[November 26, 2015] Incidents over the past few weeks in the Middle East have heightened our awareness of the volatility of the region. What many respected and proven leaders advise is a dose of tolerance and patience among the major powers; especially those that have strong military forces in the area. Senior leaders who consistently produce success understand… Read More »
[November 24, 2015] Leadership is certainly not easy, but no one who has taken such a position does so with the intent to do a bad job of it. Poor leadership – that can be described as being ineffective – is also not something that comes about due to a single error or bad decision but from a… Read More »
[November 18, 2015] No, we are not brave! This may come as a shock to many but nearly every person I’ve ever met, whether in the military or in civilian life, are cowards and so am I. We put up a good front … of course … and we do this by talking big, owning cool stuff, and… Read More »
[November 14, 2015] It was once written by military theorist Carl von Clausewitz that “war is a continuation of politics by other means.” We should remember the truth in that statement when the Battle of Ia Drang is reviewed for its origins and aftermath. Like any battle, it cannot be viewed in isolation, nor can the importance of… Read More »
[November 13, 2015] The U.S. military has a leadership problem. Evidence for the decline in its leadership capability is more than circumstantial, as some claim, because it shows in a deterioration of confidence our military personnel have in their leaders and the inability of those leaders to adapt to relevant problems. Identifying problems within the military leadership system,… Read More »
[November 8, 2015] When my daughter entered college with the desire to graduate with a degree in Applied Physics, I alerted her to the difficult requirements of advanced mathematics. She brushed me off as if she already knew how to do well. After making a “D –” in her first Calculus course (can you get closer to fail?)… Read More »
[November 4, 2015] Although I occasionally highlight a real hero in this leadership blog, it’s important to remind readers that while the majority of the heroes are produced as a result of many acts of physical courage, it is moral courage that is most difficult. In the case of our hero featured today, Lieutenant Alonzo Cushing, he possessed… Read More »
[November 1, 2015] All leaders will tell you they politely accept feedback on their performance and encourage people to share their opinions on their leadership capability. In practice however that is rarely true and therefore official systems have been developed as a required task to ensure feedback is given on a minimum regular schedule. True leaders, however, are… Read More »
[October 23, 2015] At least sometimes this is true and leaders must know the difference. Any good leader will know that there are circumstances under which rules (laws, regulations, establish procedures, etc.) must be ignored and also know the risks associated with such a decision. That is why doing what is right is the embodiment of a leader… Read More »
[October 21, 2015] Many times I’ve written about traits of successful leaders; those who have the ability to articulate a good cause and rally people to it. It has always been clear that many of those traits, although perhaps not all, are universal. A recent article at The Art of Manliness blog (see link here) got me to… Read More »