A Value System for Leadership Derived from World Heroes of Peace
Inspired by the Tuskegee Airmen’s and Women’s Legacy
Developed by Roger F. Cram and Carol A. Ruggie from their research into how leaders of peace resolved problems and conflict.
Copyrighted © by Roger F. Cram July 2005, February 2006, March 2008  with all rights reserved.

16 Attributes

1.       (Behavior) Govern yourself by never allowing another’s behavior to negatively influence your conduct. Your actions are always your responsibility; they are never another’s fault. Determine your behavior from your values, from the kind of person you want to be -- never from how others behave toward you.

2.       (Change) Encourage positive change, not through criticism, but through your continuous achievements of excellence for all to witness. When criticized by others, offer continual examples of excellence as your only response.

3.       (Vision) Envision things as wonderful as they can be, not as they are, and then strive to create positive change toward these envisioned goals. All great accomplishments started as a vision that others could not see.

4.       (Obstacles) Realize that obstacles are not barriers to your goals, but opportunities for growth, challenges to enrich your self-confidence, and opportunities to master new skills. A person having reached a goal without overcoming obstacles has learned nothing and accomplished even less. Conquered obstacles are the only qualifying credentials of heroes and a measure of one's commitment and leadership.

5.       (Self-esteem) Enhance your self-esteem, not from the opinions of others, but from your values, from your abilities, from your potential, from the compassionate causes you have chosen to embrace, and from the magnitudes of commitment you have expended toward their resolve.

6.       (Character) Without regard to consequences, courageously fulfill the obligations of being human by revering all life, defending the righteous, promoting peace, inspiring compassion, protecting the environment, spreading joy, and sharing your assets^[1] with those less fortunate.

7.       (Courage) Honor and respect fear, for it alone offers you an opportunity to demonstrate courage.

8.       (Perseverance) Never give up. Most perceived failures are not failures at all, but instead successfully completed stepping stones toward a goal. The only time you can fail is if you quit perusing your goals.

9.       (Trust) Honor all commitments and obligations to everyone. Your pledge should be as meaningful to a king as to a beggar, for the value of a commitment is determined from its source, not to whom it is directed.

10.   (Conflict) While engaging your adversaries, always maintain their dignity. This is the only road to lasting peace.

11.   (Contentment) Enjoy your journeys more than your victories, for your journeys occupy all your life -- your victories but a moment. 

12.   (Readiness) Protect your abilities and senses from limiting influences,^[2] thus staying alert and in readiness for all of life’s challenges and unexpected encounters.

13.   (Compassion) Give simply to increase the amount of goodness in the world -- often without recognition or reward. Give more to others than you receive in return, and carefully sustain this inequity as a distinctive characteristic of your leadership.

14.   (Judging) Observe, but never judge. Seek out the differences in others and then celebrate them, for such diversity ^[3] is the true potpourri of humanity and will enrich you with the knowledge and wisdom of the entire human experience.

15.   (Recognition) Serve enthusiastically as a spokesperson for the accomplishments and concerns of others. Attentive leaders communicate the issues, ideas, and achievements of those less able to speak for themselves and give ample recognition for their origin.

16.   (Values) Uphold this Value System, especially under adverse conditions, not to please someone else, but to honor the unfaltering principles within you, to validate your character as the type of person you want to be, and to gradually realize the awesome potential of being human.

Copyrighted © by Roger F. Cram July 2005, February 2006 with all rights reserved.

^[1]assets = One’s strength, capacity to help, capacity to protect, capacity to defend, and capacity to rescue. One’s abilities, education, talents, insight, wisdom, labor, knowledge, wealth, belongings, property, and any similar thing that can be utilized to bring benefit to another. (Arthur Saunders, Tuskegee Airmen)

^[2] limiting influences = anger, frustration, revenge, alcohol, drugs, poor diet, poor physical or mental conditioning, lack of alertness, negative attitude, over aggressiveness, idleness, etc.

^[3] diversity = one’s abilities, interests, talents, experiences, beliefs, customs, culture, points-of-view, rituals, influences, networks, assets, and any beneficial characteristic distinguishing one person from another.

Copyrighted © by Roger F. Cram July 2005, February 2006, March 2008  with all rights reserved.