[July 18, 2018] If you are a leader in any capacity whatsoever, you represent to outsiders, others in your employment, family, religion, nationality, or in any other grouping imaginable. When outsiders see you and listen to what you have to say, you are an ambassador to the groups to which you are affiliated.
While it may not be “fair,” leaders represent others with or without the consent of the group’s members. Outsiders see what leaders do and draw conclusions and inferences from it. Others in the leader’s group are believed to think and act like the leader.
As a leader, if your behavior has been honorable and you are trustworthy, your behavior reflects in a positive way on those you represent. Conversely, if you are intellectually lazy, dishonest, have a poor attitude, cowardly, etc., then that is how others see those closest to you. A good leader, therefore, should be interested in not being an embarrassment.
Statesmen who are formally chosen by nations are aware of this and their job is to put on a positive face for the country they represent. A good ambassador is highly skilled in various protocols, aware of the hot-button issues of nations, understands the many positions on which their nation politically stands, and takes the long-term approach to ensure all is well.
Leaders can learn from formal ambassadors and study ambassadorial training. Leaders from the most junior levels and up are informal ambassadors. The first thing for a leader to do is to recognize this fact and be prepared to live with it. Circumstances will never change these conditions.
For example, as a retired U.S. Army Flag Officer, I am very careful to maintain my own credibility; else losing it reflects upon my peers throughout the U.S. military. If I abuse my power, then it will be seen that other senior Army officers do the same. Everyone who follows after me will be tainted by my own personal deficiencies and reflected negatively upon them.
Leaders must be aware of and practice both patience and understanding of this in order that those we represent are seen in the best possible light.
Good article. Thank you.
Some good thoughts on a very human condition. Thanks for helping us out on it today, Gen. Satterfield. Well done. I also like the examples given here, in particular the ones concerning the boy scouts.
Good article on a practical subject. Thanks.
I agree with Len that Gen. Satterfield’s article explains, in part, what we are seeing on college campuses. What it also says is that our college students haven’t learned some basic lessons in human behavior and that they are suddenly waking up. No wonder we call them “snowflakes.”
This is a hot-button issue for students in colleges today. That is why they want to tear down statues, rename their colleges, etc. They associate something in a person’s past with themselves and fear they may be smeared unethically by something someone else has done.
I think you are onto something here, Len.
Good comment.
😉 Well said, Len. I think you are spot on with this comment. Too many of the college students today (and frankly most young people) is that they are slow to learn about the human condition and then are suddenly surprised. They should have been a boy scout where they would have learned about it.
Good comments today guys that are adding to our understanding of this issue. I too appreciate the stories.
Ha ha. You made my day, Wilson. Great story about your time as a boys scout and helping an old lady. Classic. Yes, this is more common, however, than many of us would imagine. Some of us think just because we are off duty and not working that we are no longer a leader. Thanks for entertaining me today.
My first experience with this and one in which I learned a lot was when I became a boy scout back long ago. I was walking to a scout meeting when an older lady came up to me and asked if I would help her husband unload the trunk of the car. The groceries were too heavy for him. I helped. She wanted to tip me but I refused. To this day, I’m sure it was because I was in my scout uniform and she made assumptions that I was a good person (I was).
Well said, Gen. Satterfield. I’ve seen this happen so many times over the years that I lost count.
Good article today on a situation that is often overlooked by junior leaders. I hope they are paying attention this morning and reading your stuff.
😉 I agree.
We are ambassadors is an interesting way to put it but I do understand what you’re saying. This is how humans see things in their lives. If, for example, my brother is a thief, then people will not trust anyone in my family. If my brother is a medical doctor, they will trust my family completely especially on medical opinions and issues.
Leaders should get their heads out of the sand and recognize this issue. It matters not at all that a leader is “off duty.” It matters what they do and when they do it. This is a simple human psychological phenomenon and we must learn to use it to our advantage. Simple. Leaders, get your act together.
Good to hear from you again, Jelly. Thanks for getting to the point for us and doing it quickly.
Good one! Thanks Jelly.
I like your blog article today. Cheers!
Like the article yesterday on the Boy Scouts, people will always be part of some group. They must realize that when others see them, they also “see” the group. Thanks for a good article today, Gen. Satterfield.
It may not be fair but it’s simply a fact of life that leaders represent the groups to which we are a part.
Good comment. Thanks Army Captian.
Very straightforward. Thanks.
I agree with you Army Captian. Thanks.
Thanks Army Captain.