The winning H-word is HOPEFUL. Although there wasn’t a winning entry, Ross Harper was the first to submit an H-word (humble). Because it’s an H-word that I considered, I’m sending Ross a signed copy of Why It Matters.
Helpful, honest, and humble were also contenders for the winning H-word. I even considered humorous, albeit briefly. A sense of humor is important, but exemplary leaders must be considered to be serious, not jocular or humorous.
In Why It Matters, I emphasize the importance of “the tone at the top” of an organization or team. The tone must be one of hope. Hope, alone, won’t suffice. It isn’t a plan. It must be accompanied by action. Leaders must be hopeful.
In Leading with Integrity, Kolp and Rea use as a foundation for their book Aristotle’s seven basic virtues: courage, faith, justice, prudence, temperance, love, and hope. Regarding the latter, they point out, “To hope requires courage, and the opposite is true as well: without hope, courage is foolishness.”[i]
I agree with something that Napolean Bonaparte is credited with saying, “A leader is a dealer in hope.” (However, there’s no evidence he said it.) If leaders aren’t hopeful, how can members of their teams be? The winning A-word was attitude. Exemplary leaders must have an attitude of hope.
Not only must leaders be hopeful, but they also must look and act hopeful. Consider the following situation: “Donald Smith, not long into his tenure as president and CEO of Tyson Foods, was sitting at his desk one morning when a member of his executive team asked, ‘Are we selling the company?’
“Stunned, Smith responded, ‘Absolutely not!’
“‘Everyone is saying we are,’ the team member said. ‘You walked by the receptionist without speaking when you arrived this morning.’ Although Smith was having a bad day, he learned he needed to put a smile on his face when he walked across campus.”[ii]
Exemplary leaders also need to be helpful. Team members must be confident that their leader will help them when needed. Not only will the leader help them when it comes to business matters, but also when it comes to personal matters. Exemplary leaders care for those whom they lead. They want what’s best for them, not just at work but also in life. (This doesn’t mean that the leader will step in and do the job for them without evidence that help is needed. If there’s evidence that the person isn’t capable of doing the job, then the leader must make some changes.)
In addition to being hopeful and helpful, exemplary leaders must be honest. Exemplary leaders must “must walk their talk.” They must do what they say they will do. They must be trustworthy. There’ll be times when a leader can’t share everything with the team, but there should be no doubt among team members that the leader will make every effort to do what’s best for each team member.
Why did I include humble in my list of finalists for the winning H-word? Numerous leaders who met with my leadership class emphasized the need for a leader to be humble. In Good to Great, Jim Collins links personal humility and professional will as attributes of a Level 5 leader; he’s widely credited with saying, “The X-factor of great leadership is not personality, it’s humility.”[iii]
Humility is among top values for several leaders in the podcast series on values-based leadership: LeadershipWWEB.[iv] If you haven’t listened to my interview of Donnie Smith, you should. He cites integrity, courage, humility, service, and authenticity as his top five values. He makes the case that being humble does not mean being weak. Indeed, when leaders aren’t ashamed to demonstrate humility, it’s evidence that they are strong leaders. They are comfortable in their own skin.
Next: Leadership ABCs—I
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 I-word entry is 12:00 am, EDT, November 19, 2025; the latest time is 12:00 am, EDT, November 26, 2025.
[i] Alan Kolp and Peter Rea, Leading with Integrity: Character-Based Leadership, Cengage Learning, Mason, OH, 2009. p. 247.
[ii] John A. White, Why It Matters: Reflections on Practical Leadership, Greenleaf Book Group Press, Austin, TX, 2022, p. 84.
[iii] See https://www.linkedin.com/posts/scotchisholm_20-of-the-wisest-things-ever-said-by-jim-activity-7130547507209605123-7WX_/
