As a parting thought for 2011, following more than a decade of interviewing the today's mentioned (see articles BR articles for more) and hundreds of other leaders; sitting one on one with hundreds of top leaders; and rubbing shoulders with some of the best, here are 12 leadership principles you can strive to understand and live in 2012:

This article has been held back so that we can publish it before Christmas. You may well ask the question: ‘What has Christmas to do with the theme of leadership? The lessons of Christmas may include some of the most sought after secrets of ‘seamless’ leadership - the ability to move mental, emotional, physical and organisational barriers to potential and excellence. One of these great secrets is that of the power of sharing.

We asked some more obvious leaders to share a message with South Africans as we move into what will be a very challenging and exciting 2012. To read more on what leaders like President Jacob Zuma, Mike Brown - CEO Nedbank, Pieter Uys - CEO Vodacom, Brian Dames - CEO Eskom, Terry Volkwyn - CEO Primedia Broadcasting and others are sharing, read this article.

Readers of the Leadership Platform column are in general avid seekers after leadership excellence, and our passion is to assist you where possible. As this is the commencement of a new year it is appropriate for us to share some imperatives of leadership excellence. The three we are discussing are all keys to opening the door to emotional and mental leadership maturity. The three are ‘obedience’, ‘letting go’ and ‘values’. 1. The first universal principle is obedience. Obedience is not an optional thing in human behaviour. No matter what we do we are being obedient to some idea, impulse or influence. Thinking, hesitating, evaluating and doing are all manifestations of obedience. We cannot move from point a to point b without being obedient to some feeling or perception.

In August this year we launched the first ever Business Report Leadership Platform page that appears every second Thursday. Since then we placed leaders like Pres Jacob Zuma, Governor Gill Marcus, Pieter Uys, Mardia Van Der Walt-Korsten, Bheki Sibiya and Nick Badminton on the platform and under the spotlight, in reflective mode, to learn from them regarding leadership. We also shared leadership principles, promoted leadership events, introduced leadership books and commented on leadership challenges in society. We uncovered, by personal contact, once again the rich heritage of South African leaders. Many of them have evolved into exceptional leaders from exposure to the uniquely difficult environment and challenges that are par for the course in SA. It is our passion to transfer much of this leadership excellence to millions out there.

The critical role that a seamless attitude plays in life was sharply brought home to me a week ago when we heard the distressing news that two sons of friends from the Eastern Cape had died in a plane crash. The two brothers were in fact participating in a final flight before the one brother was to qualify for his pilot’s licence. After we heard the news we phoned the mother of the two boys and it was an intensely emotional experience. Why mention this matter? Life is about attitude. It really is! Life is also about traumatic and painful experiences as indicated above. The workplace is filled with challenging situations. Nothing impacts more on personal happiness and leadership ability than a heritage of a positive and seamless attitude towards life in general and in particular towards our leadership role in the work place and in our families. What is a seamless attitude?

Typically the western world uses the top down pyramid style of management, one where the CEO is at the top followed by the executives, then middle management, the supervisors and then the employees. The employees typically face the customers. In my experience, the people in many organisations today are looking up the food chain, (up the triangle as it were), and are mostly concerned about keeping the boss happy. My question is that while everyone is focusing on keeping the boss happy, who’s focusing on keeping the customer happy? After all isn't that our most important goal in business? What would happen if we turn the typical management pyramid that most organisations apply today, upside down?

Lindiwe Mazibuko, Parliamentary Leader of the DA, was born in Swaziland in 1980 and then, with her South African parents, moved back to South Africa, Kwazulu Natal in 1986 where she was educated. After school she started a BA degree in music but dropped out after a year. Later, in 2006, she completed a BA in French, Classics, Media & Writing, and a post graduate degree in political communication, in 2007. During the year that she completed her political communication course, she did research on different parties’ policies. She says: “I liked what I read and what I saw about the DA. I especially liked the attitude and ethos of the party leader Helen Zille, who had just been elected at that stage.” One thing led to another, not calculated. The opportunity as a researcher for the DA presented itself and its outlook happened to fit with her views at the time. The rest is history.

...What our National Planning Commission is in effect telling us here is that we need to change the way we understand leadership and adopt what we have coined: Seamless Leadership; if we are to accomplish that which has been asked of us.  Why am I mentioning all this? Because a truly seamless society, lead by seamless leaders – whether in homes, businesses or civil society – depends to a large extent on how and what we are doing to develop those who will be present when 2030 arrives... To the youth: ...We are launching an initiative right here in The Star Workplace. We call it our “You(th) the Leader Series”. What we are going to give you once a month is a lesson in leadership...

Louis Von Zeuner the Deputy CEO of ABSA will be retiring in approximately a year. I reflected on a leadership conversation I had with him some time back. Here are just a few highlights: At the time the two of us had a very intense and interesting discussion around certain leadership principles. He came across as a humble, teachable, loyal, approachable, down to earth man that can be tough when he needs to be. I remember thinking to myself that ABSA and Maria Ramos were very fortunate to have him on the team.