Leadership principles development guide

Unity in diversity: Leadership principles as a common thread

Leadership principles act as a compass that helps navigate the complexities of leading a team or organization.

Individuals come into positions from various backgrounds and possess unique personalities and managing styles. While this diversity enriches a company, it also can set the stage for uncertainty and confusion.

Leadership principles provide a common reference. They guide every leader’s actions, decisions, and behavior and offer a consistent framework.

This framework enables the company to operate as a harmonious unit. Ultimately, the company focuses on organizational goals and values.

Let’s examine leadership principles in general and the specific principles outlined by Amazon and other organizations.

The importance of leadership principles

Leadership principles help those in charge make decisions aligned with organizational values and goals.

For instance, consider a company with a leadership principle of always considering customer needs first. This mindset might lead decision-makers to prioritize ease of use over other factors when developing a new product.

Or, a company may face a dilemma. The debut date for an upgraded product is next week, but trials show some minor bugs. Should the subpar item be released? If insisting on high standards is a leadership principle, this influences whether or not to give the go-ahead.

Leadership principles affect the work environment, too. Managers build trust and respect among their team members by consistently demonstrating strong leadership principles.

Commitment to the Golden Rule, for instance, sets a tone. It helps people work together more harmoniously and effectively. Good morale, in turn, promotes employee engagement and retention.

Common leadership principles

Leadership principles differ by organization. Some concepts, however, appear in one form or another on many lists. They are central to developing great leaders in any industry.

  • Lead by example

Employees take their cues from above. The best leaders embody the qualities they expect to see in their team members. Be a role model through your actions and behaviors.

  • Integrity

Maintain a strong moral compass. Be honest and ethical in all of your dealings.

  • Accountability

Take ownership of your actions and decisions. Hold yourself and your team responsible for results.

  • Respect

Treat those you manage with dignity. Encourage and value everyone’s contributions. Foster a positive and inclusive work environment. Stress psychological safety.

  • Empowerment

Give your team members autonomy and authority in decision-making. Avoid micromanaging. Act as a support system.

  • Communication

Keep your team informed. Clarify duties and expectations for employees. Provide constructive, timely feedback.

  • Adaptability

Realize the importance of navigating uncertainty in an ever-changing world. Maintain flexibility. Adopt a can-do attitude.

  • Active listening

Give others your full attention. Hear people out without interruption. Ask relevant questions. Be open to new perspectives.

  • Emotional intelligence

Be aware of your feelings and how they affect your actions. Empathize with others by trying to imagine yourself in their shoes.

  • Humility

Be open about what you know and what you don’t. Accept that you do not have all the answers. Acknowledge mistakes and apologize as warranted. Commit to continuous learning.

  • Vision

Think beyond the here and now. Envision the big picture. Share this vision and inspire your team to work towards it.

The leadership principles of Amazon

Do an Internet search on “leadership principles,” and you’ll find numerous entries referencing Amazon. The giant company’s 16 leadership principles are among the most famous, influencing everything from Amazon’s culture and daily operations to Amazon interview questions and long-term strategy.

Videos by Amazon CEO Andy Jassy explain Amazon leadership principles in detail. Here is an overview in the company’s own words:

1. Customer Obsession

“Leaders start with the customer and work backwards. They work vigorously to earn and keep customer trust. Although leaders pay attention to competitors, they obsess over customers.”

2. Ownership

“Leaders are owners. They think long-term and don’t sacrifice long-term value for short-term results. Leaders act on behalf of the entire company, beyond just their own team. They never say, ‘That’s not my job.’‘”

3. Invent and Simplify

“Leaders expect and require innovation and invention from their teams and always find ways to simplify. They are externally aware, look for new ideas from everywhere, and are not limited by ‘not invented here.’ As we do new things, we accept that we may be misunderstood for long periods of time.”

4. Are Right, A Lot

“Leaders are right a lot. They have strong judgment and good instincts. They seek diverse perspectives and work to disconfirm their beliefs.”

5. Learn and Be Curious

“Leaders are never done learning and always seek to improve themselves. They are curious about new possibilities and act to explore them.”

6. Hire and Develop the Best

“Leaders raise the performance bar with every hire and promotion. They recognize exceptional talent and willingly move them throughout the organization. Leaders develop leaders and take seriously their role in coaching others. We work on behalf of our people to invent mechanisms for development like Career Choice.”

7. Insist on the Highest Standards

“Leaders have relentlessly high standards — many people may think these standards are unreasonably high. These individuals continually raise the bar and drive their teams to deliver high-quality products, services, and processes. Leaders ensure that defects do not get sent down the line and that problems are fixed so they stay fixed.”

8. Think Big

“Thinking small is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Leaders create and communicate a bold direction that inspires results. They think differently and look around corners for ways to serve customers.”

9. Bias for Action

“Speed matters in business. Many decisions and actions are reversible and do not need extensive study. We value calculated risk-taking.”

10. Frugality

“Accomplish more with less. Constraints breed resourcefulness, self-sufficiency, and invention. There are no extra points for growing headcount, budget size, or fixed expense.”

11. Earn Trust

“Leaders listen attentively, speak candidly, and treat others respectfully. They are vocally self-critical, even when doing so is awkward or embarrassing. Leaders do not believe their or their team’s body odor smells of perfume. They benchmark themselves and their teams against the best.”

12. Dive Deep

“Leaders operate at all levels, stay connected to the details, audit frequently, and are skeptical when metrics and anecdotes differ. No task is beneath them.”

13. Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit

“Leaders are obligated to respectfully challenge decisions when they disagree, even when doing so is uncomfortable or exhausting. Leaders have conviction and are tenacious. They do not compromise for the sake of social cohesion. Once a decision is determined, they commit wholly.”

14. Deliver Results

“Leaders focus on the key inputs for their business and deliver them with the right quality and in a timely fashion. Despite setbacks, they rise to the occasion and never settle.”

15. Strive to be Earth’s Best Employer

“Leaders work daily to create a safer, more productive, higher performing, more diverse, and more just work environment. They lead with empathy, have fun at work, and make it easy for others to have fun. Leaders ask themselves: Are my fellow employees growing? Are they empowered? Are they ready for what’s next? Leaders have a vision for and commitment to their employees’ success, whether that be at Amazon or elsewhere.”

16. Success and Scale Bring Broad Responsibility

“We started in a garage, but we’re not there anymore. The company is big, we impact the world, and we are far from perfect. We must be humble and thoughtful about even the secondary effects of our actions. Our local communities, planet, and future generations need us to be better every day.”

“We must begin each day with a determination to make better, do better, and be better for our customers, our employees, our partners, and the world at large. And we must end every day knowing we can do even more tomorrow. Leaders create more than they consume and always leave things better than how they found them.”

The leadership principles of other organizations

When considering the leadership principles of other organizations, it is clear that many of them overlap with Amazon’s.

  • Whole Foods Market

Take Whole Foods Market, for instance. Its leadership principles include:

  1. Purpose Driven

  2. Customer Obsession

  3. Commitment to Operational Excellence

  4. Long-Term Thinking

  5. Passion for Creativity, Innovation, and Invention

  6. Learn and Grow

  7. Hire and Develop the Best

  8. Think Big

  9. Just Get it Done

  10. Frugality

  11. Earn Trust

  12. Empower our People

  13. Be a Servant Leader

  14. Seek Win-Win Strategies and Solutions

  15. Have Courage: Disagree and Commit

  16. Are Right, A Lot

  17. Shared Fate with Self-Responsibility

Some concepts on this list share the same name and same description as Amazon’s leadership principles. A few others are tweaked but express a similar sentiment.

  • Dell Technologies

Dell discusses its leadership principles on its job recruitment site. This gives prospective leaders insight into the company before applying.

The seven principles touted and explained as “This is how we lead at Dell” are:

  1. Relationships

  2. Drive

  3. Judgment

  4. Vision

  5. Optimism

  6. Humility

  7. Selflessness
  • California State University, Northridge

Your industry can affect the choice of leadership principles. In line with its core value of “unyielding commitment to student success,” CSUN considers the following leadership principles (in no particular order) “absolutely essential”:

  1. Mission Aligned

  2. Ethical and Collegial

  3. Collaborative

  4. Accountable

  5. Courageous and Resilient

  6. Inclusive

  7. Service-Oriented

  8. Communicative

  9. Talent Builder

  10. Catalytic

Developing personal leadership principles

A company’s leadership principles guide its leaders’ actions, decisions, and behaviors. Individuals, though, can benefit from formulating a similar outline for their professional lives.

To assist in creating such a document, try the following:

  • Reflect on your values

What are the qualities and ideals most important to you? Commit to self-awareness and staying true to your ethics.

  • Identify your strengths and weaknesses

What are you good at as a leader? Utilize your unique talents. In which areas do you need to improve? Recognize where you have room to grow. This will promote humility and give direction about where to seek learning opportunities.

  • Seek feedback from others

Ask your team members, colleagues, and mentors for feedback on your leadership skills and style. This will open your mind to different perspectives.

Finally, consider asking peers about their leadership principles. Hearing about their choices and what inspired them may resonate with you.

More resources:
Company culture examples — find your company’s unique fit New tab icon
Digital age workplace: Why soft skills matter more than everNew tab icon
The most successful change management principles and initiatives New tab icon

Want more insights like these? Visit Beth Braccio-Hering’s author page to explore her other articles and expertise in business management.