have worked with Dr. Loehr over several years. His program has been invaluable in helping me grow personally and professionally. As a leader, I want to bring my very best at home and at work. We are all chasing something, as Dr. Loehr so clearly points out, but what really matters is the impact of that chase on our character. Through his teachings, I now understand how to strengthen my muscles of character so I can be the best version of myself in every aspect of my life.”

— Billy Donovan, Head Coach, NBA Oklahoma City Thunder

Mental Toughness Training for Sports

Breathe In, Breathe Out

Toughness Training for Life

The New Toughness Training for Sports

Stress for Success

The Power of Full Engagement

The Power of Story

The Only Way to Win

DR. JIM LOEHR

WITH CAREN KENNEY

Illustrations by Patrick Loehr

Copyright © 2021 by Jim Loehr. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600, or on the Web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Names: Loehr, Jim, author. | Kenney, Caren, author.

Title: Leading with character : 10 minutes a day to a brilliant legacy / Jim Loehr ; with Caren Kenney.

Description: Second Edition. | Hoboken : Wiley, 2020. | Includes index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020029616 (print) | LCCN 2020029617 (ebook) | ISBN 9781119550181 (hardback) | ISBN 9781119550174 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781119550198 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Leadership. | Leadership—Moral and ethical aspects. | Character.

Classification: LCC HD57.7 .L6424 2020 (print) | LCC HD57.7 (ebook) | DDC 658.4/092—dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020029616

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020029617

COVER ART AND DESIGN: PAUL MCCARTHY

To my parents, Mary and Con, and my three sons, Michael, Patrick, and Jeffrey.

Character is destiny.

– Heraclitus

Leadership has never been more important than it is right now. As I write this, the world is dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent economic fallout. Unemployment in the United States is reaching levels not seen since the Great Depression, and economies around the globe are reporting negative GDP growth. Businesses up and down Main Street are closed, many forever. On top of this, the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis has fueled pent-up social and racial unrest across the country and around the world. Twenty cities in the United States are under curfew, and the military has been deployed. Trust in institutions and “the system” is falling, as uncertainty and fear grow.

Leadership in moments like this really matters. I'm talking about leaders everywhere, at all levels of society: heads of state and CEOs, leaders in our communities and in our schools, leaders in the arts, in academia, in the world of sports. Even in our own family. We all have a role to play in making the world better, and the crises we are experiencing today underscore that point.

These overlapping crises we are facing will, I believe, be the ultimate test of leadership in our lifetime. What leaders do now, and just as importantly, how they lead, will likely shape their legacy.

That means finding ways to be the leader you want to be and that our neighbors, our employees, our people, and our planet need you to be. As Jim Loehr points out in this urgent, eye-opening, and actionable book, that means leading with purpose.

Jim's is a voice that we need to hear right now, especially, as he puts it, “those of us who are fortunate enough to be in a position of leadership.” His perspective on leadership – what it entails, what it requires day after day – could not be more timely.

I've been fortunate to know Jim for nearly 20 years, so I've become very familiar with the specific kind of leadership that he has been talking about over the course of his career: purpose-driven, moral, compassionate leadership born of character and nurtured by intentionality and hard work. And in this book, he gives you a clear guide to developing a personal credo that captures what you hope to accomplish through your leadership, which you then need to apply, or try to apply, at every encounter you have and every decision you make. That's how we display our true character, Jim writes, and how we “chisel our true essence from the bedrock of life, one moral decision at a time.”