Colin Powell’s book, “It Worked for Me: in Life and Leadership.”
Here they are set out in blue bold font, right out of his book, with my own thoughts that follow:
1. It ain’t as bad as you think. It will look better in the morning. My take on this is that all big decisions are worth sleeping on. When we are tired and/or stressed, even little issues can look like huge ones. Better to get some sleep and see how it looks in the morning. Refreshed, you can have another go at reviewing your strategy and position and see it through your fresh and best eyes.
2. Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it. I believe that this applies in several ways. Don’t have your sense of self-worth attached to a job, title or position. Those things come and go and for that reason, they shouldn’t define you…YOU define you. Likewise, your position on an issue may not be the one ultimately taken by folks in charge. Being a great team member is all about stating your position authentically, ethically and passionately…even in disagreement with the greater sense of the group…and then as a member of the group, moving ahead with deep-rooted loyalty to carry out the group’s mission and vision, even if as a member you disagreed. As General Powell said, “Loyalty is disagreeing strongly; loyalty is executing faithfully.”
3. It can be done! This one is simple…remove the word can’t from your operational planning language as often as possible. Know that a positive mental attitude and mindset can take you to heights you never believed you would achieve. Remember the words of Henry Ford, “whether you think you can or you think you can’t, either way you are right!”
4. Be careful what you choose. Don’t rush into decisions…measured thought and cooler heads often carry the day. Know that whatever you choose and work to achieve, you may well ‘receive’ so whenever possible, be very careful to choose wisely, thoughtfully and calmly. Make sure those choices align with your core values and authentic beliefs.
5. Don’t let adverse facts stand in the way of a good decision. I believe that sometimes you can look at all the facts and see several courses of action, each of which may have some clear detractors…some adverse risk! In those moments you often need to fall back to core mission, vision and values…then go with your gut. Remember, you are better to have failed doing the right thing than to have succeeded in doing the wrong thing!
6. You can’t make someone else’s choices. I love this one! This is all about me being the boss of me. It’s about knowing our responsibilities and then being responsible for the outcome of our efforts. Each of us can only make choices for ourselves. We can’t make choices for others. We can’t make other people be happy. They are the boss of them, we are the boss of us. Simple to comprehend, but difficult to live with, especially in a challenging world.
7. Check the small things. Little things can become BIG THINGS...and they often do, seemingly when it’s least convenient in our busy lives. Focus on the big things but understand that little things are worthy of your attention too…get the big things right first, and the little things become fewer in number and more easily managed. At some point we have to follow the suggestion of Dr. Richard Carlson and choose not to “sweat the small stuff.”
8. Share credit. Teamwork is about WE doing something, not ME or I doing it. Remember that nobody accomplishes anything alone. We all had teachers. My surgery career is a direct (and I hope positive) reflection of the investments of Drs. Barrie Grant, Frank Nichols, Pam Wagner and a host of others including the subsequent 70 interns and residents I “trained” who taught me so much about surgery as an art, about horses, medicine and patient care. When I am the surgeon, standing at the operative table, it’s a thought that crosses my mind frequently. It’s also true that I am not standing there alone in any given moment….there are incredible technicians, students and colleagues present or nearby with me and working together we make great things happen.
9. Remain Calm, be kind. Always remain calm…losing control only exacerbates an already difficult situation. Self management is such a key skill of the emotionally intelligent leader. Yelling rarely, if ever, makes a tough situation any better. Remaining calm shows respect to your teammates and coworkers and deepens your relationship with them. It creates and enhances safety within the team. The performances of everyone around you will improve and many times, disasters can be averted because panic and an emotional meltdown was avoided!
10. Have a vision. Know where you are going! Covey tells us to “begin with the end in mind”…Twain warned us that “if we don’t know where we are going, any path will do.” WONDERFUL ADVICE to be sure and General Powell agrees. Knowing where you are going (AND WHY) gives you the energy, persistence, force and drive to accomplish anything you can envision. Without a vision, you will find yourself less effective, dynamic and influential in creating positive change.
11. Don’t take the counsel of your fears and naysayers. Fear comes from within…it is normal, and because it’s normal, we should learn to be ok with it when it comes to the forefront of our thoughts. Fear serves the good purpose of keeping us safe. Unfortunately, it can also be so effective as to hold us back from pursuing well conceived bold action for the collective, self or organizational good. The military trains its personnel to acknowledge fear so they can work in spite of it. We can do that as well. Above all else recall that fear is simply focused energy that alters reality.
12. Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier. Again we are back to Henry Ford’s quote about mindset and whether you think you can or you think you can’t, either way you are right. When we look for the good, we will see it. When we look for ability we can find it. When we look for possibility, we can live into it. If we believe in ourselves our carefully examined motives and personal values and we live those out with conviction, persistence, fidelity and passion, we become a nearly unstoppable force for progress. Know it, believe it, live it!
You can find many other individuals who have rules for leadership. The good Lord knows, there are so very many books, blogs, dissertations and treatises written on the subject. What you will begin to notice is that over time, generations, cultures, genders and at many places in history, the basics of leadership remain the basics. I guess that’s because as we have said many times: Personal leadership is simple (to understand), it’s just not easy (to do every day, day in and day out). For that reason, fewer people do it than would be ideal for any society or culture.
So … you recall the saying… “if it’s to be, it’s up to me”…and it is…to me, to you, and to those you influence through your positive examples of value centered servant leadership.
Enjoy your week, and give some thought to the leadership lessons above and the quotes that follow. Above all else, make it, a great week!
“Example is leadership.” -- Albert Schweitzer
‘Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.” -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” -- Peter Drucker
“The great leaders are like the best conductors - they reach beyond the notes to reach the magic in the players.” -- Blaine Lee
“Leaders are more powerful role models when they learn than when they teach.” -- Rosabeth Moss Kantor
“A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.” -- Lao Tzu.
“Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate, and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand.” -- General Colin Powell
“All leadership is influence.” -- John C. Maxwell
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” -- Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Nothing so conclusively proves a man's ability to lead others as what he does from day to day to lead himself.” -- Thomas J. Watson
“Leaders are designers, stewards, and teachers. They are responsible for building organizations where people continually expand their abilities to understanding complexity, clarify vision, and improve shared mental models - that is, they are responsible for learning.” -- Peter Senge
“The task of leadership is not to put greatness into people, but to elicit it, for the greatness is there already.” -- John Buchan
“Ten soldiers wisely led will beat a hundred without a head.” -- Euripides.
“Leadership is solving problems. The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help or concluded you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.” -- Colin Powell
