Leadership Lessons Applying Leadership Principles was a quest to discover what the nature of being a leader really is. Leadership can take all forms and at many different levels within an organization. “Natural born leaders are rare. It takes hard work to learn to lead effectively (Amter, 2012).” More often what you see is poor leadership and examples of what not to do in a leadership role within organisations. These failures can be devastating for people and organizations. “The quality of your leadership today will not only determine current success, but will have a major impact on future productivity, employee retention, and growth (Chambers, 2002).” In hindsight, you can take these bad experiences and see beyond the failure and see beyond the opportunities that were there to make the situation a success and that will provide future growth for all who recognize them. It was a story that has become entirely too frequent in typical business America. The company separates from its for-profit parent company. The company is listed on the stock exchange. In an effort to remain competitive in the market and show growth for its investors, the company reorganizes its corporate structure. For a year, rumors circulate and finally, three months before the new year, entire sections of the company, including finance, sales and human resources, are put on the chopping block. The new version of the company should be lean, not necessarily mean. With outsourcing and right-sizing companies, the amount of work flowing down continues. At the site level, HR managers are offered severance packages. A single HR Director replaces ten HR managers and directors who were... half of the paper ......nagement Executive,9(4), 23-33. doi:10.5465/AME.1995.9512032188Schade, J. (2008). Renovating is tough, but it can be managed. Advertising Age, 79(29), 28.Chambers, H. (2002). Decisive leaders. Executive Excellence, 19(11), 5. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/204600053?accountid=38569 Earle, V. (1996). Motivational leadership. Executive Excellence, 13(11), 16. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/204627543?accountid=38569 Perkins, B. (2013). Will your renovation be smart or silly? Computerworld, 47(3), 12. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1322944049?accountid=38569Amter, R. F. (2012). Master leadership. Leadership Excellence, 29(12), 6-7. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1261432540?accountid=38569 Templin, P. (2012). Hymn to the American Worker. Industrial Engineer: IE, 44(8), 26.