I never met him face-to-face. But every Sunday morning, without fail, we got together in my living room, me and this incredibly intellectual genius graced with an enormous amount of humility and humanity. And chances are you got together with him too, because if it was Sunday, it was time for Tim Russert and Meet the Press. ThatÕs why on the afternoon of Friday, June 12, people all across America were shocked and devastated to hear of his sudden and untimely death. And while this consummate newsman is no longer with us, listening to his friends and colleagues pay tribute to him throughout the days that followed his death, it became so clear that Tim Russert lived from a core set of values and principles that guided him in all he did in his personal and professional life. Through that, he left lessons from which we can all benefit and learn. The following are a few, captured from some of the heartfelt tributes made by his colleagues and friends:

    Be a player/coach.

   As Russert climbed his own ladder of success, those with whom he worked were constantly inspired by him, sharing examples of how he always mentored and lifted others. "When we did well he cheered us on, and when we needed to do better he coached us to higher ground," one colleague said. He mentored the young and constantly challenged those more seasoned to reach new heights, and to do so with passion, accuracy and integrity. Newswoman Andrea Mitchell shared how as their leader he enjoyed everybody's success and took steps to be sure to put people in positions where they were able to succeed.
   Are you truly a mentor to your people? Do your actions lift them up or tear them down? Do you genuinely cheer them on? Do you 'coach' them or 'boss' them? If you could hear your employees talking about you, would they sing your praises and tell how you deliberately put them in positions to help them succeed? Or do you simply give them tasks to do, with little growth in mind?

    Live and work with passion.

   Russert's passion exuded in all that he did. It was the constant word friends and colleagues used about the man they dearly loved and respected. He showed passion for his profession, his colleagues, his family, his home town and his Buffalo Bills. He was passionate about every slice of politics which he covered like no one else. He was simply passionate about all of life.
   How passionate are you? Do you love your job? Do you genuinely care about the people with whom you work every day? Are you passionate about the little things in life and is passion a word others would readily use to describe you?

    Lifelong Professional Education

   Times change and so do solutions. Thus it is critical that regardless of past experience, your consultant keeps current through continual education. Attendance at industry workshops, national conferences and topical research are integral for staying abreast of industry trends. Find out what they do to keep up.

    Enlarge your circle of influence.

   Michelle Norris of PBS noted that with most successful people, the higher they climb the smaller their circle becomes. Not Russert. The higher he climbed, the more his circle expanded; always bringing new people in and seeking new voices of insights and opinions.
   How large is your circle of influence? Is it confined to people of perceived status, or do you include people from all walks of life? Are you missing something by keeping your circle too narrow?

    Love and respect your employees.

   Pentagon correspondent Jim Miklaszewski asked the question, "How many people dread the call from their boss?" It was exactly the opposite with Tim, he confessed. Mainly because Tim's calls were never harsh and demanding, rather conversations that demonstrated how much he respected his correspondent's knowledge and insights and valued their opinions and input; often the calls were simply to cheer them on and propelled them upward with his famous edict, "Go get 'em!"
   Do your employees dread a call from you? Does a call from you generally mean there's a problem? How often do you call to genuinely convey your appreciation or ask their opinions? How often do you call to share information or ensure they are informed? Do you ever call simply to "cheer them on?"

    Look beyond fancy labels when hiring

   When Tim Russert was hired by the late New York Senator, Patrick Moynihan, he was an ordinary kid, just graduated from John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio; not at all like the rest of the Ivy League staff of Harvard grads. Early on the senator told a somewhat intimidated Russert, "What they know, you can learn, but what you know, they'll never learn." Years later when Russert was hired by NBC, some viewed his hiring with skepticism because he was not a 'seasoned journalist.' Well, he sure proved them wrong. Perhaps that's why as Russert led his own team of people to success, he honored their individual talents and skills, not merely being impressed with what schools they had attended or whether they brought with them a set of stellar credentials.
   Do you look beyond the resume when you're hiring? Are you over-impressed with degrees from certain schools? Do you ever take a chance on young talented people without a lot of trappings?

    Have humor and a human touch.

   A large sign sat below Tim Russert's desk. It read: "Thou Shalt Not Whine." This was Russert's way of conveying an expectation of accepting responsibility and being accountable, yet it was subtly conveyed in a light-hearted way. Russert was also genuinely interested in all who touched his life and he was never too busy to show it by reaching out to touch their lives in sincere and personal ways. "He [instinctively] knew who needed to be touched," said his longtime friend and journalist Mike Barnicle. "He would call people to ask about their children; sometimes it was their parents. And busy as he was, he somehow found time to check on people because he really cared."
   When is the last time you called one of your employee's parents? Do you even know an employee's parents? Do you know the names of their children? Do you ask about a son's baseball game as an off-the-cuff query or do you know the team the kid plays for? How's your sense of humor and what's the real measure of your human touch.

    Be loyal and donÕt be too proud.

   Because Tim Russert was so loyal it garnered him a huge reservoir of loyalty. That was exceptionally evident during the outpouring of tributes following his death. He never forgot where he came from and he was humble enough to express the pride he felt from his blue collar, working class parent's upbringing. He cherished his childhood roots and never hid from his humble beginnings. He never developed "elevator loyalty," so common in everyday business and politics. The people he cherished remained important to him whether they were on their way up or on their way down. If he was your friend, he was simply your loyal friend.
   How's your loyalty? Are you ever seen as a fair weather friend? Are you proud of your childhood or do you avoid the old neighborhood and those who still live there? How vast is your reservoir of loyalty?

    Give the gift of friendship.

   Coupled with loyalty, of course, comes friendship. Russert had a gift of friendship that very few people have; especially busy people. And, although he lived a very busy life, he was never too busy to know people's names, know about events that were important to friends, keep tabs on dates, details, even the kind of medicines a good friend's parents were taking to ensure their good health.
   What kind of friend are you? How forgiving are you? How often do you take time in a busy day to demonstrate your friendship? Or are you just too busy to take the time?

    Be curious, tenacious and get to the truth.

   Tim Russert was fundamentally curious; curious about everything and everybody. That genuine curiosity is what made him so good at what he did professionally and it was exactly what enabled him to have the human touch that so few have. Armed with the knowledge from his depth of curiosity he was tenacious in his quest for truth. John Harwood of The New York Times said Tim was "tough for the right reasons." He would probe to get the truth, yet never be rude or demeaning. His tenacious probing was driven by his belief that people in high places needed to be held accountable and he urged his correspondents to be tenacious as well. Correspondent David Shuster said Tim always urged his reporters to be polite, but to not back down. He was compelled to unearth the truth, yet he did it " need-to-knows" for business? When you challenge the status quo do you do it for the right reasons? Do you challenge with respect or are your actions seen by others as mean-spirited? Would your employees consider you as always being polite? Are you ever condescending?

    Bring balance to your living.

   A colleague recalled one of Russert's recollections from his best-selling book, Big Russ and Me. In it, Tim wrote of when he was a young boy, playing baseball and how haunting it was for him to look up in the stands and not have his father there. He thus made it a priority in his life to always be there for his son, Luke. Norah O'Donnell recalled that in the days when Russert was on The Today Show he would run out after the show, drive his son to school and then come back. Other colleagues told of him skipping out of work early to attend a game in which his son was playing. And he was sensitive to balance for others as well. Former Presidential candidate John Edwards related a story about being invited to appear on Meet the Press, but didn't want to come because several friends of his deceased son Wade were visiting him that weekend. "Bring them along," Russert told him. So, he did. At the end of the show Russert called the boys over to be on camera. All just small examples of the many things that Tim Russert did to demonstrate the importance of balance in one's life. He never allowed his business success to override the importance of being a husband and father. How did he do it? He just did. Family was that important to him so he simply made it a priority.
   How much balance do you have in your life? What have you done to make family a priority? Will the day ever come that you will have regrets about not making time for things other than work? If so, what can you do today to change the course of your life?

   On the Saturday after Tim Russert's unexpected death, longtime friend and PBS newswoman Judy Woodruff was driven to the MSNBC studios to share her personal reflections. She had been picked up and driven there by Russert's longtime driver who told her, "I don't have a single bad memory of Tim."
   What a tribute. What a model to follow. What a legacy of lessons from an unusually incredible man.

Bette Price CMC, is a Certified Management Consultant and author of True Leaders (Dearborn Trade Press). She writes, speaks and consults on marketing, management and leadership issues and may be reached at www.PriceGroupLeadership.com. Sign up for her True Leader Letter.