There is much in the news lately that has me thinking about leadership — business, political, religious, academic…

This morning, that led me back to Max DePreeʼs classic, Leadership Jazz. DePree makes the point that any follower has the right to ask many questions of a leader. He suggests this series as a starting point:

• What may I expect from you?
• Can I achieve my own goals by following you?
• Will I reach my potential by working with you?
• Can I entrust my future to you?
• Have you bothered to prepare yourself for leadership?
• Are you ready to be ruthlessly honest?
• Do you have the self-confidence and trust to let me do my job?
• What do you believe?

These are good honest questions. Answered in an honest and authentic way, they would tell a person quite a bit about what to expect from a leader.

But they aren’t answered honestly very often are they… In an age of tight image management, smart handlers do everything in their considerable power to suck the authenticity out of the relationships across which such questions could to be posed. So the answers we get most times are largely staged; the cosmetic equivalent of true disclosures, declarations and promises. It’s all about what the leader seems to be. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!

At InsideWork, we think that, beyond competence, beyond promises, beyond track record (all of which are important indicators), worldview matters. We’re convinced the best predictor of future leadership is what leaders think and believe at the most fundamental level — because priorities, decisions, and actions spring from core beliefs about the world.

So, if you are a leader, we have to ask: Why not seize the initiative to describe what you truly believe about the world and how that guides your behavior as a leader? I’m not suggesting you leverage your position to proselytize employees and vendors or put people on notice. I’m recommending that you let people look behind the curtain.

Adding to Max DePree’s list, I would volunteer answers to these questions:

• What do you believe about the value of people?
• What is foundation for your business ethics?
• What roles do you assign to profit and capital?
• What does financial accountability mean to you?
• What do you believe about the role and purpose of leadership?
• What commitments are you prepared to make to stakeholders?

Sunshine is the best disinfectant Maybe it’s also the best way to keep a healthy business (political, religious, family, friendship) environment healthy