The Origins of the Excellent Leader Model
About twenty-five years ago, we began giving shape and language to what we were observing in practice.
Not as a theory. Not as an academic abstraction. But as a framework drawn from lived experience—hundreds of organizations, thousands of leaders, across industries and geographies.
We found that leaders who were genuinely pursuing excellence—regardless of role or title—consistently exhibited a common set of characteristics. Over time, these crystallized into what we now call the Excellent Leader model.
It is not exhaustive. It is not exclusive. It does not claim to be the final word on leadership.
But it has proven remarkably durable and practical in helping leaders chart a path forward in their pursuit of excellence.
Eight Essential Characteristics of an Excellent Leader
At the heart of the model are eight essential characteristics:
- Desire for Excellence
- Common Good
- Seeking Wisdom
- Authentic Friendship
- Practical Wisdom
- Enduring Courage
- Articulate Communication
- Profound Love
These characteristics are not independent traits to be checked off a list. They are integrated, mutually reinforcing, and formative.
Together, they describe both the interior posture and exterior orientation of an excellent leader.
Who This Is For
This work is not reserved for CEOs or people with titles. Though we have worked with many leaders from around the world.
Leader excellence is not a matter of hierarchy, authority or command structure.
It is a matter of an individual response to the call to lead excellently.
The Excellent Leader model is for those who have or are:
- Desire Excellence
- Ready to invest the time, effort, energy and resources to pursuing it
- Able to take action
- Willing to do the hard work required
- Need for continuous improvement
The first question is a simple one:
Do you WANT to pursue excellence?
If your answer is even a hesitant yes—even a faint spark—then you belong in this conversation.
Every human being is a masterpiece in the making.
The pursuit of excellence is the lifelong work of becoming who you were meant to be.
Excellence, by definition is always just beyond our grasp.
And that is precisely why it is worth pursuing.
Excellence is an art won by training and habituation.
We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly.
We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.-Aristotle