Post 3: Leadership Lessons for President G.W. Bush’s book titled Decision Points

This is third and final posting of leadership quotes I lifted from Decision Points.  I hope you will read the first and second posting too, if you haven't already.  It can be retrieved from the blog archive which is to the right of posting area.  The leadership trait that corresponds to the quote is included at the end of the quote along with the page number.

 “One of the lessons I took from Roosevelt and Reagan was to lead the public, not chase the opinion polls.” P.272

“The principle was straightforward: You cannot solve a problem until you diagnose it. Accountability would serve as a catalyst for reform.” P 274 Problem solving


“While I was willing to fine-tune legislation in response to Democratic concerns, I would not compromise my principles…” P.300 Character-based Leadership


“I prided myself on my ability to make crisp and effective decisions. Yet in the days after Katrina, that didn’t happen. The problem was not that made the wrong decisions. It was that I took too long to decide.” P. 310 Decisiveness


“One lesson for the 2004 Florida hurricanes was that solid preparation before a storm is essential to a successful response.” P. 314 Preparedness and Planning


“Lincoln discovered Generals Grant and Sherman. Roosevelt had Eisenhower and Bradley. I found David Petraeus and Ray Odierno.” P.389 Personnel (Getting the right people on the bus and the right person driving the bus)


“If you want the facts, it’s a size-ten shoe that he threw,” I said. I hoped that by trivializing the moment, I could keep the shoe thrower from accomplishing his goals of ruining the event.” P.392 Sense of Humor and Flexibility


This concludes the leadership postings from George Bush’s book titled Decision Points. I hope you gained some insight and picked up a few golden nuggets about leadership. If you get the opportunity please read the book. It doesn’t matter whether you voted for him or agree with him on the issues. The fact of the matter is that we can learn about the leadership discipline from people who are like and unlike us in attitude, aptitude, personality, and other areas of personality. Some of the best leadership lessons come from poor leaders, although I don’t think Bush was. By studying and observing in real time poor leaders, we learn what to do and learning what not to do.


I believe that George W. Bush, as are all leaders including you and me, has feet of clay. He made some mistakes, which in the book he did not hesitate at admit. That too is a lesson to learn in that we too will make mistakes and never be a perfect leader. Don’t let the fact that you are not going to get it right all the time keep you from being a decisive and proactive leader. Do the best you can to make the best decisions you can based upon the available information and time. I rather follow a leader who makes a mistake here and there rather than follow a non-leader who is frozen from the fear of failure or making a mistake. Like Bush don’t be afraid to take the bull by the horns and leaderup!


As always, remember that character-based leadership is from the inside out!


Esse Quam Videri!
Carpe Diem
Arete'

Post 2: Leadership Quotes of President George W. Bush from his 2010 Memoir:



President Bush

 This is second posting of leadership quotes I lifted from Decision Points.  I hope you will read the first posting too, if you haven't already.  It can be retrieved from the blog archive which is to the right of posting area.  The leadership trait that corresponds to the quote is included at the end of the quote along with the page number.  Have a great and safe week and remember:

"Character based leadership is from the inside-out."

“I had told Tony (Blair) that I admired Churchill’s courage, principle, and sense of humor-all of which I thought were necessary for leadership.” P.108


“Everyone was on time. That was what I expected. Timeliness is important to make sure an organization does not get sloppy.” P. 109 Punctual and disciplined


“I learn best by asking questions.” P. 109 Inquisitive


“I had constantly questioned my assumptions and weighed the options again and again. With the decision made, I felt a sense of calm.” P.119 Thoroughness


The measure of their (former presidents) character, and often their success, was how they responded (public opinion). Those who based decisions on principle, not some snapshot of public opinion, were often vindicated over time.” P.121 Integrity


“I found solace in reading the Bible, which Abraham Lincoln called “the best gift God has given to man.” P. 140 Faith and Prioritizing


“We started the Cabinet meeting with prayer.” P.145 Faith and Prioritizing


…the wall. Over time, the government had adopted a set of procedures that prevented law enforcement and intelligence personnel from sharing key information.” P.160 Communication and Openness


“Yet the man from Missouri (Truman) knew how to make a decision and stick by it. He did what he thought was right and didn’t care much what the critics said.” P.174 Decisiveness and Integrity


“The atmosphere (at Camp David) fosters reflection and clear thinking.” P.184 Reflection and relaxation


“Pray as if it all depends upon God, for it does. But work as if it all depends upon us, for it does.” P. 190 Faith and work ethic (Here, Bush is quoting a passage from St. Ignatius of Loyola)


“I did not try to manage the logistics or the tactical decisions. My instinct was to trust the judgment of the military leadership. They were the trained professionals; I was a new commander in chief.” P.195 Delegating and Trust


“I placed a high priority on personal diplomacy. Getting to know a fellow world leader’s personality, character, and concerns made it easier to find common ground and deal with contentious issues.” P. 195 Relationships


“If you would win a man to your cause,” Lincoln once said, “first convince him that you’re his friend.” P. 195 Relationships


“I offered advice and made request, but I was careful not to give him (Karzai of Afghanistan) orders. The best way to help him grow as a leader was to treat him like one.” P. 208 Personnel Development and Relationships

Esse Quam Videri!

Carpe Diem
Arete'

Post 1 on Leadership Quotes of President George W. Bush from his 2010 Memoir: Decision Points

I just completed the reading of Decision Points written by former president George W. Bush. I highly recommend it to you or any aspiring leader. Irrespective of your politics, this book is full of leadership lessons particularly about the process of making tough decisions and desirable leadership traits. I would like to use the next few blog postings to list a few of the leadership nuggets of gold I unearthed as I plowed through the book. After each one I will list the page number and the leadership trait that is most prominent.

These postings are not intended to promote partisan politics or one politician over others. It is about learning to be better leaders. Generally speaking we can learn something of value from anyone we meet, whether it is in person or in a book, if we look deep beneath the surface and put aside our individual biases. So take the high road here, look beyond the politics and contemplate on the lessons of leadership that are contained in the quotes. We can disagree on whether any politician models certain leadership traits or not, but it is difficult to argue the importance of the trait itself.

Leadership!

“Of course, in the presidency, there are no do-overs. You have to do what you believe is right and accept the consequences.” P.xii. Decisive and accountable


“When you know you have unconditional love, there is no point in rebellion and no need to fear failure.” P.8. Love and Relationships


“I’ve never been afraid to make a decision….” P.27. Decisive


“Proximity to power in empowerment.” P.43. Empowering


“When people did not perform, we made changes.” P.47. Accountable


“Karen was my kind of person-one who put family first.” P.54. Prioritizing


“…I learned the importance of properly structuring and staffing an organization. The people you choose to surround you determine the quality of advice you receive and the way your goals are implemented.” P. 65-66. Communicator


“For major appointments, I interviewed candidates face to face. I used my time to gauge character and personality. I was looking for integrity, competence, selflessness, and an ability to handle pressure. I always liked people with a sense of humor, a sign of humor, a sign of modesty and self-awareness.” P.66. Integrity


“As was my habit, I got up around 5:00 a.m. After two cups of coffee, I was anxious to get moving.” P.70. Initiative and Work Ethic


“Win or lose, we would finish this race as a team.” p. 72. Team Player


“I told him that in Texas, it meant something when a person gave you his word.” P.78. Honesty and Integrity


“I wanted a structure that was tight enough to ensure an orderly flow of information but flexible enough that I could receive advice from a variety of sources. It was important that advisers felt free to express concerns to me directly, without passing through a filter.” P. 82. Communicator


“Most important, I trusted Dick. I valued his steadiness. I enjoyed being around him. And he had become a good friend.” P. 87. Integrity and Trustworthiness


“The decision came down to Harriet and Pricilla Own. I decided to go with Harriet. I knew her better. P.101. Relationships

LeaderUp!  Have a great and safe week and remember,

 "Leadership is from the inside out!"

Esse Quam Videri!
Carpe Diem

Arete'

Tom Peters' Excellence Always



Tom Peters

One of Tom Peters’ well known phrases is Excellence Always. You know who Tom Peters is, right? For those who haven’t heard of him, he is the Excellence guru and author of quite a few books on personal and organizational excellence. One of his most famous books is In Search of EXCELLENCE: Lessons from America’s Best-Run Companies. One of his more recent books is The Little BIG Things. I promise you that any publication by Tom Peters is worth your time and money to have and study. He recently published an interesting article in the November issue of Leadership Excellence, titled Excellence Always. I will use this post to discuss this article and the subject of providing excellent service.

Peters begins his article with the thought provoking idea that many leaders in our society have adopted. It is the concept that we cannot and perhaps should not pursue excellence in everything we do. The argument they make is that with the work overload we all experience daily, if we try to do everything excellently we would never survive or be very successful in our jobs. The thinking is premised on the idea that to excel in everything is to excel in nothing and that some things are just not worth doing excellently. “Just getting through the next hour is challenge enough”, as Peters quotes a work-at-home mom as saying.


Peters agrees, as I do, with the seemingly never ending in-box challenge that we all face in our jobs. It can be very over whelming and disconcerting to say the least. I use to say it was like drinking water out of a fire hydrant. Yet, neither Peters nor I are “ready to throw in the towel” and “throw excellence out of the window." Peters puts it all in perspective when he asks, “if not excellence, then what? If not excellence now, when? Excellence is not an aspiration; Excellence is the next five minutes.”  Man, I love that statement! Believing that you are too busy to be excellent is a recipe for mediocrity and an unfulfilling career. If leadership were easy then everyone would be doing it. I say leaderup or get a job stocking shelves at Wal-Mart!


What do you think Peters means when he states, “Excellence is not an aspiration - Excellence is the next five minutes?” To me it means that excellence is not a destination or an end goal, but rather a continuous, immediate and difficult journey. It is a journey where you never arrive. To use a sports analogy, you are no better than your last game. We never arrive at excellence because as long as we are breathing, living and engaged the “next five minutes” is always just ahead of us. With it arrives there is another opportunity to choose between excellence and mediocrity. So you see excellence is not a sometime thing, it is truly an always things. The opportunity to choose excellence or to dismiss it is always there.


If we make exceptions to excellence and choose mediocrity, overtime our exceptions and easy choices become habitual, ingrained and our way of life. It becomes who and what we are. What we have become, our very character. Whether we choose excellence or mediocrity we must wear its outward markings as badge of honor or as a scarlet letter. The choice is always ours and it is always present. I hope you will choose a life premised upon excellence. Be excellent and survive five minutes at a time.


As leaders we should all strive diligently to develop personal excellence as an example to others. We usually do not accomplish this doing great and important things. Modeling excellence is more often accomplished in the small and mundane duties. Peters quotes Helen Keller who sublimely said, “I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as thought they were great and noble.” Mother Teresa also stated that “We do no great things, only small things with great love.” Pretty good stuff, huh!


Peters also mentions the Football Hall of Famer and San Francisco 49ers’ coach Bill Walsh along with World War II General George Patton as examples of how success is found in the way small things are habitually done excellently. When Bill Walsh took command of the pitiful 49ers he began by creating a culture of excellence in his organization. The point Walsh makes in his book, The Score Takes Care of Itself, is that “the culture and preparation, finished before the opening kickoff, determine success or failure.” Bill Walsh’s goal was to establish 24/7 habits of excellence with his team. He did and turned a losing team into Super Bowl champions. It was a combination of many small things such as seemingly insignificant rule requiring proper attire while traveling with the team to name one. Pride in appears was one factor that led to pride in on-field performance.


General Patton, upon accepting command of his army in Europe, began with enforcing rules of better hygiene and the wearing of clean and sharp uniforms by his soldiers when possible. He turned a ragtag army around as they began winning battles and moving across Europe with lighting speed. Excellence and pride in appearance was a means to excellence and pride on the battlefield. Peters correctly points out that just as “the devil is in the details, so too is excellence.” Be excellent in all things and the score and the battle will take care of itself!


I will close with this comment by Tom Peters. “Anyone who takes on any leadership job, minor or major, assumes a Sacred Trust to practice Excellence Always.” Chose excellence in all of the “five minutes” of your life and wear the badge of honor with great pride. You will have earned it!


Leaderup and have a great and safe week!

Esse Quam Videri!

Carpe Diem

Arete'

Michael Josephson Commentary: Eight Laws of Leadership 695.5

This is a very good post from Michael Josephson on leadership laws. It is worth the read.



Michael Josephson Commentary: Eight Laws of Leadership 695.5

Esse Quam Videri!


Carpe Diem

Arete'

Guilford Courthouse Leadership Walk – Level 5 Leaders

 This is second post based upon the Guilford Courthouse Battleground leadership walk.

Level 5 Leaders 

As the leadership group followed Dr. Bowman, our facilitator, to the large and beautiful monument of General Nathanael Greene the discussion turned to what is a Level 5 leader and why are there not more of them. Level 5 leadership theory comes from a study conducted by Jim Collins and written about in his exceptional book, Good to Great. Mr. Collins, in a nut shell, explains that a Level 5 leader is one who builds an enduring greatness and legacy through personal humility and professional will power. These two attributes may seem on the surface contradictory, but not necessarily so as will be explained as we move forward. Let us now look at what makes Level 5 leaders, why there aren’t more of them at the top of organizations and how we might change that.

In my 54 years of life I, like many of you, have had the opportunity to observe many different people in numerous walks of life. Plainly speaking, my experiences lead me to believe there are two kinds of people in this world; there are givers and there are takers. Without sounding too pessimistic, most people, as a general rule, tend to fall into or closer to the taker side or category than the giver side. Looking after number one at others’ expense is a way of life with far too many people including leaders. This attitude and way of life is nothing more than a selfish egotistical existence, where one consistently puts himself and his wants and needs first. It is only when organizational or others’ needs align with theirs are their efforts considered mutually beneficial.

Perhaps you think I am being overly dramatic or pessimistic? Maybe so, but think back across the years of your professional and life experiences and count the number of top level leaders you have worked with or are familiar with who always put the organization and its members first and themselves last. I will bet you did not use all of your fingers on just one hand, did you? Now count the others, the takers. If you need to, take your shoes off and count on your toes. The plain but sad truth is that the takers outnumber the givers considerably.

The takers are the ones who always looks for their personal advantage or gain in every situation. Their thought process is always me first and everyone else second. Every decision or action is always preceded with questions such as, “Is this going to help me get promoted”, or “will this help me get a pay raise”, “will this help me get a corner office”, or “how is this going to benefit me?” These types of leaders are what General Norman Schwarzkopf calls careerist. Every decision a careerist makes is premised upon what is best for the leader; not the team or the organization. You get the idea; the mentality is that it is always about me, me, me. It is my world and you are just traveling through it. The shame is that far too many of this type of leader get into high positions within organizations.

Level 5 leaders are just the opposite. Level 5 leaders are the rare but unique individuals who are humbled and caring. They are the leaders who have a strong belief in the organizational mission and higher purposes. They also believe in a high moral standard to care for the needs of other people and to fight for higher causes. They see others in the organization as team members and not adversaries to step on or over on the way to the top. They do not see employees as just a pair of hands, as did Henry Ford. Rather they see other people as individual human beings with families, needs, hopes, dreams and concerns of their own.

  

Level 5 leaders are also ambitious individuals who desire power and position. They want a seat at the table just like everyone else. There is nothing wrong with that. The difference with Level 5 leaders is they want this power and position for the more noble reason of helping the organization achieve its mission and helping others within the organization fulfill their goals. They believe in the higher things and see purpose behind their work. Power to them is not a bad thing; they understand that it is how it is used that determines its value or worth. There is nothing wrong with being ambitious and wanting to be promoted and have power within the organization, if the primary reason is that you believe you can use this power and position to promote the organizational interest. It is when the craving and lust for power is for purposes of advancing one’s personal interest that causes power to become a negative thing. Robert F. Kennedy explained it this way;

“The problem of power is how to achieve its responsible use rather than its irresponsible and indulgent use - of how to get men of power to live for the public rather than off the public.”

General Nathanael Greene

I submit to you that Level 5 leaders want and use power for the public and organizational interest and not for personal gain. Nathanael Greene was a Level 5 leader. Did you know that when the government was unable to supply his army with needed provisions, he personally signed the notes and requisitions to buy them? He became personally responsible for the payments. Does this sound like a leader who only cares for his own well being? I would venture to say that he cared first and foremost for his soldiers and the cause he was fighting for. After the war he had to sell much of his property to pay these war time obligations. This is the stuff of Level 5 leadership!

Why then do so few Level 5 leaders rise to the top of organizations? My experience again tells me that there are quite a lot of Level 5 leaders in the middle and lower echelons of organizations. Yet too few rise to the highest ranks of the organization. You know the ones I am talking about; the caring and giving first line supervisors and the district commanders who work their tails off to meet the organizational goals while simultaneous taking care of their people. They are the ones that you have seen go to mat fighting for your best interest even when you may not have deserved it, or when it may not have been in their best career interest to do so. They are the ones who assume the risk of being seen as “disloyal to the boss” as they fight for and stick up for their people.

Shamefully, very few of these Level 5 leader types ever make it to the top rungs of the organization. Again, why do you think this so? Surely they earn it and deserve it more than the leaders of the “taking mentality.” It is my belief that they are too busy doing their jobs and doing what is best for the organization and others to take the time to promote their individual interest. They are consumed with the organizational mission and work extremely hard to fulfill it. They believe in the cause; they believe in what they do, and they work to accomplish it! They are not concerned about the spot light but quietly work behind the scenes like Trojans to get the job done. They just do not take the time to advance themselves in the minds and eyes of the powers to be. They have their priorities in the proper order. Generally these are the people who have a clear and deep understanding of what is important in life and what is not. Rank, power and position is important to them, but not the most important thing. It is not as important as fulfilling their duty, doing their job excellently, taking care of their people or meeting the goals and mission of the organization. But I submit to you that more Level 5 leaders should do a more effective job in getting themselves and others into positions of power and influence. It should be done the Level 5 way!

Every organization has Level 5 leaders within its ranks. Are you one? If not then I challenge you to develop yourself and others into Level 5 leaders and then find ways to get yourself and other Level 5 leaders into positions of greater power and influence within the organization. Always remember there is nothing wrong with putting yourself in your best light with those who have control over your career. Just learn to sell yourself in a Level 5 way; a way that does not diminish your humility, your values, and your character, and does not diminish others in the process. You do not have to back stab and cut throats to get your deserved recognition. We should see the acquiring of power and position as a way to help the organization and your people and not as a way to just help yourself. Seeing power and position in this light should lead Level 5 leaders to put more emphasis on the necessity of gaining personal power and position. Remember power is not a bad thing if used for greater purposes other than yourself.

I also think that Level 5 leaders have a rare gift for being lifted to the top from below, rather than pulled up from the top. They have a unique ability to achieve both power and position through helping others fulfill their talents and abilities. They do this while maintaining their own dignity and self-worth. Perhaps Level 5 leaders who make it to the top of their organizations are just better at balancing these different dimensions. It is not an easy task, if it were there would be more Level 5 leaders at the top. My final challenge is for you to go as far as your talent will carry you in your organization just do it the Level 5 servant way! That is how you serve the organization and its people. That is the way to leave a Level 5 legacy of service, humility and character.

Have a great and safe week! LeaderUp!

Esse Quam Videri!

Carpe Diem

Arete'

The Principles of Leadership Are The Same Regardless of Target Group

The link below is a column by John Rosemond.  John is a family psychologist and nationally renowned speaker.  Although his article that is linked below is about parental and teacher leadership with children, there are some interesting ideas and parallels that are related to leadership generally.  To get your interest let me post a couple of things he wrote about that we can relate to leadership in our own area of leadership.

1. Children that disobey are not happy campers.  The same can be said about followers of all ages.
2. A person in a position of authority doesn't always lead in a manner worthy of esteem.  Don't we have to earn trust and respect as leaders?
3. An adult earns the respect of children by leading in a manner that makes a child want to obey.  Isn't that one of the secret of leading; creating voluntary and willful obedience?
4. Effective Leaders command not demand.  The ole' carrot and stick is ineffective in the long run and only when you the leader is  present to enforce the rules.
5. Don't try to develop relationships with your team by foregoing good leadership practices.  Relationships will follow and develop with your effective leadership and not the other way around.


Enjoy the article! Click on "Weekly Column" to go to the link




Weekly Column

Education and Authentic Leadership Development

If you are a regular follower of this blog you will recall that I promised to post on the ten attributes of a leader that leads to trustworthiness. This began with the first posting on the subject on August 16th which was titled, Trust: The Key to Leadership. As promised, I will post later this week on the second attribute of trust building, i.e., loyalty. In the mean time I will leave this for you to chew on for awhile.

Education, according to Plato, is not about putting sight into blind eyes, but is the art of turning the soul from the shadows of ignorance toward the light of truth. Stated another way, education is about developing the heart as much or perhaps more than the mind. It is about becoming and being an authentic person. With authentic whole person education we learn to not only see and understand the truth, we internalize it in our heart. When you believe deeply in a certain way, and when you act upon and according to those beliefs, people see you as authentic and trustworthy? Authenticity is represented well, I think, by our blog motto, Esse Quam Videri: “To be rather than to seem.”

This blog is dedicated to this very type of leadership development. It is a whole person approach to development and growth; the eyes and the heart. The development of excellence in leadership character and competency is our chief interest.

Listed below are a few comments that I think you will like. They are from Christopher Kolenda’s great book, Leadership: The Warrior’s Art, regarding education and development of a leader.

Intellectual development is the key that opens the door to meaning. The education of a leader must move beyond personal experiences and draw on the boundless experience and insights of others.


Personal experience must be augmented by the records of others and synthesized by the insights of history, philosophy, and theory.


Developing the vibrant intellectual core from which a leader can draw insight in the art of leadership requires the courage and humility to immerse oneself in the ideas and experiences of others.


Leadership is about trust – trust in the leader’s vision, trust in the leader’s competence and character, trust in the leader’s respect and care for those under his or her charge. Every effective bond between people has trust as its bedrock. Successful leaders earn the trust of others, and in doing so inspire that voluntary spirit and the act of following.

This approach to leadership development is not so much a process to be mastered as it is an art to be developed.

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The Real Challenge

The challenges we face today are not economic, environmental, social, or legal; they are the challenges of character and leadership. Philip Eastman II

I couldn't agree more!  It is said that the chief virtue is courage because all of the other virtues depend upon it for implementation.  Leadership then can be said to be the chief discipline because all other disciplines depend upon it for implementation as well.  Where would the disciplines of law, economics, medicine, law enforcement, etc. be without the discipline of leadership? 

I recommend the book written by Philip Eastman II titled, The Character of Leadership: An Ancient Model for a Quantum Age. 
It is a very good read about character-based leadership and supports the idea that leadership is an inside-out proposition.

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LEADERSHIP BY MAJOR C.A. BACH, U.S. ARMY 1917

I have been a student and teacher of leadership for over 25 years. In all those years I have never heard or read any better explanation of the essense of leadership than the following words of Major C. A. Bach, U.S. Army. This is a speech given my Major Bach in 1917 to a group of graduating student-officers at Fort Sheridan, Wyoming. Major Bach was an Army officer and instructor of these young military men who would soon be off to war and to lead.


It is perhaps one of the very best if not the best dissertation on leadership every spoken or written. I realize that is saying a lot, but I am serious! Read it yourself and see if you don't agree! It is so eloquent and pure in truth knowledge and wisdom.  I doubt I will ever post anything more sublime if I blog for another millennia. It is a little lengthy so I won’t keep you from it. Enjoy, learn, and emulate:  Jon

Foreword (Author unknown)

This is the soldier’s analysis of how to be a leader—the farewell instructions given to the student-officers at the Second Training Camp at Fort Sheridan by Major C. A. Bach, a quiet, unassuming Army officer acting as an instructor at the camp. This address to the men commissioned as officers in his battalion should be read by every young officer in the Army and every private soldier and noncommissioned officer as well. It is the best composition on the subject of “Leadership” ever recorded. The reserve officers in Major Bach’s battalion were so carried away by the speech that they besieged the major for copies that they could take with them into the Army and re-read. The Waco (Tex.) Daily Times Herald, hearing of the great interest aroused, secured a copy of the address and, with the approval of Col James R. Ryan, published the speech in full on Sunday, 27 January 1918. Major Bach entered military life through the National Guard, going out as an enlisted man in the Thirteenth Minnesota Infantry. When the regiment was sent to the Philippines young Bach went along as a sergeant. He was promoted to a lieutenancy in the Thirty-sixth United States Volunteer Infantry. He then went into the Regular Establishment as a first lieutenant in the Seventh Cavalry and advanced grade by grade to his majority.

LEADERSHIP

In a short time each of you men will control the lives of a certain number of other men. You will have in your charge loyal but untrained citizens, who look to you for instruction and guidance. Your word will be their law. Your most casual remark will be remembered. Your mannerism will be aped. Your clothing, your carriage, your vocabulary, your manner of command will be imitated. When you join your organization you will find there a willing body of men who ask from you nothing more than the qualities that will command their respect, their loyalty, and their obedience. They are perfectly ready and eager to follow you so long as you can convince them that you have those qualities. When the time comes that they are satisfied you do not possess them you might as well kiss yourself goodbye. Your usefulness in that organization is at an end.


From the standpoint of society, the world may be divided into leaders and followers. The professions have their leaders, the financial world has its leaders. We have religious leaders, and political leaders, and society leaders. In all this leadership it is difficult, if not impossible to separate from the element of pure leadership that selfish element of personal


gain or advantage to the individual, without which such leadership would lose its value. It is in the military service only, where men freely sacrifice their lives for a faith, where men are willing to suffer and die for the right or the prevention of a great wrong, that we can hope to realize leadership in its most exalted and disinterested sense. Therefore, when I say leadership, I mean military leadership.


In a few days the great mass of you men will receive commissions as officers. These commissions will not make you leaders; they will merely make you officers. They will place you in a position where you can become leaders if you possess the proper attributes. But you must make good—not so much with the men over you as with the men under you.


Men must and will follow into battle officers who are not leaders, but the driving power behind these men is not enthusiasm but discipline. They go with doubt and trembling, and with an awful fear tugging at their heartstrings that prompts the unspoken question, “What will he do next?” Such men obey the letter of their orders but no more. Of devotion to their commander, of exalted enthusiasm which scorns personal risk, of their self-sacrifice to ensure his personal safety, they know nothing. Their legs carry them forward because their brain and their training tell them they must go. Their spirit does not go with them. Great results are not achieved by cold, passive, unresponsive soldiers. They don’t go very far and they stop as soon as they can. Leadership not only demands but receives the willing, unhesitating, unfaltering obedience and loyalty of other men; and a devotion that will cause them, when the time comes, to follow their uncrowned king to hell and back again if necessary.


You will ask yourselves: “Of just what, then, does leadership consist? What must I do to become a leader? What are the attributes of leadership, and how can I cultivate them?” Leadership is a composite of a number of qualities. Among the most important I would list self-confidence, moral ascendency, self-sacrifice, paternalism, fairness, initiative, decision, dignity, courage. Let me discuss these with you in detail. Self-confidence results, first, from exact knowledge; second, the ability to impart that knowledge; and, third, the feeling of superiority over others that naturally follows. All these give the officer poise. To lead, you must know—you may bluff all your men some of the time, but you can’t do it all the time. Men will not have confidence in an officer unless he knows his business, and he must know it from the ground up.


The officer should know more about paper work than his first sergeant and company clerk put together; he should know more about messing than his mess sergeant; more about diseases of the horse than his troop farrier. He should be at least as good a shot as any man in his company. If the officer does not know, and demonstrates the fact that he does not know, it is entirely human for the soldier to say to himself, “To hell with him. He doesn’t know as much about this as I do,” and calmly disregard the instructions received. There is no substitute for accurate knowledge. Become so well informed that men will hunt you up to ask questions that your brother officers will say to one another, “Ask Smith—he knows.” And not only should each officer know thoroughly the duties of his own grade, but he should study those of the two grades next above him. A twofold benefit attaches to this. He prepares himself for duties which may fall to his lot at any time during battle; he further gains a broader viewpoint which enables him to appreciate the necessity for the issuance of orders and join more intelligently in their execution.


Not only must the officer know, but he must be able to put what he knows into grammatical, interesting, forceful English. He must learn to stand on his feet and speak without embarrassment. I am told that in British training camps student officers are required to deliver 10-minute talks on any subject they may choose. That is excellent practice. For to speak clearly one must think clearly, and clear, logical thinking expresses itself in definite, positive orders. While self-confidence is the result of knowing more than your men, moral ascendancy over them is based upon your belief that you are the better man. To gain and maintain this ascendancy you must have self-control, physical vitality and endurance and moral force. You must have yourself so well in hand that, even though in battle you be scared stiff, you will never show fear. For if you by so much as a hurried movement or a trembling of the hand, or a change of expression, or a hasty order hastily revoked, indicate your mental condition it will be reflected in your men in a far greater degree.


In garrison or camp many instances will arise to try your temper and wreck the sweetness of your disposition. If at such times you “fly off the handle” you have no business to be in charge of men. For men in anger say and do things that they almost invariably regret afterward. An officer should never apologize to his men; also an officer should never be guilty of an act for which his sense of justice tells him he should apologize. Another element in gaining moral ascendancy lies in the possession of enough physical vitality and endurance e to withstand the hardships to which you and your men are subjected, and a dauntless spirit that enables you not only to accept them cheerfully but to minimize their magnitude.


Make light of your troubles, belittle your trials, and you will help vitally to build up within your organization an esprit whose value in time of stress cannot be measured. Moral force is the third element in gaining moral ascendancy. To exert moral force you must live clean, you must have sufficient brain power to see the right and the will to do right. Be an example to your men. An officer can be a power for good or a power for evil. Don’t preach to them—that will be worse than useless. Live the kind of life you would have them lead, and you will be surprised to see the number that will imitate you. A loud-mouthed, profane captain who is careless of his personal appearance will have a loud-mouthed, profane, dirty company. Remember what I tell you. Your company will be the reflection of yourself. If you have a rotten company it will be because you are a rotten captain. Self-sacrifice is essential to leadership. You will give, give all the time. You will give yourself physically, for the longest hours, the hardest work and the greatest responsibility is the lot of the captain. He is the first man up in the morning and the last man in at night. He works while others sleep. You will give yourself mentally, in sympathy and appreciation for the troubles of men in your charge. This one’s mother has died, and that one has lost all his savings in a bank failure. They may desire help, but more than anything else they desire sympathy. Don’t make the mistake of turning such men down with the statement that you have troubles of your own, for every time that you do, you knock a stone out of the foundation of your house. Your men are your foundation, and your house leadership will tumble about your ears unless it rests securely upon them.


Finally, you will give of your own slender financial resources. You will frequently spend your money to conserve the health and well-being of your men or to assist them when in trouble. Generally you get your money back. Very infrequently you must charge it to profit and loss. When I say that paternalism is essential to leadership, I use the term in its better sense. I do not now refer to that form of paternalism which robs men of initiative, self-reliance, and self-respect. I refer to the paternalism that manifests itself in a watchful care for the comfort and welfare of those in your charge. Soldiers are much like children. You must see that they have shelter, food, and clothing, the best that your utmost efforts can provide. You must be far more solicitous of their comfort than of your own. You must see that they have food to eat before you think of your own; that they have each as good a bed as can be provided before you consider where you will sleep. You must look after their health. You must conserve their strength by not demanding needless exertion or useless labor. And by doing all these things you are breathing life into what would be otherwise a mere machine. You are creating a soul in your organization that will make the mass respond to you as though it were one man. And that is esprit. And when your organization has this esprit you will wake up some morning and discover that the tables have been turned; that instead of your constantly looking out for them they have, without even a hint from you, taken up the task of looking out for you. You will find that a detail is always there to see that your tent, if you have one, is promptly pitched; that the most and the cleanest bedding is brought to your tent; that from some mysterious source two eggs have been added to your supper when no one else has any; that an extra man is helping your men give your horse a supergrooming; that your wishes are anticipated; that every man is Johnny-on-the-spot. And then you have arrived.


Fairness is another element without which leadership can neither be built up nor maintained. There must be first that fairness which treats all men justly. I do not say alike, for you cannot treat all men alike—that would be assuming that all men are cut from the same piece; that there is no such thing as individuality or a personal equation. You cannot treat all men alike; a punishment that would be dismissed by one man with a shrug of the shoulders is mental anguish for another. A company commander who for a given offense has a standard punishment that applies to all is either too indolent or too stupid to study the personality of his men. In his case, justice is certainly blind. Study your men as carefully as a surgeon studies a difficult case. And when you are sure of your diagnosis apply the remedy. And remember that you apply the remedy to effect a cure, not merely to see the victim squirm. It may be necessary to cut deep, but when you are satisfied as to your diagnosis don’t be divided from your purpose by any false sympathy for the patient. Hand in hand with fairness in awarding punishment walks fairness in giving credit. Everybody hates a human hog. When one of your men has accomplished an especially creditable piece of work see that he gets the proper reward. Turn heaven and earth upside down to get it for him. Don’t try to take it away from him and hog it for yourself. You may do this and get away with it, but you have lost the respect and loyalty of your men. Sooner or later your brother officer will hear of it and shun you like a leper. In war there is glory enough for all. Give the man under you his due. The man who always takes and never gives is not a leader. He is a parasite.


There is another kind of fairness—that which will prevent an officer from abusing the privileges of his rank. When you exact respect from soldiers be sure you treat them with equal respect. Build up their manhood and self-respect. Don’t try to pull it down. For an officer to be overbearing and insulting in the treatment of enlisted men is the act of a coward. He ties the man to a tree with the ropes of discipline and then strikes him in the face, knowing full well that the man cannot strike back. Consideration, courtesy, and respect from officers toward enlisted men are not incompatible with discipline. They are parts of our discipline. Without initiative and decision no man can expect to lead. In maneuvers you will frequently see, when an emergency arises, certain men calmly give instant orders which later, on analysis, prove to be, if not exactly the right thing, very nearly the right thing to have done. You will see other men in emergency become badly rattled: their brains refuse to work, or they give a hasty order, revoke it; give another, revoke that; in short, show every indication of being in a blue funk. Regarding the first man you may say: “That man is a genius. He hasn’t had time to reason this thing out. He acts intuitively.” Forget it. “Genius is merely the capacity for taking infinite pains.” The man who was ready is the man who has prepared himself. He has studied beforehand the possible situation that might arise, he has made tentative plans covering such situations. When he is confronted by the emergency he is ready to meet it. He must have sufficient mental alertness to appreciate the problem that confronts him and the power of quick reasoning to determine what changes are necessary in his already formulated plan. He must have also the decision to order the execution and stick to his orders. Any reasonable order in an emergency is better than no order. The situation is there. Meet it. It is better to do something and do the wrong thing than to hesitate, hunt around for the right thing to do and wind up by doing nothing at all. And, having decided on a line of action, stick to it. Don’t vacillate. Men have no confidence in an officer who doesn’t know his own mind.


Occasionally you will be called upon to meet a situation which no reasonable human being could anticipate. If you have prepared yourself to meet other emergencies which you could anticipate, the mental training you have thereby gained will enable you to act promptly and with calmness. You must frequently act without orders from higher authority. Time will not permit you to wait for them. Here again enters the importance of studying the work of officers above you. If you have a comprehensive grasp of the entire situation and can form an idea of the general plan of your superiors, that and your previous emergency training will enable you to determine that the responsibility is yours and to issue the necessary orders without delay. The element of personal dignity is important in military leadership. Be the friend of your men, but do not become their intimate. Your men should stand in awe of you—not fear. If your men presume to become familiar it is your fault, not theirs. Your actions have encouraged them to do so.


And above all things, don’t cheapen yourself by courting their friendship or currying their favor. They will despise you for it. If you are worthy of their loyalty and respect and devotion they will surely give all these without asking. If you are not, nothing that you can do will win them. And then I would mention courage. Moral courage you need as well as physical courage—that kind of moral courage which enables you to adhere without faltering to a determined course of action which your judgment has indicated as the one best suited to secure the desired results.


Every time you change your orders without obvious reason you weaken your authority and impair the confidence of your men. Have the moral courage to stand by your order and see it through. Moral courage further demands that you assume the responsibility for your own acts. If your subordinates have loyally carried out your orders and the movement you directed is a failure, the failure is yours, not theirs. Yours would have been the honor had it been successful. Take the blame if it results in disaster. Don’t try to shift it to a subordinate and make him the goat. That is a cowardly act.

        Furthermore, you will need moral courage to determine the fate of those under you. You will frequently be called upon for recommendations for the promotion or demotion of officers and noncommissioned officers in your immediate command. Keep clearly in mind your personal integrity and the duty you owe your country. Do not let yourself be deflected from a strict sense of justice by feeling of personal friendship. If your own brother is your second lieutenant, and you find him unfit to hold his commission, eliminate him. If you don’t, your lack of moral courage may result in the loss of valuable lives. If, on the other hand, you are called upon for a recommendation concerning a man whom, for personal reasons you thoroughly dislike, do not fail to do him full justice. Remember that your aim is the general good, not the satisfaction of an individual grudge.


I am taking it for granted that you have physical courage. I need not tell you how necessary that is. Courage is more than bravery. Bravery is fearlessness—the absence of fear. The merest dolt may be brave, because he lacks the mentality to appreciate his danger; he doesn’t know enough to be afraid. Courage, however, is that firmness of spirit, that moral backbone, which, while fully appreciating the danger involved, nevertheless goes on with the understanding. Bravery is physical; courage is mental and moral. You may be cold all over; your hands may tremble; your legs may quake; your knees be ready to give way—that is fear. If, nevertheless, you go forward; if in spite of this physical defection you continue to lead your men against the enemy, you have courage. The physical manifestations of fear will pass away. You may never experience them but once. They are the “buck fever” of the hunter who tries to shoot his first deer. You must not give way to them. A number of years ago, while taking a course in demolitions, the class of which I was a member was handling dynamite. The instructor said regarding its manipulation: “I must caution you gentlemen to be careful in the use of these explosives. One man has but one accident.” And so I would caution you. If you give way to the fear that will doubtless beset you in your first action, if you show the white feather, if you let your men go forward while you hunt a shell crater, you will never again have the opportunity of leading those men. Use judgment in calling on your men for display of physical courage or bravery. Don’t ask any man to go where you would not go yourself. If your common sense tells you that the place is too dangerous for you to venture into, then it is too dangerous for him. You know his life is as valuable to him as yours is to you. Occasionally some of your men must be exposed to danger which you cannot share. A message must be taken across a fire-swept zone. You call for volunteers. If your men know you and know that you are “right” you will never lack volunteers, for they will know your heart is in your work, that you are giving your country the best you have, that you would willingly carry the message yourself if you could. Your example and enthusiasm will have inspired them.


And, lastly, if you aspire to leadership, I would urge you to study men. Get under their skins and find out what is inside. Some men are quite different from what they appear to be on the surface. Determine the workings of their minds. Much of Gen Robert E. Lee’s success as a leader may be ascribed to his ability as a psychologist. He knew most of his opponents from West Point days, knew the workings of their minds, and he believed that they would do certain things under certain circumstances. In nearly every case he was able to anticipate their movements and block the execution.  You do not know your opponent in this war in the same way. But you can know your own men. You can study each to
determine wherein lies his strength and his weakness; which man can be relied upon to the last gasp and which cannot.


Know your men, know your business, know yourself.

Leadership: The Most Important of All Disciplines That Must Be Mastered

Leadership: The Most Important of All Disciplines That Must Be Mastered

The ancient philosophers and historians, from whom much of Western Civilization thought is based, believed that of the four cardinal virtues, prudence, temperance, justice, and fortitude, fortitude is the cardinal or pivotal virtue. Fortitude or courage as it is often referred by, is the cardinal virtue because all other virtues depend on it to be effective. If fortitude is the cardinal virtue, then it can be stated emphatically that leadership is the cardinal discipline since all other disciplines depend upon it for effectiveness. No organization or individual leader can be effective and successful if they have not mastered the discipline of leadership. Regardless of how well the other disciplines are executed the leader will be no more successful than the degree to which leadership skills and abilities have been developed.

The adage that knowledge is power still rings true today but is not a complete definition anymore. Before the knowledge and information age was born, this statement could be accepted as a truth in and of itself. Before the advent of the computer chip, fiber optics, and satellite communication, the few who monopolizes the knowledge horded the power. Usually these were the few who held the high positions in our organizations. Information and knowledge moved and transferred throughout the organization and from one individual to another at a much slower pace than it does today. Today, in what Thomas Freidman refers to as a flat world, information and knowledge is available to almost anyone at anytime. No one can monopolize it or horde the power that it manifests anymore. Information is not a rare commodity it use to be.

The time between creative ideas and execution has been shortened. It is fair then to state that power has been redefined as the rapid and effective execution of knowledge and information. Just possessing knowledge, as more people have access to today, has less power than anytime in the history of world. How quickly leaders put the available knowledge to work to affect the mission and purpose of their organization is where the real power is manifested in the flat world where we find ourselves living today.

Leaders no longer have the luxury of father time when faced with decision making. The playing field has been leveled between countries, organizations and individuals. Technology has flattened the hierarchy of every organization and has heightened, almost overnight, the importance of the decipline of leadership at all levels of an organization. More than ever before in the history of mankind has leadership been so critical to the success of organizations around the world.

The metaphor of a wagon wheel with its outer rim, spokes, and hub illustrates this knowledge and information world we woke up in a few years ago. The rim of the wheel represents the flat world in which we live. The spokes represent the conduits of information and knowledge and the hub represents the leaders of organizations. Before the flattening of the world the wheel looked quite different than it does today. There were considerable fewer spokes or conduits of information channeling toward the leader. Today that wheel is overcrowded with conduits flooding the leader with knowledge and information. This overflow of data demands a restructuring of organizations because leaders at the top of the organization no longer are able to command and control every facet of the organization. It is impossible, impractical, and if it is attempted, then organization implosion will result.

The flattening of our world has forced organizations to restructure to a flatter, more efficient and empowering entity. Where there use to be a few top leaders and a lot of followers beneath them, there is now an organization filled with leaders of all stripes and colors at every level. When a single leader, or a small group of leaders, at the top of the pyramid cannot possible make every organizational decision, it goes without saying, the decisions must still be made by someone. Empowerment has become a strategic necessity rather than an option for organizations. Those who a few years back could only follow commands and directives from the top are now finding themselves empowered and in roles of leadership. They are making both tactical and strategic decisions everyday that only a few years ago would and could only be made by the top echelon of the organization.

If all of what has been stated here is true, and what we now find in our organizations are leaders leading leaders rather than leaders leading followers, no one can argue or doubt the exponential growth and importance of teaching, learning, developing, and mastering the discipline of leadership throughout all levels of the organization. The decision that a private infantry soldier is expected to make in Iraq today, that could only be made by a command officer a few years ago, can have serious repercussions all the way to the White House today. It is of paramount importance then, that foot soldier understands and practices effectively the discipline of leadership. It is no different in our non-military organizations, except perhaps the issues we face in our daily work are not usually life and death issues faced by our military men and women. Leaders in our organization must understand the discipline of leadership and think, act, and lead strategically.

Leadership is the discipline that makes all other disciplines possible. The importance of leadership is greater today than ever before in our history because there are no more followers – we are all leaders. If today’s organizations are not developing and preparing its leaders seriously, there will be a hefty price to pay in the near future. Poor leadership in the round world was more forgiving than it is in the flat world. Poor leadership in today’s knowledge and information based world will leave organizations in the ash bin of failure. Everyone is a leader today. No one can choose whether they want to be a leader or a follower. Organizations that understand that there are no followers anymore, only leaders, will be the organizations that reap the benefits and rewards of the flat world we find ourselves in today. Those that do not grasp this vital insight, well, they will exist no longer, or if they do, will be inconsequential in the knowledge and information world.


C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (New York: Scribner, 1943).
Thomas Friedman, The World Is Flat: A Brief History Of The Twenty-First Century (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005).