This document summarizes leadership qualities described in a book about Attila the Hun. It identifies 17 key leadership qualities including loyalty, courage, desire, empathy, decisiveness, accountability, and credibility. For each quality, it provides examples of how Attila and other leaders demonstrated that quality and implications for school leaders. It encourages leaders to develop these qualities through experience and challenges them to teach these qualities to others to expand their ability to lead.

1. Leadership Secrets of
Attila the Hun
By Wess Roberts, Ph.D.
Matthew Hoffman
EDL 685
Spring 2008

2. A Book Review
Using the principles of a nation’s leader to make
connections with today’s leadership practitioner.
“Leadership is the privilege to have the responsibility to
direct the actions of others in carrying out the
purposes of the organization, at varying levels of
authority and with accountability for both successful
and failed endeavors.”
-- Wess Roberts, Ph.D.

3. Leadership Qualities
 Loyalty
 Courage
 Desire
 Emotional Stamina
 Physical Stamina
 Empathy
 Decisiveness
 Anticipation
 Timing
 Competitiveness
 Self-Confidence
 Accountability
 Responsibility
 Credibility
 Tenacity
 Dependability
 Stewardship

4. Loyalty
 School leaders must be loyal.
 Disagreement is not necessarily disloyalty.
 Harsh action must be taken to rid ourselves
of those among us who see no value in and
subvert our cause.

5. Courage
 Leaders must be fearless.
 Have the fortitude to carry out assignments given
them.
 The gallantry to accept the risks of leadership.
 Must not become bewildered when in the presence of
adversity.
 Be long-suffering in their duties.
 Act with confidence and to excel in times of
uncertainty or danger as well as in times of prosperity.

6. Desire
 Inherent commitment to influencing people,
process and outcomes.
 Be careful to avoid placing capable warriors
into positions of leadership that they have no
desire to fulfill.

7. Emotional Stamina
 Have the stamina to recover rapidly from
disappointment.
 Bounce back from discouragement.
 Carry out responsibilities of their office
without becoming distorted in their views.
 Emotional strength to persist in the face of
seemingly difficult circumstances.

8. Physical Stamina
 Leaders must nurture their bodies with the
basic, healthful staples.
 A body not properly used becomes abused.
 A healthy body supports a healthy mind

9. Empathy
 Appreciation for and an understanding of the
values of others.
 A sensitivity for other cultures, beliefs and
traditions.
 Empathy must not be confused with
sympathy.

10. Decisiveness
 Knowing when to act and when not to act.
 Taking into account all facts bearing on
situations.
 Responsibility carrying out their leadership
role.

11. Anticipation
 Learning by observation and through
instincts sharpened by tested experience.
 Must anticipate thoughts, actions and
consequences.

12. Timing
 Gains this leadership quality by applying the
lessons learned through failure.
 Knowing whom you are dealing with, their
motives, characters, priorities and ambitions
are critical elements even when seeking
approval of the simplest recommendation.

13. Competitiveness
 An intrinsic desire to win.
 Not important to win all the time; however, it
is important to win the important contests.
 Competition in and out of our nation is strong
and not to be taken lightly.

14. Self-Confidence
 Proper training and experience develops in
leaders a personal feeling of assurance with
which to meet the inherent challenges of
leadership.

15. Accountability
 Learning to account for personal actions and
those of colleagues is fundamental to
leadership.
 Leaders must never heap praise or lay blame
on others for what they themselves achieve
or fail to accomplish.

16. Responsibility
 Leaders are only necessary when someone
is to be responsible to see that actions are
carried out and directions followed.

17. Credibility
 Words and actions must be believable to
both friend and foe.
 Must be trusted to have the intelligence and
integrity to provide correct information.

18. Tenacity
 Unyielding drive to accomplish assignments.
 The strong persist and pursue through
discouragement, deception and even
personal abandonment.
 Pertinacity is often the key to achieving
difficult assignments or meeting challenging
goals.

19. Dependability
 A leader cannot observe each and every
action of his colleagues; therefore, they must
depend upon them to get things done.

20. Stewardship
 A caretaker quality.
 Must serve in a manner that encourages
confidence; trust and loyalty.
 Colleagues are not to be abused; they are to
be guided, developed and rewarded for their
performance.

21. Think about…
 Without a flock there can be no shepherd.
 Without an army there can be no battle
captains.
 Leaders are, therefore, caretakers of the
interests and well-being of those and the
purposes they serve.

22. Final Thoughts of Leadership Qualities
 These qualities of leadership simply take
time, learning and experience to develop.
 Learn these leadership qualities well.
 Teach them to colleagues.
 Only then will we expand our ability to lead
our vast nation in pursuit of quality education.

23. “You’ve Got to Want to Be in Charge”
 Leaders must retain their own identities.
 Attila’s mind was fueled by the fires burning
deep in his heart.
 Attila knew his leadership knowledge and
abilities to influence must mature no matter
how driven his desires to take charge.

24. Who is a Leader?
 They will not be laden with all human virtues, nor will
they possess a flawless character.

25. Lust for Leadership
 Committed leaders, those with a lust for
leadership, a willingness to serve, will,
however, be distinguishable by their wisdom,
sincerity, benevolence, authority and
courage.
 They will have a human quality and a strong
commitment to their cause and that of those
they serve.

26.  Must possess an
intrinsic desire to
achieve substantial
personal recognition
and be willing to earn it
in all fairness.

27.  Must have resilience to
overcome personal
misfortunes,
discouragement,
rejections and
disappointment.

28.  Must have the courage,
creativity and stamina to
focus on accomplishing
your responsibilities
through the directed,
delegated efforts of
colleagues.

29.  Must recognize and
accept that your
greatness will be made
possible through the
extremes of your
personality.

30.  Must not let your desire
to lead take the form of
over-eagerness.
 Must be willing to
temper your lust to lead
with preparation,
experience and
opportunity.

31.  Success in your office
will depend largely upon
your sustained
willingness to work
hard.
 Perspiration rules
Perspiration rules
over inspiration.
over inspiration.

32.  Must be committed to
persevere even in the
face of opposition and
challenge.

33.  Must be determined to
apply massive common
sense in solving
complex problems.

34.  Must not be threatened
by capable
contemporaries.

35.  Must be willing to make
unrecognized and thankless
personal sacrifice for those
you serve and those you
lead.
 Must be willing to bypass a
festival in your own camp if
a situation in another camp
requires your presence.

36.  Must have a passion to
succeed.

37.  Must be willing to learn,
to listen and to grow in
your awareness and
abilities to perform the
duties of your office.

38.  Must be willing to
remain your natural self
and not take on an aura
of false pride in your
countenance.

39.  Must be willing to
accept the simple fact
that you have flaws and
will need to work every
day to become a better
leader than you were
yesterday.

40. Think, Pair & Share
1. Turn to the person next to you and share:
– What qualities best describe you?
– How are you using those qualities in your current
setting?
2. As a school leader what will you do to
continue building upon these skills?