The Test of Leadership: Leaving Your World in a Better Place

I've come to grips with my weaknesses and took solace in Pulitzer Prize winning author Jon Meacham's assessment of Thomas Jefferson (Thomas Jefferson: The art of Power). He says:

We sense his greatness because we know that perfection in politics is not possible but that Jefferson passed the fundamental test of leadership: despite all his shortcomings and all the inevitable disappointments and mistakes and dreams deferred, he left America, and the world, in a better place than it had been when he first entered the arena of public life.

Don't obsess over your foibles. Can you say you changed your world?

This post is part of my "Leadership Lessons From American Presidents" series.