Candidates identified by AI software for attributes of exemplary leaders beginning with the letter N include narrating, negotiating, nerve, networking, neutral, nice, nimble, nobility, nonconformist, and nurturing, plus a few others. Limiting consideration to these, I choose nimble. While each attribute listed has merit, nimble, being able to adapt quickly and being flexible in responding to changes, is the winning N-word for exemplary leaders. (As with all but the I-word, there wasn’t a winning entry for the N-word.)
As a child I learned the nursery rhyme, “Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack jump over the candle stick. Little did I realize that one of the commands (be nimble) would be an essential attribute of exemplary leaders.
Heads up! Because I associate quickness with being nimble, quickness won’t be the winning Q-word.
On the subject of quickness, John Wooden, UCLA’s legendary hall-of-fame basketball coach, said, “What all our teams had in common was not height, but quickness—physical quickness, of course, but also something of equal value: mental quickness—that is, alertness. Alertness, the ability to be constantly observing, absorbing, and learning from what’s going on around you, is a critical component for the individual in charge, the leader who strives for continuous improvement.”[i]
In Why It Matters, I point out, “Wooden believed leaders who possess the value of alertness ‘constantly monitor the competitive landscape and are quick to identify trends, changes, opportunities, and potential threats.’ He noted that they see what competitors miss because they’re constantly alert, on guard, looking for signals of a need to adjust, to make changes in real time. He writes, ‘They are quick to see weaknesses in their organization and correct them and quick to see a weakness in the competition and take advantage of it.’”[ii]
Also, in Why It Matters, I observe that leaders must “adapt to a rapidly changing world and they must do so quickly (agility). Leaders must be adaptable and resilient. Wooden notes, ‘Adaptability is being able to adjust to any situation at any given time.’ Leaders cannot be rigid and inflexible. They must hold strong to their values. They must stand up and lead, especially when opposing, gale force winds are blowing in their faces.[iii] (Taken together, Wooden’s quotes describe a nimble leader.)
Bennis advances four competencies all leaders must possess: the ability to engage others by creating shared meaning; a distinctive voice (purpose, self-confidence, sense of self, and emotional intelligence); integrity; and adaptive capacity. Regarding the latter, he notes, “Adaptive capacity is what allows leaders to respond quickly and intelligently to relentless change” and “Adaptive capacity allows today’s leaders to act, and then to evaluate the results of their actions, instead of relying on the traditional decision-making model, which calls for collecting and analyzing the data, then acting. Today’s leaders know that speed is of the essence, and that they must often act before all the data are in.”[iv] (What Bennis describes is a nimble leader.)
Being nimble means being flexible and being able to act quickly, or being adaptable and being alert, two Keys to As addressed in previous blog posts. I’m sorry but digging your heels in, being slow to respond, resisting change, and being reluctant to act eliminate you from being an exemplary leader. You must be nimble, you must be quick, and you must watch out for those candle sticks!
In reviewing the other candidates identified by AI software I wondered why normal wasn’t included. Can an exemplary leader be normal? Yes, but by choosing normal to be the winning N-word you must say what you mean. In doing so, you’ll list attributes and, to be exemplary, you’ll conclude that the leader must be nimble. Then, you’ll realize that many leaders aren’t nimble. That’s one reason they aren’t exemplary. QED
Next: Leadership ABCs—O
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 O-word entry is 12:00 am, EDT, February 11, 2026; the latest time is 12:00 am, EDT, February 18, 2026.
________________________________
[i] John Wooden and Steve Jamison, Wooden on Leadership, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY, 2005, p. 141
[ii] John A. White, Why It Matters: Reflections on Practical Leadership, Greenleaf Book Group Press, Austin, TX, 2022, p. 260.
[iii] White, pp. 263-264.
[iv] Warren Bennis, On Becoming a Leader, Basic Books, Philadelphia, PA, 2009, pp. xxv – xxvii.
