[March 13, 2021] Nowadays, the majority of job listings ask for “strong leadership skills” in job applicants, even for a non-management position. How can you develop leadership qualities while not working in a leadership position? You never know when the opportunity to lead may pop up in your career, so one must always be prepared for the task… Read More »
[March 12, 2021] Be a steadying presence. Leaders set the tone. If the leader is excited, then the team will be excited. If the leader is angry, the team will be angry. If the leader has a constant calm and steadying presence, the team will succeed in the most challenging situations. It is harder in practice than it… Read More »
[March 11, 2021] Guys my age grew up on old Western movies. The plots were usually the same; a wagon train headed West gets attacked by Indians, and the U.S. Army Cavalry comes to the rescue. There was plenty of action as the cavalry chases off the attackers. Always present with the troopers was the red and white… Read More »
[March 10, 2021] “When you’re about to go into combat, you do what you gotta do. Expect the unexpected and ready yourself.” Sitting on Jonny Hancock’s porch sipping whiskey and smoking cigars, we had a conversation like no other. Jonny was giving me some leadership advice, ‘keep a bullet in the chamber [of your rifle],’ he said. In… Read More »
[March 9, 2021] Jonathan “Jonny” Hancock spent his first year in the Army as a cook. He said it was a good time; plenty of food to eat, no forced marches, and the top brass left you alone. But it left him wanting more. When I interviewed Jonny, he was turning 75 but still had the vigor and… Read More »
[March 8, 2021] Leaders are judged by results, not so much by words. Achievements are accomplished through action by teams guided by a leader’s vision. One way such success can be assured is to pin the rose on a responsible person. I learned this lesson the hard way on the day I received my first leader promotion to… Read More »
[March 7, 2021] Leadership is about finding the right path and keeping to it. But, leaders are still prone to step on landmines that symbolically blow up along their way. Despite a successful career, how could it be that so many leaders slip and fall anyway? I’ve stepped on these same leadership landmines, and so have many of… Read More »
[March 6, 2021] Independence. No single motivation has led to more wars than those willing to fight for independence. Independence from tyranny has inspired many, and that was the thinking of those defending the Alamo from a large Mexican force commanded by Generalissimo Antonio López de Santa Anna. On this date, March 6, 1836, Fort Alamo defenders were… Read More »
[March 5, 2021] Army Vet writes to us today to alert us to sabotage being carried out against National Guard troops ordered to “protect the U.S. Capitol” and how both their military and civilian leaders categorically failed to do anything meaningful about it. Leadership is defined by results, not by intent: I gotta go to British newspapers to… Read More »
[March 4, 2021] One thing we should learn growing up is to help our neighbors. Good leaders encourage such volunteerism. I was scared of failing my freshman year of college, but I remembered that giving back is just what you do. This drove me to seek out a local soup kitchen in 1970 Lubbock, Texas. My plan was… Read More »