The winning G-word is genuine. There weren’t any winning entries.
Goal-oriented, gracious, grateful, and gritty are four other G-words I considered. I didn’t consider garrulous, although I’ve known leaders, albeit not effective ones, who definitely possessed that attribute.
I found it interesting that a listing of leadership qualities from A to Z is available on the internet and the G-word is Genuine.[i] Among the first six letters of the alphabet, balanced and decisive were my winning B- and D-words.
After choosing genuine as the winning G-word, I queried Microsoft Edge’s co-pilot about attributes of a genuine leader. The response claimed that a genuine leader is “someone who earns trust, inspires action, and leaves a lasting impact” and key attributes of a genuine leader are integrity, empathy, vision, adaptability, communication, accountability, empowerment, and humility.
In Why It Matters, while considering how decisions are made, I drew on a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr., “A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus, but a molder of consensus.”[ii]
A synonym for a genuine leader is an authentic leader. Authenticity, one of my Keys to “A”s, is treated in Part XIII of my series of blogs on leadership keys to “A”s and is examined in Chapter 13 of Why It Matters.[iii]
When I queried Microsoft Edge’s co-pilot for examples of genuine leaders I received the following response: Nelson Mandela; New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern; Microsoft’s Satya Nadella; Germany’s Angela Merkel; Barack Obama; Ruth Bader Ginsburg; Apple’s Tim Cook; and Poet Laureate Malala Yousafzai. Querying OpenAI GPT-4o for examples, I obtained these: Nelson Mandela; Angela Merkel; and Mahatma Gandhi.
In Why It Matters, I share the following: “Role models are important. Studying successful leaders and identifying best practices and traits is useful for emerging leaders. However, they should not attempt to copy someone else’s leadership style or traits. After completing his doctorate and joining Motorola, Chris Lofgren met with Motorola’s CEO, George M. C. Fisher. Lofgren asked Fisher what he needed to do to be successful as a leader. Fisher advised him to be himself. He said, ‘You can only be the second best someone else.’ Terrific advice. Be authentic. Be you!”[iv] Be genuine!
Being genuine is important, but so are being goal-oriented, gracious, grateful, and gritty. People who know me, know that I am goal-oriented. In Why It Matters, the words goal and goals appear more than 100 times. Goals are important, especially for leaders. More than once, in Why It Matters, I say,” my goal is to be the leader of the best team, not the best leader of a team.” The focus needs to be on the team.
Unfortunately, too few leaders are gracious. They aren’t kind; they aren’t humble; they aren’t respectful of others. Their focus is on self, not the team. Exemplary leaders know that success is not due to their efforts, but the efforts of the team.
Exemplary leaders are grateful for the opportunity they’ve been provided to lead. They stand on the shoulders of those who came before and are provided a foundation on which they can strive for greatness. Too many examples exist of leaders who criticize their predecessors. They fail to recognize that doing so exposes their insecurities. Be gracious! Be grateful!
During the process of writing Why It Matters, I obtained a copy of Angela Duckworth’s Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance.”[v] I wished it had been written sooner and I had read it before taking on several of my leadership challenges. Exemplary leaders possess grit; their passion and perseverance play major roles in their successes as leaders. Prior to reading Grit, I would not have claimed to possess that attribute, but I must have because during my years as UA’s chancellor I followed Sir Winston Churchill’s admonition: “Never give in—never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense.”[vi] I persevered!
Next: Leadership ABCs—H
Rules for the game to receive a signed copy of Why It Matters: 1) limited to U.S.A. mailing addresses; 2) limited to a single selection for the word; 3) cannot submit entry sooner than one week before the blog is posted on LinkedIn; 4) be the first correct entry I receive; and 5) send entries to me at johnaustinwhitejr@gmail.com. The earliest you can submit your H-word entry is 12:00 am, EDT, November 5, 2025; the latest time is 12:00 am, EDT, November 12, 2025.
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[i] See https://www.oakconsult.co.uk/a-to-z-of-leadership-qualities/.
[ii] John A. White, Why It Matters: Reflections on Practical Leadership, Greenleaf Book Group Press, Austin, TX, 2022, p. 166.
[iii] ibid, p. 267-268.
[iv] ibid, p. 122.
[v] Angela Duckworth, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, Simon & Schuster, New York, NY, 2016.
[vi] White, p. 47.
