Becoming a great leader can be a daunting task. Especially, when you don’t know what you are aiming for. Most people recognize a great leader when they see one, but lack a concrete understanding of the traits and blueprint to become a great leader. In The Savage Leader book, I highlight the differences between “Traditional Leaders” and “Savage Leaders.” Savage Leaders are great leaders by definition and are focused on the inner journey to become great.

Below is a list of 20 ways that Savage Leaders differ from Traditional Leaders. Which one best describes where you are on your leadership journey? Be honest, as one of the prerequisites of becoming a great leader is a willingness to engage in honest, fearless introspection.

The ability to instill change in your team members is one of the most important skills for any people leader. It’s critical for newly promoted managers as well as long-tenured CEOs. When I say change, I am talking about adopting new mindsets, learning new behaviors, and acquiring new skills. Examples include seeking out discomfort in service of personal growth, becoming a lifelong learner, developing a greater sense of ownership, and adapting your communication based on others’ preferred communication styles.

While change can be hard, it is possible if you approach it the right way. Below are four steps to help you create behavior change within your teams.

One of the questions I have been asked since publishing The Savage Leader is some variation of, “How did you come up with the title?”, “What does it mean to be a Savage Leader?”, or “Did you really mean to use the word ‘Savage’?”

Today’s post is the first in a series that I am calling “The Savage Leader Journal.” The journal is a collection of my early morning/late at night/middle of the night musings, thoughts, insights, and stories that will act as a sand box to incubate, test, and refine new ideas and insights that will go into future books, courses, and tools to help each of us on our way to become a Savage Leader.