Mr. Speaker, today, I want to speak about the attributes of good leadership. "Leadership is lifting a person's vision to higher heights, the raising of a person's performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations," a quote from Peter F. Drucker, who is an author and expert on management.
Mr. Speaker, that quote is from the book titled "Leadership, a Practical Guide to Leadership Principles and Strategies." That book was gifted to me by someone in my community after I entered into leadership as chief of the Salt River First Nation about 13 years ago. I found many of the concepts outlined in that book to be very useful and accurate, both in theory and in practice.
Mr. Speaker, the reason I am sharing this with you is because I want to see good and strong leaders in our government. I want to see the attributes of great leaders to be present in our leadership here in this House, whether on the Cabinet side or the Regular Members' side. For that reason, I want to highlight some key attributes outlined in the book which I just referenced, which I consider most important in leadership.
Mr. Speaker, good leaders have a strong platform to stand on, which includes five integral pillars that all great leadership rests on. These pillars include vision, authenticity, integrity, influence, and self-confidence. Great leaders also have humility, focus, people skills, and communication skills. Other aspects of a good leader which I consider very important include forgiveness, not taking things personally, not dwelling on issues too long, and being open to constructive feedback.
Mr. Speaker, for some, these types of skills and attributes may come natural, but for many they must be learned and practised. They must be constantly improved and modified as time and experience dictates. To conclude, Mr. Speaker, I will end with a quote. This was a quote that was given by my father, who knew this man. His name was Harold Cardinal. He was a great Metis leader of Alberta. He said, "We must be able to set aside the principles of division, the principle of meanness, and the principle of greed. We must replace them with our traditional values of generosity, inclusion, sharing, and love. All of us people must be, should be, and ought to be able to work together." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.