What does it take, day in and day out, to lead a group of people effectively? It's not easy, that's for sure. On a very granular level, leading is balancing a thousand decisions, huge and small, every day. So what guides your hand?

Republican Governor of Utah Spencer Cox is an anomaly in a time of waning bipartisanship. His vice chair in the National Governor's Association is a Democrat – and a close friend at that. He's also been a bit of an anomaly in how he's charted his life, too, turning down Harvard and a cushy lawyer job for his family farm in Fairview.

But Governor Cox is an anomaly we can learn from. How do you build a belief system as a leader – and strengthen it, when it seems like the political winds are blowing against you?