As with A, B, and C, many words beginning with the letter D are associated with exemplary leaders. Consider the following: daring, data-driven, dealing, delegating, diligent, diplomatic, dependable, dynamic, dedicated, discerning, disciplined, determined, and driven. To those, I’d add Drucker—Peter F. Drucker, considered by many to be the Father of Modern Management; his writings influenced my approach to leadership.
What about daring? Exemplary leaders cannot be afraid to take risks. They must dare to go where others fear to tread. But, like most things, it’s best to do so in moderation. Leaders must keep their fingers on the pulses of their followers (and their superiors and investors), because they will tolerate only so much risk. Daring isn’t my winning D-word. Neither is data-driven, although I believe it’s important for leaders to pay attention to data, though not be governed by it; after all, data are from the past.
In Why It Matters, you’ll find the following: “John J. Jarvis, a colleague from Georgia Tech, was quoted as having said, ‘White has an analytical mind and a knack for numbers. . . . He’s a data freak. He will spend forever—all night, every night—going on the Web, finding all kinds of data and putting it in charts.’”[i]
Instead of data-driven, I prefer data-led. As I stated in Why It Matters, “I like what John Roberts said on the subject: ‘First, I make sure we have relied on data analytics to reduce the number of alternatives to a set of finalists. Then, I rely on my intuition and the experience and intuition of my leadership team.’ He said that often, nonquantifiable aspects of the alternatives tipped the balance in the final choice.”[ii] Included in Why It Matters is a copy of a Dilbert cartoon about data that sums up challenges leaders face in this AI-driven data analytics world we live in.[iii]
Depending on the situation, it can be important for a leader to be effective at making deals, at making trades, at negotiating, at compromising. But, like being daring, being a “wheeler, dealer” can have its downsides outweigh its upsides. Dealing, too, isn’t my winning D-word.
Delegating is an essential attribute for leaders, especially as the size of the organization increases. Simply stated, while a leader might be able to handle everything when the organization is small, there comes a time when the leader must turn over the reins to others for specific tasks. As I state in Why It Matters, “When you delegate tasks to others, it’s important to follow up to ensure they’re being completed as intended. The verification process is not an indication of distrust but a recognition that while authority can be delegated, accountability and responsibility cannot.”[iv] Delegating is important, but it’s not my winning D-word.
Exemplary leaders must be diligent. Often, leadership is 24/7/365.25 (considering leap years). As Peter Drucker noted, leadership is hard work. However, diligent isn’t a winning D-word.
Exemplary leaders must be capable of being diplomatic. Admittedly, there are situations where diplomacy goes out the window, but there are also situations in which being diplomatic is essential. Exemplary leaders know when, where, why, and how to be diplomatic. Still, diplomacy isn’t the winning D-word.
In like manner, being dependable, dynamic, dedicated, discerning, disciplined, and driven are attributes of exemplary leaders. However, as important as they are, they aren’t winners in the alphabet game for the letter D.
I strongly considered choosing Drucker as the winning D-word, but I thought you would use a C-word to describe my choice—cheating! Although I’m a fan of Drucker, I include his name as a clue for what the winning word is for another letter in the alphabet game.
At this point, many probably moved to the end of the blog to learn what the winning D-word is and who submitted the winning entry. The winning D-word is DECIDING. I chose it over decisive, because exemplary leaders need to know when to decide and when to delegate the decision. Decisive seems to convey the notion that leaders make all decisions. They must be capable of deciding and must be willing to decide, but they shouldn’t decide everything. If they do then they aren’t developing their lieutenants.
In Chapter 9 of Why It Matters, I deal with decisions and mistakes that leaders make and share Steve Sample’s two rules: “1. Never make a decision yourself that can reasonably be delegated to a lieutenant. 2. Never make a decision today that can reasonably be put off to tomorrow.”[v] The key word in both rules is reasonably.
Being capable of making decisions is critical. As the saying goes, “The road of life is paved with flat squirrels who couldn’t make a decision.” Shakespeare’s Hamlet was indecisive, as evidenced by his famous “to be or not to be” statement.[vi]
If a decision is needed and it’s unreasonable to delegate or delay, decide!
Winning D-Word Entry: No winner, again. This seems more challenging than my graduate course on queueing theory. Maybe someone will identify the winning E-word.
Next: Leadership ABCs—E
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; and 4) send entries to me at johnaustinwhitejr@gmail.com. The soonest you can submit your E-word entry is 12:00 am, EDT, September 24, 2025; the latest time is 12:00 am, EDT, October 1, 2025.
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[i] John A. White, Why It Matters: Reflections on Practical Leadership, Greenleaf Book Group Press, Austin, TX, 2022, p. 101.
[ii] White, p. 103.
[iii] White, p. 218.
[iv] White, p. 88.
[v] Steven B. Sample, The Contrarian’s Guide to Leadership, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA, 2002, pp. 71-72.
[vi] William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 1. Line 62.
