10 commandments of leadership

“Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers, you cannot be successful or happy.” – Norman Vincent Peale

According to Robert Greene, power is a social game. To learn to master it, you must develop the ability to study and understand people. “Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself is true power.” Lao Tzu.

Finally, you must learn to always take the indirect route to power. Disguise your cunning like a billiard game that caroms several times before it hits its target. 

These are 10 powerful commandments you should impose on yourself when you take a role in a leadership position.

1.    Re-create yourself

Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others. – Jack Welch.

As a leader, changing yourself for the better is the first commandment you should impose on yourself and which you must never feel guilty for.

The world today seeks leaders who have clarity and vision. Remember, always stay true to your vision but never reveal your moves or plan on achieving them.

2.    Master the art of Timing

“We must appreciate time, utilize every moment for the important purposes of life. People who kill time are actually committing suicide on the installment plan.” – R. Irving A. Bunim.

“Never seem to be in a hurry – hurrying betrays a lack of control over yourself, and over time. Always seem patient, as if you know everything will come to you eventually. Become a detective of the right moment; sniff out the spirit of the times, the trends that will carry you to power. Learn to stand back when time is not yet ripe, and to strike fiercely when it has reached fruition.” Robert Greene

3.    Conceal your intentions

“It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.” - Proverb 25:2 

Napoleon Hill advise, tell the world what you intend to do, but first show it. This is the equivalent of saying “deeds, and not words, are what count most.”

Moreover, the book of Micah in chapter seven verse five says “Put no trust in a neighbor; have no confidence in a friend; guard the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms.”

If you don’t want your enemy to deter you from achieving your grand goals, or even worse, using your plans against you, conceal your intentions. Shut the **** up and do the work!

4.    Work on the hearts and minds of others

Take advantage of every opportunity to practice communication skills so that when important occasions arise, you will have the gift, the style, the sharpness, the clarity and the emotions to affect other people.” – Jim Rohn

To appeal to peoples’ minds and influence their behavior, address their hearts first. The power in addressing peoples’ hearts is portrayed in the words of Maya Angelo, who said “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

5.    Always say less than necessary

“A person who shows he cannot control his own words and tongue shows that he cannot control himself, and is unworthy of respect. - Coriolanus

According to Robert Greene, saying less than necessary is not for kings and statesmen only. In most areas of our lives, the less you say, the more profound and mysterious you appear. By saying less than necessary, you create the appearance of meaning and power.

6.    Plan all the way to the end

“Plan purposefully, Prepare. Proceed positively. Pursue persistently.” William A. Ward.

To accomplish your goals, either for the day, week, month, year or decade: - Plan in advance and visualize each move you will need to make and act swiftly when it’s time to do so.  Without action you will not achieve anything.

“The will to win is important, but the will to prepare is vital.” – Joe Paterno. Besides, “If you aren’t going all the way, why go at all?” – Joe Namath

7.    Enter action with boldness

“Optimism is a happiness magnet. If you stay positive, good things and good people will be drawn to you.” – Mary Lou Retton

“If you are unsure of a course of action, do not attempt it. Your doubts and hesitations will infect your execution. Timidity is dangerous: Better to enter with boldness. Any mistake you commit through audacity are easily corrected with more audacity. Everyone admires the bold; no one honors the timid.” – Robert Greene

8.    Make your accomplishments seem effortless

This is the judgement concerning commandment number 8: “Your actions must seem natural and executed with ease. All the toil and practice that go into them, and also all the clever tricks, must be concealed. When you act, act effortlessly, as if you could do much more. Avoid the temptation of revealing how hard you work – it only rises questions.” – Robert Greene.

As the cliché goes, action speak louder than words. So work hard in silence and let success blow the trumpet for you instead of blowing your own trumpet.

Baldassare Castiglione capped this commandment best “For whatever actions accomplishes, no matter how trivial it is, it not only reveals the skill of the person doing it, but also very often causes it to be considered far greater than it is. This is because it makes the onlookers believe that a man who performs well with so much facility must possess even greater skill than he does.”

9.    So much depends on reputation – guard it with all your life

“It takes 20 years to build reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” – Warren Buffett

“Reputation is the cornerstone of power. Through reputation alone, you can intimidate and win; once it slips, however, you are vulnerable, and will be attacked on all sides. Make your reputation unassailable.  Always be alert to potential attacks and thwart them before they happen.” – Robert Greene

10. Be royal in your own fashion: Act like a King to be treated like one

“As we see and treat others, so do we see and treat ourselves. By recognizing the true Self in others, we also find it in ourselves.” – Frances Vaughan and Roger Walsh

Royalty can be inherited but respect is earned. Showing respect and kindness to others will cost you nothing. The truth is, “Everybody is like a magnet. You attract to yourself reflections of that which you are. If you’re friendly, then everybody else seems to be friendly too.” – Dr. David Hwakins