Having a Strong Leadership Core

When it comes to body building and working out your core is an essential aspect. Focusing on core workouts can help from weight loss and building muscle to getting into better shape and being healthy. This is because your core is the foundation of your entire body. Justin Maguire said, “If your core is weak, nothing else can be strong.” Many benefits come when a person takes time strengthening their core.

Since your core is important for your body and health then your leadership core is important for leaders. When a leader has strong character then they maximize their leadership abilities and see an increase in personal results. This is because when you focus on your leadership core you will become a better person and leader. Three important aspects to having a strong leadership core:

1. Core values- The words value means “to consider with respect to worth, excellence, usefulness, or importance” and “to regard or esteem highly.” A leaders core values are the most valuable things in a leader’s life. These can include things like a spouse, family, parenting, close relationships, spirituality, and health. Every leader has core values but not every leader focuses on them. The key is to have and maintain a balanced life so you stay focused on your core values.

2. Core character- Leader’s who want to make a difference and leave a positive lasting legacy need to have good character. The character of a person can raise them up or cause them to come crashing down. Having good character is about making sure you stay moral and ethical within your life. This means requires making the right choices and decisions no matter what.

3. Core beliefs- Every leader needs to know and stay strong to their core beliefs. This is because as Malcolm X said, “If you don’t stand for something your will fall for anything.” A leader’s beliefs can be defined as “an opinion or conviction.” So knowing and following your personal beliefs is essential to being true to yourself.

Question: What are some core aspects of your life? Can you add to the list?

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Category: Leadership

Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.

  • I did not know it was Malcolm X who said that- wow! I’ve always like that quote. It is so true.
    We must know our core beliefs, otherwise it will be easy for others to bend us to their way of thinking.
    I don’t want anyone (other than Christ) to alter me or my beliefs. But that means I must know what I believe, I must know and build on the foundation I want my life to be- Christian. it is not enough to say I am Christian, I have to know what that means!

    • TC Avey,

      I really like the quote. I had to Google the quote to figure out it was Malcolm X.

      Great point about not wanting anyone else other than Christ to alter your beliefs. It’s important to stay strong to your core beliefs and allow God to impact your beliefs.

      Thank you for reading and sharing your insights.

  • Ha – clever metaphor. I think it’s also worthwhile to think about things such as your core responsibilities, core tasks, and core determinants of success – although there’s a lot of overlap between those and what you mentioned. The long story short is that it’s great for us to be intentional and really contemplate what we’re doing and why!

    • Loren,

      Great addition core aspects to think about. yes, it does start with being intentional and knowing our why. Thank you for adding to the discussion.

  • Who we really are can’t hide throughout a lifetime. Our core will be exposed eventually. Our top politicians are proof of that. Our current leaders have core values contrary to Biblical and moral decency. I wonder if Malcolm X really grasped the core of his religion was about hatred and jealousy? Too bad he fell for anything…

    • Floyd,

      Totally true, eventually our core and who we are will be exposed either for good or bad. A person can’t look good while having a weak core and last for the long haul. Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts.

  • My core values are: Relationships, Integrity, Perseverance, Humility, and Love (God and Others). I work on improving those as much as I can.

    • Jason,

      Those are some good and important core values. How do you focus and balance those areas? I know with me it can be a challenge at times. Do you have any wise tips?

  • I like your observation in #1, that every leader has core values but not every leader focuses on them. It’s one thing to say you have something, quite another to live like it’s true.

    Personally, my values, character and beliefs are anchored in Christ. That’s where I get my identity, my purpose in life.

    Thanks for sharing this.

    • Ngina,

      The only way a person shows what they value is through action. Words are useless if our actions don’t line up with what we are saying. For example someone might say they value family but spend 60+ hours at the office. Both saying and showing is what’s important when it comes to our values.

      Great personal values Ngina. Thank you for sharing them with us.

  • I core belief is in Jesus Christ, and everything I do must be to his glory. I’m working on that everyday (not there yet!) I believe a leader’s core belief should be servant leadership like our Lord. Thanks for showing us the foundation of leadership Dan.

    • Kimanzi,

      Servant leadership is so essential when it comes to leading and living your life. It’s something I try and daily focus on doing. It’s the example Jesus showed us when he was here and one we must follow.

      I appreciate you sharing your points, it added tremendous value to the post.

      • Yep, good thoughts here Kimanzi and Dan, loved reading this one!

  • This is great. Love the analogy.

    • Glad you enjoyed the post. Thank you for stopping by and reading.

      • Sure thing. I mean to comment more but I primarily read blogs via Google Reader on my phone.

        • No problem Joel. Glad to hear from you whenever you able.

  • I know we can never say this too much but Jesus is the core. I believe we need to have core faith and that is going to give us the belief and the character to build upon. Everything rises and falls on faith. I just had to say that last part. :-)

    • Lincoln Parks,

      Totally agree. Jesus should be the core of every Christians life (and nonbelievers). Great point about having core faith, faith is so important. I really like you last sentence, Glad you shared it. Thank you for reading .

  • Great post Dan, this is a wonderful metaphor. I also loved that you made a distinction between values and beliefs.

    I like this way of saying a chain is only as strong as…

    As a team, we should strengthen our “cores” together.

    • Cole,

      I’m glad you enjoyed the post. Great point about “a chain is only as strong as…” that’s totally true. It’s why we need to daily focus and maintain our core. I think sharpening our core as a team is a great idea.

      Thank you for adding to the conversation and sharing your insights.

  • My core being Jesus Christ covers my values and beliefs – I would add that a core of my character is the thirst to learn more from Him, and to have the wisdom to share what I learn. Learning, to me, is so important – not just because I want to know more, but because I want to BE more.

    • Susan,

      What a great aspect of your character. To learn more about God and gain Godly wisdom. The goal of learning is to share what we know with others. Thank you for reading and sharing your insights. I really appreciate it.

  • My core values start with being His son, everything flows from that key relationship. Great post Dan!

    • Jay,

      Totally true. If we focus on God then our core stays strong. Thank you for reading and sharing.

  • Dan, article right on. I’ve been studying Bowen Family Systems, a different way of seeing human dynamics than Freud and his dudes. At the core of their paradigm for healthy people is strong core values and a clear awareness of them.

    • Charles,

      I’ll have to check out the Bowen Family Systems. Thank you for stopping by and sharing these insights.

  • Dan, great post. You are right on the mark. Have you been reading my mind? I just posted an article on my site titled “Why your character matters?”. Reading this article about having a strong core really hit the mark for me. Keep writing empowering messages.

    • Bernard,

      Great minds think alike:)

      Can you share the link so others can check the post out? I’m looking forward to reading it. Thank you for the encouragement. You do the same.

  • Hey Dan,

    Thanks for stopping by my corner of the Web the other day. You’ve got a great community here.

    You are spot on about having clarity about our core values, and I can give a resounding “Amen” to those things being Christ-centered. But one thing that I think a lot of people overlook is at how difficult is can be to maintain your core strength.

    Sticking with your analogy here, if you’ve ever aimed at developing rock solid abs, it requires an insane level of commitment and discipline to get a rock solid core.

    We can intellectually know what our core values are, but if we don’t practice and exercise the discipline and commitment to continually establish them in our lives they can easily slip away.

    Great food for thought here, Dan.

    • Hello Marlee,

      I really like your blog and plan on being a frequent reader and commenter.

      Great points. It’s important to have core values but it takes on going focus and discipline to maintain them. I think daily focus on your core areas is important. A person needs to first make the choice to have a strong core then manage those choices daily.

      I might need to write another post about the importance of developing and maintaining our core areas.

      Thank you for reading and sharing your wonderful thoughts.

  • Though I’m not much of a body builder, I love the analogy! You definitely can’t expect to become strong at much in life if you don’t have a firm foundation. I dig it.

    • Stephen,

      I totally dig it! Great point about having a “firm foundation.” This is an important aspect of having a strong personal core. Thanks for reading bro.