So last night at the recommendation of Jeff Erwin I picked up some of Patrick Lencioni's books. I blazed through the Five Temptations of a CEO, it is a very quick read that you can easily get through in one sitting. 

Really good, common sense advice.  The book is written as a short story that reminded me of David Chilton's Wealthy Barber series.

The 5 Temptations of a CEO

1. Choosing status over results
Is it a personal failure for you if your organization fails?  It better be.  Will you put your career on the line for the team, for the project or is your status and fame more important?

2. Choosing popularity over accountability
Avoiding using your directs as a venting ground, I guess this is why some folks say its lonely at the top. There's a lot to this one.

3. Choosing certainty over clarity
I call this being afraid to make a decision or overanalyzing situation.  Time and time again I've seen quick decisions that are correct and long thought out decisions to be wrong or validating what your gut feeling was.

4. Choosing harmony over productive conflict
Often the most productive meetings can be heated.  Respectful conflict without personal attacks is fine and often the most productive in meetings. Are your meetings Switzerland and consensus driven? I hope not.

5. Choosing invulnerability over trust
Admitting that you were wrong is a key trait of a strong leader. Make decisions intelligently and quickly. When you wrong were be up front and transparent about it.

I wrote them out here so I can commit them to memory.  Just reading them here though does not do them justice.  Thanks Jeff for the recommendation. I do need to read this book again, but I will do that though after I finish The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive.

Postscript: Edited to include more of my own opinions in italics...