A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.
Do you ever struggle with spelling homonyms when you write? Sometimes they give me conniptions! Homonyms are words that sound alike but are spelled differently. This distinction is irrelevant in speech, of course, but it can make a big difference in writing.
For instance, a text message to “raise the roof” would have very different consequences from one demanding you “raze the roof.”
One pair of homonyms that directly relates to leadership and that consistently causes spelling angst is “principle” ending in “le” and “principal” ending in “al.”
In the sentences, “My principal won’t allow it,” vs. “My principle won’t allow it,” the spelling changes the meaning. When the word ends in “al,” that means the head of your school is forbidding you, but when the word ends in “le,” that means you have ethical misgivings.
If the spelling of these two words gives you agita, here’s a little mnemonic to help you along. “Principle” has to do with values and rules. The word “rule” ends in “le,” and so does “principle." So if you mean “principle” as a rule, then you want the “le” ending. With pretty much every other usage you want to use “principal.” You’re welcome!
So much for spelling. More critically, though, we also mix up the meaning of these words when it comes to leadership, thinking that “principal,” meaning the first and foremost, is more important than “principle,” meaning a rule or code.
I can offer any number of examples of bosses, people in leadership positions, unarguably the principal individuals, who are deeply unprincipled.
A Principal but Not Principled
Corporate CEOs are principals, but if they regularly abuse their position, they lack principles.
One new CEO thought his role conferred upon him absolute power over every aspect of his company, including employees. He’d carp bitterly about his lieutenants objecting to his harebrained schemes and blamed everyone but himself when his plans failed. No one worked as hard or as effectively as he did!
With little evidence, he declared budget emergencies in order to cut positions and even whole departments, freeing more resources for his own dead-end priorities. One by one, his competent lieutenants disappeared only to be replaced by lickspittle loyalists. These sycophants sowed mistrust, turning employees upon one another and the once-robust culture into chaos.
The company was in the service sector, but this CEO viewed even his clients with the same imperious contempt. Because he could be charming—particularly with the corporate board of directors—he got away with a lot more than most. When he wasn’t in charm mode, though, he played either the whiny victim or the surly taskmaster.
But none of his excesses and abuses compared to his practice of harassing employees. He’d gleefully groom them with care before putting on the moves. To his mind, sexual harassment was a perk of the job.
Unfortunately for him, one of his many shortcomings was his poor judgment, and he consistently chose victims savvy enough to fight back. Over the years and after a few large and embarrassing legal settlements, the board finally had enough. By then, though, the damage had been done.
While the creepy CEO eventually got what he deserved, let’s not forget the board’s part in this debacle. The board members too bought into the notion that the CEO’s role, being principal, was absolute and paramount—no matter whether he had earned it or not. If they had hired a CEO who was more about being principled than being principal—an actual leader rather than a mere boss—they could have avoided the whole fiasco.
Principled but Not a Principal
Now let’s look at a true leader—someone deeply principled but who is in no way principal.
I knew a community activist in Baltimore who, despite a wide array of accomplishments, never held a political or even prominent formal neighborhood position. She is the consummate example of what I call a “swizzler,” whipping up change and, frankly, a lot of shit to make our neighborhood a far better place to live.
Not long after she moved there she started taking on drug dealing and other crimes that had festered for decades, placing herself in grave personal danger and managing to piss off everyone, including many neighbors and even the lazy cops. Turns out that people would rather cling to an untenable status quo than risk change.
She also started working with local teens, engaging them with new ideas and ways of seeing the world. She taught them skills that they could use for life. In years past, most of these teens would have dropped out of high school to sell drugs, but most of her teens graduated with a few even going to college.
All her organization and activity finally wore down the drug dealers, who slowly faded from the scene as new residents moved in. Our activist then did her best to make sure the new neighbors didn’t displace the old ones. The community became far more welcoming, and diversity of all sorts flourished.
Next she took on a nearby out-of-control bar and restaurant district. While many of the businesses were well run, too many contributed to lowering the quality of life in the neighborhood with excessive noise, harassment, mayhem, and vandalism.
Weekends could be hell on the neighborhood as thousands descended—many of them underage—and late-night music blasted into the residential blocks. At closing time, patrons would drunkenly roam through the streets, screaming, fighting, damaging property, and urinating and defecating near people’s houses. Having plants or any outdoor furniture was an invitation to vandalism.
Our activist’s first approach was to work with the bar owners, some of whom cooperated. Most, though, just dug in, so she challenged them at the city liquor board and recruited local politicians to craft better, more enforceable regulations. Her organizing efforts even blocked some of the worst offenders from opening new party zones.
Why did she do all this? She held no principal role in the community and had no ambitions to run for office. And while she had gained the ear of the police brass, some city officials, and various politicians, she never sought nor expected any reward for all her efforts.
In other words, she had no interest in being principal within her community. So why?
She’ll tell you she did all this over nearly 15 years because it was the right thing to do. Her neighborhood was in trouble but had lots of potential. Instead of hiding or leaving, as so many did, she fought for her community, inspiring and leading others because doing so reflected her values.
She helped all those teens because most people just wrote them off. She wanted peace in her neighborhood because nothing else was acceptable. Nonetheless, even some who benefited from her leadership resented her because she challenged the status quo, which people instinctively protect.
In short, although she would never be a principal member of the community—a neighborhood boss—she effected more change than anyone else, by far, because of her commitment to principle. That commitment is the essence of leadership!
For great leaders, strength and authority flow from principles. Leaders put values over titles, whereas bosses are all about the title. How they got it or what they do with it, as we saw with our CEO, matters less to them than just having it.
Bossing concerns itself with principals—who’s on top and who wants to get there. How and why are irrelevant. Leadership focuses on principles—why one should act and how to best do so. As with our activist, you don’t need that bossing title to succeed as a leader. You need only lead with your values, with your principles.
If you want to become a great leader, tap into your decency and proceed from that core. Leadership flows from principles that stand the test of time; bossing builds upon the flimsy foundation of titles. And always remember, the best leaders often don’t have the highest rank or any rank for that matter and, as leaders, certainly don’t care.
Who do you know who leads without a title? Do you think of them as a true leader?
Leaders learn to embrace principles over being the principal, and I can help.
Unlock the Great Leader Within! Download my free resource, the Transform To GREATness Toolkit, now!
I look forward to hearing from you.
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About Dr. Sal
I founded Guidance for Greatness to mentor rising professionals after serving 30 years in higher education as an English professor, dean, and VP.
In my speaking, writing, and coaching, I blend academic credentials (Ph.D. from Toronto, certificates from Harvard and ACE) with practical coaching certifications (Tiny Habits, Thrive Global) to offer something different: leadership development built upon human decency.
My mission? To guide today’s managers to become the next generation of great leaders.
I offer practical, values-driven strategies so that managers can lead authentically.
Why? Because great leaders aren't just effective managers—they're teachers whose example makes a true difference in the world.
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Discover the practical strategies that transform good managers into exceptional leaders. Look for my new book, Greater than Great: How to Excel in Leadership through Learning, Logic, and Life to Make a True Difference in the World: May, 20, 2025!
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