When you are promoted to Brand Manager at P&G, one of the first things you do is head off to a week long Brand Manager College.  At mine I received The Leader’s Compass, a book that talks about writing your Personal Leadership Philosophy (PLP).  A PLP is a written statement of ”what you believe in”, or as the title says, the compass you use to guide your decisions.  I never imagined how powerful of a tool this is for a manager until I actually sat down and wrote my own.  We all have beliefs that guide us and impact how we treat people and situations.   But I’d argue that many of us couldn’t repeat those beliefs on the spot.  And even more important, I would bet that none of your team members could repeat your beliefs based solely on your actions.

That is where a Personal Leadership Philosophy comes into play.  It forces you to sit down, put pen to paper and state what you believe in.  It’s amazing how much thought you put into this.  It’s almost as if once you write it down, it is permanent and you have to uphold those words.  The impact is exponential once yo