All fundraising rises and falls on leadership

In preparation for my new role as Board President of the Development Executives Roundtable I’ve been reading a lot of leadership books, by authors ranging from Deepak Chopra to Peter F. Drucker to Marcus Aurelius.

One of my favorites is John C. Maxwell’s classic Developing the Leader Within You. It is a must read for anyone leading a nonprofit development team. I agree with Maxwell, who says the world needs leaders:

• Who use their influence at the right times for the right reasons;
• Who take a little greater share of the blame and a little smaller share of the credit;
• Who lead themselves successfully before attempting to lead others;
• Who continue to search for the best answers, not the familiar one;
• Who add value to the people and organizations they lead;
• Who work for the benefit of others and not for personal gain;
• Who handle themselves with their heads and handle others with their hearts;
• Who know the way, go the way, and show the way;
• Who inspire and motivate rather than intimidate and manipulate;
• Who live with people to know their problems and live with God in order to solve them;
• Who realize that their dispositions are more important than their positions;
• Who mold opinions instead of following opinion polls;
• Who understand that an institution is the reflection of their character;
• Who never place themselves above others except in carrying responsibilities;
• Who will be as honest in small things as in great things
• Who discipline themselves so they will not be disciplined by others;
• Who encounter setbacks and turn them into comebacks;
• Who follow a moral compass that points in the right direction regardless of the trends.

QUESTION: What steps can you take to develop the leader within you in 2008?