Trust can also be sliced down into a variety of attributes. After 25 plus years of working with this concept in the field of leadership and team development, there is one attribute which I vote as most important.  It is vulnerability.  If you really want to be totally trustworthy, you have to be willing to show yourself – fears, flaws and all. So the question for you is, how vulnerable are you willing to be?

How easy is it for you to say you are sorry, or to apologize for something? Can you ask for help from colleagues, direct reports or even a boss? Can you admit when you do not know how to do something vs. keeping quiet and nodding your head, giving the indication you do? How about offering up that you are afraid of something, whether it is about a new change, looking foolish, or even losing your job? All of these are examples of times that test vulnerability. Too often the ego gets in the way and we put on some kind of metaphorical armor to protect ourselves from the piercing arrows of others comments or opinions about us. That armor makes it harder to trust the person behind it.

If you want to be trustworthy, open yourself up, perhaps a little bit more at a time. I believe you will find there is nothing better for the ego than when others say you are a role model of rock solid trustworthiness. Good luck.

During my travels, I continue to be astounded at the total command Blackberrys and other devices have on peoples’ lives. Although many will occasionally bump into me when passing in an airport hallway, some have already adapted in some Darwinian way. Their heads are down, but they seem to have a hidden, extra set of eyes that guide them safely as they walk and read. Quite amazing, really.

The point is, I see so many who are addictively tethered to their smartphones, checking messages or searching all the time. Is their work that time sensitive? Are they that important that seconds or minutes will make a difference? Or are they perhaps simply more comfortable avoiding life around them?  Hmm.

Recently I was eating breakfast at a hotel watching a spectacular sunrise out the window. Reminded me of the awesome raw beauty of nature. As I occasionally glanced around the room, every other person was head down in their phones, scrolling or texting away. Such a loss if they missed it. Yet they would probably tell me, there will always be more sunrises for them to see, but the messages they are reading right now must be dealt with right now.

Of course there are priorities requiring immediate attention, but everything? The funny part is when I ask people if they ever get any good news, the most frequent response by far is no. Most of what people are checking in on is “stuff” as they call it, messages that will be immediately dumped. But, oh the need to be on line at every moment.

As for me, I have glad that I have time when traveling to slip in a sunrise or a conversation with someone new. Fortunately, I am not so important that someone needs my input every moment during the day, nor do I need to be intimately involved in every single thing going on.  That allows me to experience  other important things in my life, which occur outside of being plugged in. Thank goodness I take advantage of those opportunities.

I will close by saying if you text me during breakfast when the sun is just breaking through the horizon, or when I am cabbing by the monuments of Washington DC or the historic buildings of Montreal, you will likely have to wait for a response. I will be off line, with my eyes up and out, taking in the world. I apologize up front if you are offended. And I also encourage you to break away from your electronic comfort zone once in a while and give it a whirl. You might find it refreshing.

His leadership gift was inspiring people with big, challenging, impossible to achieve visions. For example, during the creation of the Mac, he stood firm on a couple of big dreams. First, Jobs would appeal to people by saying he wanted to make a “dent in the universe.” That is about as arrogant and ambitious as one can be, but he was sincere in his desire (and Apple’s calling) to do that. His other comment was how he wanted the Mac to be an “insanely great machine,” not just something run of the mill, with a few new features.

In spite of his lousy behavior, people knew he passionately believed Apple products could, maybe should make a dent. (FYI, in 1976, Apple was valued at $5300; in 1980, $1.75 billion! It appears many were being inspired by this dream.)

I know people with big visions and I believe they are frightening to many others. These visionaries see possibilities in a newly defined world. Their critics tend to judge the feasibility of the breakthrough thinking in terms of today’s reality, so they easily dismiss them. Perhaps you have heard the story that at one time top people at Mercedes said the worldwide demand for autos would be relatively small due to a lack of qualified chauffeurs. I have never been able to confirm the facts on that, but true or legend, it makes the point about the limitations around change which many put on the future.

It takes enormous courage to put forth really big, inconceivable visions. Do you passionately care enough about anything to summon up the courage to dream really big, or to pursue making your dent in the universe. I hope many of you leaders will accept that challenge and be even more daring in your thinking. The world certainly needs some innovative solutions to our host of current problems. And I also hope the rest of you will not try to keep those courageous visionaries boxed into the world as it exists today. People will never be able to fly if you keep clipping their wings.

So leaders, here is the question for you. Was this a good thing or not? On one hand, it is always best to take advantage of the talents and knowledge that exist in a group and use them to solve problems quickly.  On the other hand, by providing the solution, this individual deprived the others in the program of a remarkable learning experience, which previous participants indicated was of great value to them. What is your opinion – was the participant leading, by guiding the group to a quick and effective solution? Or was he simply taking a short cut of the easy, convenient way out.

Situations with seemingly competing correct responses, are commonplace for leaders. That is why leadership is more art than science. Rather than offering you a point of view, I would be thrilled to know what you think is the best answer, in a situation such as this. I hope you will be willing to contribute your thoughtful answer to this perplexing question. Take care and lead on!

My first thought was, where did that come from? 3 years out and this kid still (almost) remembers the other candidate. Wonder how many older kids, even adults might remember that.

That led to a couple of other musings. 1) Maybe his parents were for the other candidate and might still be noisily fussing about their loss. 2) If the RNC thought that the 10 year old vote would have elected McCain, they would probably be seeking legislation to lower the voting age. (In all fairness so would the Dems in a similar situation.) 3) Was this kid the 21st century version of Alex Keaton (google old TV show, Family Ties).

I was disappointed that the kid never said why McKeen would be President, because I was so anxious to hear his thoughts. But alas, a second later, the conversation was back to swimming.

My conclusions are these. I am not quite ready yet to let kids vote. And I will continue to be amazed at what they have in their heads. Although I have passed on most of the current GOP debates, it might be a hoot to hear what kids would say about the issues. My guess is Afghanistan and Medicare would get a lot less attention than too much homework and too few holiday breaks. And if those comments applied to work as well as school, they would probably get a standing ovation from a lot of working stiffs like us.

My hope is people will do some homework and keep in mind the capabilities which are needed in the offices being sought. There is a lot at stake these days. Going gaga over (or despising) a candidate because of superficial qualities (looks, race, gender, recognizable name etc.), or simply wanting to be like “everybody else,” are just not good enough reasons for voting someone into office. Making good decisions requires education, and boy, do we need good decisions. It is up to each of us to become knowledgable so we can vote wisely. And hopefully a number of us will be sure to encourage and inspire others to do the same.

• In what ways did you grow or develop your skills and abilities? How are you different or better than a year ago. Be as specific as you can.
• Did your growth just happen, or did you plan it and intentionally execute on it?
• How satisfied are you? Did you feel like you really soared, or did many of your plans seem to fizzle out because of too many competing tasks?
• In what area of growth are you most proud of from last year?
• How important is ongoing growth to you? Do you feel as if you are expert enough already, or do believe there are some key areas in which you must improve. (Think deeply about this question.)

Here is what I observed. There are some very bright and extremely hard-working students involved in this. They have devoted a lot of time and effort to their ideas. They did extensive research to build their cases, and put together helpful boards of advisors, from people inside and outside of the university. And they came very prepared for their presentations, armed with detailed business plans, and dressed like seasoned professionals.

And keep in mind, this work was for just one of many classes they take, along with the number of other activities they are involved in at this stage of their lives. One more tidbit – many of them are majoring in something other than business.

From what I have seen in working with many big corporations, these kids were more prepared than many managers twice their age, who have also been in the workforce for a couple of decades. So when I now hear people in the workplace lament about the work ethic of today’s “young people,” I will have to beg to differ. Of course they had some gaps, just as there are gaps made in proposals presented like these to corporate boards or venture capital companies. They will have to work still harder to overcome them. But these students created some terrific possibilities, and some of the teams will actually turn their ideas into a tangible business or society-enhancing improvement.

So if you are running low on some fresh ideas… maybe you should hook up with a local university. Like at Miami, you will know doubt find a great deal of creative, passionate and talented you adults, just waiting to be unleashed.

I recently had the opportunity to visit the Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, FL. I have always appreciated great art, but am rather uneducated about it. So I still cannot tell you much about Dali’s brushstrokes or perspective. But oh what a trip to the land of imagination. I felt awed, amazed, inspired and a whole bunch of other emotions. Believe me when I tell you, one could look at a few of his individual works for an hour each and not see everything in them. Dali was indeed a master of converting images in his head to the proverbial canvas.

Leadership is also an art and the masters are able to convert dreams and images of the future into a vivid pictures that excite, motivate and move people to action. One of the mistakes too many developing leaders make is not exercising the courage to use their imaginations to dream really big. Such a pity. It is often those big hairy audacious goals (thank you Jim Collins), visions chock full of great imagination, that leave us breathless.

So treat yourself to an educational and inspiring field trip to spend a day with Dali. It will certainly get you thinking about things in ways you cannot imagine.

The very next thing the escorts did was get on the phone and report the incident. As a guest, I was not the one responsible for ensuring I was electronics free, my escorts were. And they immediately reported themselves for allowing this breach. The fact that I never officially left the gate – and there was no one around – and the gate actually exited into a plain lobby where there was nothing of value, they still made the call. They could have easily overlooked the situation because it was so minor. But without blinking an eye, they immediately reported it, because for them, there was a solid line in the sand about what constitutes a security breach, and we crossed it.

Leaders understand the importance of living values and celebrating those who do. My escorts will likely be pointedly reminded of their miscue and the need to be more attentive. There are consequences for incidents like this. I Just hope they work with leaders who will also acknowledge them for their visible demonstration of uncompromising integrity. I certainly wanted to recognize it, and hope all of us have the courage to follow their great example when we face a similar moment of truth.