This is a summary of a book titled “The Leader’s checklist – 16 mission critical principles” written by Michael Useem and published by the Wharton School Press 2021. He is a is a professor of management and the faculty director of the Center for Leadership and Change Management and the McNulty Leadership Program at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Everybody draws up a list of tasks they need to get to. Leadership is also best served by a checklist only that it varies for the level of leadership.

A team leader’s checklist might include these items:

Educate – Build your team members’ knowledge and cognitive skills.

Plan – Establish specific goals and defined, varied tasks for your team members.

Energize – Encourage team members to be flexible and evolve as demands change.

Foster diversity and be inclusive – Seed your teams with people from a variety of backgrounds.

A board member’s leadership checklist could include:

Strategize – Board members must make sure their company’s executives generate well-developed strategic plans to create organizational value and increase competitive advantage.

Set a tone – To collaborate effectively, board members must show restraint and be diplomatic.

Mentor others – Board members must teach future leaders.

Advise – Board members serve in partnership with their company’s CEO who should be able to trust them to provide their best counsel.

The team of teams’ leader needs a checklist that includes these priorities: 

Unify – Champion a “common mind-set” and collaborative culture. 

Structure – Team-of-teams leaders organize around a “cohesive inner circle.” Each member shares a particular vision and offers the group relevant expertise.

Bonding – Team-of-teams leaders foster “strong lateral” bonds across divisional boundaries to develop a unified perspective among their team members.

Collaborate – In the team-of-teams framework, leaders of individual groups work toward their goals in collaboration with other teams.

Along with a wealth of stories, anecdotes and  research findings, this book provides preparation for the future while staying focused and organized.`

The guiding principles for the checklists both published and customized are mentioned by these sixteen principles: articulate a vision, think and act strategically, honor the room, take charge and lead change, act decisively, communicate persuasively, motivate the workforce, embrace the front lines, build leadership in others, manage relations, identify personal implications, convey your character, dampen over-optimism and excessive pessimism, build a diverse top team, place common interest first, and think like a CEO.