Major General Ronald Bailey of the United States Marine Corps, one of the highest ranking African American officers in the military, spoke on leadership in an interview with The Root. He spoke of his ABC’s of leadership, which stand for: Ability, Breaks and Courage. He explains each of these:

• Ability: comes from a commitment to education and constantly developing new skills
• Breaks: opportunities that you must seek, and that other leaders will identify for you, which you will seize based on your Ability
• Courage: having the emotional courage to seize an opportunity, to strive ever higher, and as a leader to have the courage to enlist and trust a talented individual

Readers of my book, We, know that I espouse the “GReAT Leader” model where emotional engagement comes from Growth, Recognition and Trust. Maj Gen Bailey’s ABC’s are indeed all about Growth. We must all be continuous, lifelong learners. We must be mindful of our careers and seize the opportunities for advancement. We must have the courage to advance outside our comfort zone. This is the first step to our own engagement, and how we can support and engage others.

Maj Gen Bailey, thank you for your service to our nation and for your leadership wisdom.

– Kevin

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Kevin Kruse is a NY Times bestselling author and keynote speaker. Get more success and tips from his newsletter at kevinkruse.com and check out keynote video clips. His new book, Employee Engagement 2.0, teaches managers how to turn apathetic groups into emotionally committed teams.