Accountability: the refusal to make excuses. The buck stops here, even when the failure came from someone else on the team.

Responsibility: taking initiative before problems explode, not just answering for mistakes after the fact.

Integrity: doing the right thing when no one is watching, especially with metrics, money, and uncomfortable truths.

Trustworthiness: leadership currency built by consistently doing what you said you would do.

Root cause analysis: use the 5 Whys. Most failures trace back to leadership or process, not individual incompetence.

Commander’s intent: communicate the why, not just the task. Ownership grows when people control the how.

Radical candor: care personally while challenging directly. Hard conversations now prevent disasters later.