You know I am a believer in models (or templates or frameworks) as a valuable way to define, articulate and utilize best practices.   My wife says my brain is just wired differently than others, but this thinking and modeling is essential to clarify broad or “fuzzy” concepts.  When it comes to leadership for example, I hate the term “soft skills” because it almost justifies that they are not defined or developed like “hard” skills and abilities.  Why don’t others get this?  Allowing them to be fuzzy or just innate (“a natural leader” or not), lowers expectations for leadership.  It suggests a necessary compromise because “great business managers” or “numbers people” don’t always understand people.   Really?

If you want to do anything well, you need to define the best practice based on others’ success.  Write it down and look at it often.  You have to work to understand how to do it with practice, practice and more practice.  It is great if you understand it well enough and can model it to train others.  It is hard work, but worth it at the end.

True leadership is hard, so reject soft and fuzzy!