“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” – Winston Churchill
As a Catholic kid growing up in small town America, I found my fair share of trouble and spent just as much time offering my confession. My father, who was raised in the Latin tradition of the church, expected no less and wholly believed that guilt over the most minor transgressions needed to be taken straight to the confessional. Where, for the longest time, I convinced myself that our parish priest was ignorant to who was confessing his sins on the other side of the partition.
As the years passed and my visits to confessional evolved, Father Roger stopped pretending for the both of us and began to seek me out for what my father called “come to Jesus meetings.” It wasn’t that I was committing grievous sins, but there came a time when the benefits of penance were exhausted. No amount of time spent with the rosary was going to slow teenage hormones and he knew it.
Away from the confessional, our conversations grew deeper and took on more meaning. He believed that I was destined for more than what a mill town in northern Idaho offered (truth be told, he wanted to make a priest out of me), and was always quick to refocus my relatively short attention span on the cardinal virtues — prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance — while reminding me as only he could, “Character matters, knucklehead.”
THE CLASSICS
The cardinal virtues trace their origins to ancient Greece, where Plato first outlined them in The Republic as the foundational qualities of a just soul and a well-ordered society. Aristotle refined them in his Nicomachean Ethics, embedding them within his broader theory of human flourishing. Cicero assigned them their Latin names and integrated them into Roman moral philosophy, and Thomas Aquinas synthesized the Greek tradition with Christian theology, elevating them as the cornerstones of moral virtue in his Summa Theologica.
As Father Roger would remind me, each virtue carried a distinct charge. Prudence was the capacity to discern the right course of action, practical wisdom applied to real circumstances. Justice was the unwavering commitment to fairness and civic life. Fortitude was moral and physical courage, the strength to do what was right in the face of fear, hardship, or opposition. Temperance was the discipline to moderate desire and appetite, cultivating inner balance and self-mastery.
Far from relics of antiquity, the cardinal virtues continue to serve as a timeless moral compass, and they are as relevant today as they were then. In an era of increasing societal polarization, justice remains a central battleground for fairness and equality and prudence is essential for leaders contending with complex crises. Fortitude is vital to navigating uncertainty in life and temperance finds renewed urgency in a culture where overconsumption and digital addiction are increasingly common.
THE VIRTUES OF LEADERSHIP
The cardinal virtues always served me well, providing that moral azimuth we so often need in life. They were truly foundational, fostering the focus and direction necessary to maintain the “straight and narrow path” that kept me out of the confessional. By the time I was leading troops, however, I recognized that I needed to build on that foundation.
As a lieutenant, I was surrounded by mnemonic leadership frameworks, alliterative lists that extolled everything from the 3 Cs of leadership to the 4 Fs of success. They were all variations on a theme, but they also served as a reminder that the cardinal virtues are a starting point, not the finish line. Over time, that led to my own framework, the 7 cardinal virtues of leadership.
1. Courage.
Whether you call it fortitude or backbone, courage is the bedrock principle that underpins leadership. It’s the willingness and determination to act decisively when the mission demands it and others depend on you.
2. Integrity.
As a leader, your word is your bond and the example you set is the model others will emulate. I learned early on that troops follow leaders they trust, and trust is built through honesty, consistency, and dependability.
3. Humility.
One of the three most underrated leadership traits, humility allows us to be strong without being overbearing. It defies narcissism. Humility is tactical clarity — knowing your blind spots, trusting your subordinates, and never letting rank or title get in the way of sound judgment.
4. Compassion.
Readiness begins with knowing your people — their breaking points, their burdens, and what drives them forward when the heat is on. Compassion strengthens bonds between people, improves collaboration, increases trust, and enhances loyalty. All hallmarks of effective leadership.
5. Passion.
Passion is what keeps someone moving when exhaustion and doubt have stripped everything else away. A leader who burns with genuine belief in the mission lights that same fire in those around them. Conviction is contagious — and so is its absence.
6. Wisdom.
The veteran’s edge — the hard-won ability to read a situation faster, decide cleaner, and anticipate what’s over the horizon – is defined by wisdom. It is knowing when to strike and when to hold, when to trust the plan and when to abandon it. Data informs; wisdom decides.
7. Humor.
Someone once told me that I would go far if I only took myself more seriously. Humor is a survival mechanism as well as a powerful leadership tool. The leader who can find the absurdity in a miserable situation will earn the loyalty and trust of those who follow.
The seven leadership virtues were forged from hard-earned experience and a fair share of mistakes. They derive from the burdens of command but evolve from the same traditions that shaped leaders for generations. To lead well is an ancient obligation, one that poses a simple, but timeless, question: can you be, in character and in conduct, worthy of those you lead into the fray?
