Elliot Spitzer is a role model for it. So is Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick of Detroit. Bill Clinton. Jack Welch. Each of these leaders had a secret. When the secret was exposed it tainted or destroyed a promising or otherwise successful leadership legacy.

Why is it everyone shares their “secrets” of leadership success, but no one talks about the secrets of leadership destruction?

I’ve met with the executive teams of two CEOs in the past two weeks – CEOs being intentional about enhancing their teams’ effectiveness. Excellent teams don’t form by chance.

It may be time to evaluate your leadership team. Challenging times call for a gut-check on who’s in the foxhole with us. What grade would you give your team?

If you give them an “A” or better – what would you identify as the #1 ingredient? Conversely, if it’s “C” or lower, what would be the #1 cause? How many of us are tolerating ‘average?’