Leadership Lessons From Nelson Mandela and Stephen Covey

UPDATE: My heart is saddened by the passing of Nelson Mandela on December 5, 2013. He was 95. The life he lived will continue to be an inspiration to me and millions of people.

In the world of exceptional leaders it’s been a week of joy and sorrow.

On the sad side of things, Dr. Stephen Covey passed away on Monday, July 16, 2012. Covey was an educator, best-selling author, motivational speaker, and businessman. His book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, is one of the most influential personal development and business books of all-time. Twenty-five million copies have been sold in 38 different languages!

Since I first read it, Habit 5 is one of the fundamental principles of my communication style: “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”

On the happier side of things, Nelson Mandela, anti-apartheid activist, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and former President of South Africa, is celebrating his 94th birthday today (7/18/12). I always thought I had a lot of determination and grit until I read Mandela’s autobiography, Long Walk To Freedom. I remember thinking to myself, “Al Duncan, you need to step up your game.”

Of course, neither Mandela nor Covey are without flaws and that’s what makes them great. Both epitomize many of the characteristics of exceptional leaders. Here are two of the numerous leadership lessons that can be learned from studying their works.

7 Online Soft Skills Quizzes

Where do you stand on your soft skills? If you are not sure, here are 7 quick and easy quizzes about a few of your soft skills.

Q & A: What Are Your Weaknesses?

Q: Al, I really enjoyed ur speech at the 4-H conference. u are funny! How do u answer the question “what are ur weaknesses?” when u r in an interview? —student at 4-H conference 

[INFOGRAPHIC] Cyberbullying: From The Playground To The Web

You don’t need me to tell you that with all of the incredible benefits of new technology comes a whole new array of problems. A huge one is cyberbullying. The statistics are staggering:

Student Loan Changes for 2012 – US News and World Report

Great news…student loan rate stays at 3.4 percent. (It was supposed to go up to 6.8 percent.)

Student Loan Changes for 2012 – US News and World Report

[POSTER] Duncan Nugget® #14: Your Performance Today

Million-Dollar Question:
If your life was
remembered based on
how well you performed today,
would that be okay with you?

LEARN. DO. IMPROVE.

TODAY.

_________________________
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS/ACTION STEPS

[INFOGRAPHIC] Teens, Texting, and Driving

An “LOL” or “OMG” while driving can get you killed. Not worth it.  At all.

Click the “read more” to view the infographic.