My Name is Tony Schleich, and I Approve This Message

November 29, 2016

Is anyone else as happy as I am that the 2016 election cycle is finally behind us? I believe we can all agree we are suffering from election fatigue. In the end, everyone wants to have an effective leader for our country. However, it is apparent that good leadership is harder to find than ever before. This is the reason that our past chairmen chose to focus on leadership themes. I would like to continue this discussion by shifting our focus to principled leadership.

Success typically comes from making good decisions. We only come to make good decisions by making bad decisions—and Lord knows I have had my share! The effectiveness of the leadership we provide is a function of the quality of the decisions we make. And the more those decisions are anchored with a clear set of appropriate principles, the more likely they are to be good decisions.

We at the American Packaging Division of the Lawrence Paper Company believe there are five core values of principled leadership: Integrity, Balance, Creativity, Agility, and Excellence. I would like to briefly focus on one pillar, integrity, and look forward to sharing more with you as my term continues.

We have simply defined integrity as, “Always doing what is right over settling for convenience.” Being a leader of integrity means a person who is consistent, honest, and has a clear moral compass.

For me, the learning started when I was growing up in Owatonna, Minn. Regardless of what my brother and I had going on, my mom and dad always made it a priority to sit down and have a family meal. Looking back, I now see that my parents—whether they knew it or not—set the example of principled leadership.

My father-in-law and mentor, Dave Claxton, has probably taught me more than any master’s degree could ever teach, and for that I am forever grateful. At the core of principled leadership is the ability to lead by example. Whether it was as small as picking up a piece of scrap from the plant floor or as big as caring enough to understand our employees’ hardships, he earned the trust of everyone who worked for us. I can only aspire to carry on his leadership legacy.

As I begin my year as AICC Chair, I will leave you with a quote from Dr. Brené Brown:

“Integrity is choosing courage over comfort; choosing what is right over what is fun, fast, or easy; and choosing to practice values rather than simply professing them.” Thank you, and I look forward to meeting with you and carrying on the conversation of principled leadership!