Decades ago, somewhere between the Air Force and the early days of entrepreneurship, I found my conviction that true leadership isn’t about standing at a podium and saying inspiring things. Effective leadership requires a consistent model, with clear metrics: a filter through which I could put any change, challenge or unknown, and feel solid about my own marching orders.There are plenty of models out there, many of which are probably fancier or more pedigreed than mine. Yet since 2005, my Leadership Algorithm has been Cedar Brook’s firmwide cornerstone; the foundation from which we create and grow our community and our culture.My Leadership Algorithm has three metrics: Authenticity, Loyalty, IntegrityAUTHENTICITY: To be a good leader, the ideas you espouse must be in the personal best interest of those you seek to lead. No grey area here. Just pure black and white.LOYALTY: Leaders innately expect loyalty, however in true leadership, loyalty is mutual. Our advisors and team members must experience my loyalty as pure and reliable.INTEGRITY: Plenty of people describe integrity as doing the right thing when no one’s looking. For me, a hard look in the mirror is my most stringent evaluator. The Humanity FactorTM: practicing what we espouse…A number of years ago, Cedar Brook adopted a motto: The Humanity Factor. It speaks to celebrating clients as the central figures in their own planning. It means that being a financial planner is as much about accountability as it is about good planning.The Humanity Factor: a litmus test for our leadership algorithmHumanity is the quality of kindness, of being human; a perspective in which AUTHENTICITY is both natural and non-negotiable. A Factor is a person who actively contributes to a quantifiable result. To be an effective Factor requires LOYALTY. The Humanity Factor is about doing the right thing even when it requires more work, deeper candor or produces less fruitful financial rewards. That’s INTEGRITY by definition.For disclosures please see our website at https://cedarbrookfinancial.com/disclosure/. Third-party comments are not verified and may not be representative of all client experiences.