[October 15, 2020] Officers in the U.S. military are, at minimum, give annual evaluations that provide feedback on both their performance and potential. Evaluations are crucial to the career of the officer and impact future performance. Thus, when I received my very first evaluation, I was upset. It read, ‘You’re only average, 2LT Satterfield.’ I don’t particularly appreciate… Read More »
[October 14, 2020] There will be times as a leader you will be the bait to attract unwanted attention and the enemy’s firepower. During my first combat tour of duty, my small unit was tasked to build a small engineering project “outside the wire” to attract an enemy insurgent cell’s attention. Overlooking my unit was a Special Forces… Read More »
[October 13, 2020] For the first half of my long career in the U.S. Army, I was wrong. I was most wrong about learning the way to think like a leader. For so long, I thought the solution was to understand what successful leaders thought rather than how they thought. It was the essential process of thinking that… Read More »
[October 12, 2020] Shortly after the terror attacks on U.S. soil, September 11, 2001, I was sitting on an Army bus when I overhead two buck Sergeants talking. The red-headed Sergeant said that he had wished he was on one of the commercial jets that had crashed into the World Trade Center a few days earlier. He believed… Read More »
[October 10, 2020] Last night at our weekly Boy Scout meeting, the boys held an election to determine who would be their next Senior Patrol Leader. The Scoutmaster, an experienced and fine gentleman, explained how the Scout election process worked and how to judge the candidates properly. He made several important points. First, among his points was that… Read More »
[October 9, 2020] A not uncommon theme I’ve hammered on a bit too much – some say not enough – here in these leadership pages is the absolute importance of telling the truth and having the courage to accept it.1 Despite its overwhelming importance, we are still driven to lie, cheat, steal, and dodge the truth. To do… Read More »
[October 8, 2020] Two days ago, I wrote about common leader mistakes and listed lying to yourself at the top. Why I did so is simple; when we lie to ourselves, we put ourselves on a path to ruin and destruction. To lie to others is easy; to lie to ourselves is even easier. Jerry, an acquaintance of… Read More »
[October 7, 2020] Occasionally, I scour the Internet for writers who give suggestions about essential reads on leadership. I’ve found them to be helpful most of the time, a few not so much. Generally, however, their recommendations are worthwhile for junior leaders or those looking for a particular perspective. I’m not yet convinced we always get the best… Read More »
[October 6, 2020] To paraphrase the witty French historian and philosopher Voltaire, he once said that “We are all full of weaknesses and errors … that is the first law of nature.” I agree. And, the sooner each leader faces their weaknesses, the sooner they can begin the long journey to greater leadership and helping their family, friends,… Read More »
[October 5, 2020] This past sunny Saturday afternoon, I drove to a small radio station about 30 minutes from my home. Radio talk-show host Joe Griffies invited me to discuss veterans, current events, and to honor some of our heroes. Joe has a show called Welcome Home Veterans (see his Facebook page here).1 His life is dedicated to… Read More »