Dr. Anthony Fauci has more important advice than “wear a mask” and “get a shot.” On the subject of effective leadership, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director prescribes sharing your vision and hiring the best people. Then, he says, don’t dictate and don’t get in their way.

Fauci is among 30 nationally recognized leaders interviewed for a 2020 book by David Rubenstein, cofounder and co-executive chairman of The Carlyle Group, one of the world’s largest private equity firms. Rubenstein, host of The David Rubenstein Show on Bloomberg TV and PBS, is one of the original Giving Pledge signers, promising to donate more than half of his wealth to philanthropic causes.

Leadership comes in many forms. In politics, business, and the military, the topic has been studied exhaustively. Some people lead nations. Others command troops in battle. Many conceive of an idea and lead companies that change or improve lives. Still others coach—and teach—to empower great athletic achievement.

Rubenstein’s How to Lead divides leaders into six categories, personified by notable examples:

●Visionaries: Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, and Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Warren Buffett

●Builders: Nike founder Phil Knight and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon

●Transformers: Apple CEO Tim Cook and former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi

●Commanders: Former presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton and retired Gen. Colin Powell

●Decision makers: Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

●Masters: Golfer Jack Nicklaus and Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels

While there may be no universal consensus leadership model and others have categorized leaders differently, they share many common characteristics, which emerge through an enlightening series of interviews in the book.

A major takeaway? Having a vision is critical. So are integrity and humility. Ditto for luck, as many interviewees affirmed.

You can’t lead until you become a leader. Developing the skills of effective leadership far exceeds the hours between 9 and 5.

Based on my own experience, and amplified in the book, here are key leadership traits that association professionals should strive to exemplify daily:

Have passion. Love what you do, and you won’t ever work a day in your life. It’s trite, but true. Properly exhibited, passion can be infectious and inspire others to follow.

Pursue strategic decisions. Getting the strategy right is the most important thing you can do. Jeff Bezos holds his “high-IQ meetings” before lunch knowing that a mental drop-off often happens in late afternoon. Warren Buffett aims to make three good decisions annually.

Communicate big ideas. Once you have a strategy down, communicate clearly and concisely. Clinton and Powell are masters of taking big ideas and articulating them as easily digestible concepts.

Accept failure. Recognize that failure is not fatal, but failure to learn is. Most leaders fail more than once, but they take something useful from each experience to apply in the future.

Pursue innovation. Successful leaders continually embrace innovative or unique practices and approaches and learn along the way. Bezos explains that the idea for Amazon Prime came from a junior software engineer, and then it was modeled by the finance team.

Be dogged. Seek to break eggshells. Effective leaders persist when others say no, and they fight for the change they seek.

Share credit. Successful outcomes come from team efforts. As former President Ronald Reagan noted: “There is no limit to what humans can accomplish if they are willing to share credit.”

Work your butt off. You can’t lead until you become a leader. Developing the skills of effective leadership far exceeds the hours between 9 and 5.

What drives you as a leader? As association management executives prepare for a post-pandemic return to the office, now is the time to reflect on new ways to positively project your leadership style with your staff team.