{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,12]],"date-time":"2026-08-12T11:26:57Z","timestamp":1786534017088,"version":"build-2736575974"},"posted":{"date-parts":[[2014]]},"group-title":"SSRN","reference-count":0,"publisher":"Elsevier BV","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"abstract":"<jats:p>We argue here that the four factors we identify as constituting the foundation for being a leader and the effective exercise of leadership can also be seen as the foundations not only for great leadership, but also for a high quality personal life and an extraordinary organization. One can see this as a \u201cvalue free\u201d approach to values because, 1) authenticity is a purely positive phenomenon (being and acting consistent with who you hold yourself out to be for others and who you hold yourself to be for yourself), 2) being cause in the matter as a declaration of the stand you take for yourself regarding everything in your life is a purely positive phenomenon, 3) being committed to something bigger than oneself is also a purely positive phenomenon (that says nothing about what that commitment should be other than it be bigger than oneself), and 4) integrity as we define it (being whole and complete) is a purely positive phenomenon. \n\nBackground: This address is based on our leadership research program (conducted with Steve Zaffron, Kari Granger and Jeri Echeverria over the last eleven years). That research is designed to discover what it actually takes to create leaders \u2013 that is, to leave participants at the end of the course being leaders and effectively exercising leadership as their natural self expression. \n\nAccess to the full set of course materials including the Slide-Deck Textbook and other course materials for the most current Leadership Course can be found at:\nCourse Materials for: Being a Leader and the Effective Exercise of Leadership - An Ontological\/Phenomenological Model (by Erhard, Jensen, Zaffron and Granger) &lt;a href='http:\/\/ssrn.com\/abstract= 1263835'&gt;http:\/\/ssrn.com\/abstract= 1263835&lt;\/a&gt;.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.2139\/ssrn.2442370","type":"posted-content","created":{"date-parts":[[2014,6,4]],"date-time":"2014-06-04T11:03:10Z","timestamp":1401879790000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The Four Foundations of a Great Personal Life, Great Leadership, and a Great Organization (PDF File of PowerPoint and Keynote Slides)"],"prefix":"10.2139","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-2046-4999","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Werner","family":"Erhard","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Michael C.","family":"Jensen (Deceased)","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"78","container-title":[],"original-title":[],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,12]],"date-time":"2026-08-12T10:26:59Z","timestamp":1786530419000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.ssrn.com\/abstract=2442370"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2014]]},"references-count":0,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.2139\/ssrn.2442370","relation":{},"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2014]]},"subtype":"preprint"}}