[June 22, 2014] “I learned it from the school of hard knocks.” In Part 1 of Building Initiative yesterday, I proposed two things. First, it is possible to improve initiative in workers through some very specific steps. Second, that it was the obligation of a leader to build initiative. Many believe that initiative is learned only through relevant… Read More »
[June 21, 2014] The story of building initiative is an old one. I frequently tell an account of a conversation I had in mid-2007 Fallujah, Iraq. A U.S. Marine and I were talking about what Army engineers would do to assist them in defense of the city. The Marine told me he didn’t mind combat but never wanted… Read More »
[June 20, 2014] Public confidence in the U.S. Congress is at an all-time low, according to a survey released yesterday by Gallup. Only seven percent of U.S. citizens said they have either a “great deal” (4%) or “quite a lot” (3%) of confidence in Congress. Of 17 institutions, Congress comes out last. In contrast, the U.S. military leads… Read More »
[June 19, 2014] As I buckled myself into the helicopter’s backseat, I joked with the young Blackhawk pilot that I probably had more hours flying in his US-60 aircraft than he did. We were flying low and fast over the city of Baghdad. That tactic got us to our destination faster and helped avoid anti-aircraft missiles. Most people… Read More »
[June 18, 2014] A common practice in leadership is to spend time learning from the mistakes, errors, and omissions of others. Senior leader mistakes should be studied very closely because of the value it brings to our development. Now comes news that the IRS “lost” emails that stem from allegations of IRS target political enemies. A basic rule… Read More »
[June 18, 2014] In June of 1944 General Eisenhower made the final decision for the invasion of German-occupied France. This was the key event that led to the unraveling of Hitler’s European empire. Eisenhower’s command to go ashore in Normandy France has been called many things; but it cannot be said it was not decisive. It is a… Read More »
[June 17, 2014] Practicing leadership skills is not something we normally think about when it comes to improving our leader talents. Athletes, target shooters, musicians, Army tank crews, etc., all have scheduled practice sessions designed to improve their performance. But, what about leaders, do they practice their trade? Yes, leadership requires practice … however, maybe not in a… Read More »
[June 17, 2014] Today, I will start a series that uses sports lessons to teach us leadership. As noted many times here on theLeaderMaker.com, there is much to learn from participating and observing sports events. There are also cultural variations that make it that much more interesting, and frankly, more entertaining. The new Brooklyn rugby team will be… Read More »
[June 16, 2014] When most of us think of those who are employing wisdom, we typically think of “old people”. Presumably this is because wisdom is the ability to make good judgments based on knowledge, experience, reasoning, and insight. Successful senior leaders are able to employ wisdom because they have the relevant experiences to discern good from bad.… Read More »
[June 16, 2014] One of the most humbling events of being a military flag officer is getting the opportunity to talk with some of the most senior leaders of the United States. Several years ago I had the chance to ask questions of the directors/chiefs of many three-letter agencies (CIA, FBI, NSA, NIA, DIA, etc.). What each of… Read More »