Every leader who is credible, fair, and cares about his workers can push their performance to an entirely new level – particularly if three traits are used as their primary base of influence

The 2015 AIHce kicked off early Monday morning in Salt Lake City with the opening keynote address given by Alison Levine, team captain of the first American women’s Everest expedition. Levine is in a unique position to discuss leadership practices. In addition to be a global adventurer, Levine has spent more than two decades climbing the corporate ladder.

Who knows how many thousands of books and articles have been written about leadership? In contrast, blog articles written on leadership typically have 500 or fewer words. So, here is a short version that deals with my interpretation of material taught at West Point and applied in a practical manner by many individuals (with editorial license here and there on my part).

Have you ever experienced a time in your life when you were having trouble coming up with an idea? Have you ever observed someone at work saying, "I can't do that" and then nothing happened, or you said, I can't do that" and find that you're stuck?

Former U.S. president Harry Truman had a rule: any letters written in anger had to sit on his desk 24 hours before they could be mailed. If at the end of the “cooling off” period, he still felt the same sentiments, he would send the letter. By the end of his life, the letters that Truman never mailed filled a large desk drawer.

Why are our most important leaders, responsible for driving improvement in performance, culture and results, often our most inexperienced, undertrained, underdeveloped and incapable? Most of us have seen the situation when the super employee becomes the supervisor without ever being taught how to be an effective leader.

Certainly the average person desires to be both liked and respected. While a gross oversimplification of behavioral sciences, we behave in a way consistent with seeking out what we desire and avoiding what we don’t. Leaders of all kinds are often put in positions to make decisions that impact the lives of others.

A great leader has passed, Chuck Noll, Hall of Fame coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Coach Noll impacted the lives of many, many people. Chuck Noll is the only NFL head coach to win four Super Bowls and may be the greatest NFL coach ever.