TC0005: Values as the Bedrock of Leadership, Part II

This is the second part of thoughts on values as the bedrock for thinking about leadership.

Leaders are imbued with the willingness to place the needs of the organization before their personal needs.  Ask yourself: Do you go the extra mile or are you just meeting the job description?  Are you working to meet the requirements of the job description or are you an agent for change for the better?  Examine your motives and be honest with yourself.  If your motivation is for personal gain, you are in the wrong business.  When I was selected for senior command I was euphoric.  I was then informed that I would command a training battalion and not a line unit.  For my entire career I had hoped for a line battalion and was greatly disappointed by this turn of events.  But I called to mind a similar situation in which a close friend of mine experienced the same disappointment.  He related to me that he was in his backyard, kicking rocks and feeling sorry for himself,  when his wife came out,  looked at him and with wide eyed innocence, asked, “Don’t those soldiers need leadership, too?”.  He told me that it was like a mule kick to the chest.  Of course they needed and deserved leadership.  Many people talk about selfless service, but they want to line themselves up for promotion and advancement.   Selfless services does not mean that you will not face career disappointments.  It means that you will face them with dignity and continue to give your very best.  As a postscript, that officer went on to command a Brigade and a Division and is now a three star General. He continues to be one of my leadership role models.

Leaders are honorable people who are courageous in the face of adversity whether physical or moral. This courage manifests itself in the willingness to take risk.  We will talk about more about this later.  The quality of integrity goes well beyond the spoken word :  Leaders that adhere to a definable moral and ethical code are leaders of integrity.  They do not consider legal boundaries first.  There is always a debate about “what is right”, but never among people of integrity.   We all have someone to turn to for legal counsel.   To whom do we turn for moral counsel?

Finally, as a value, Personal Courage has a place beyond the battlefield: Leaders are honorable people who are courageous in the face of adversity.  This courage manifests itself in the willingness to take risk.  An accurate (vice investor friendly) profit and loss statement may be considered an act of courage, but not in a values based organization. 

At some time in your life you have encountered someone you would like to emulate.  If this was based upon a personal experience, ask yourself how you felt about yourself when you were with them.  You may have been intimidated by their capabilities, but did you still have a positive feeling about yourself?  This is the same feeling you want to engender in others.  The simplest acts of dignity and respect for others can make that happen.  This is the answer to sexual harassment, racial inequity and ethnic bias.  It is also inviolate.  No breach of respect and dignity can be tolerated in an atmosphere of trust.

These are my core values.  Each organization may choose their own or except those for which they become known.  I am sure the values for which Enron became known were not up on the wall of their board room.  Your values are what make you worthy of trust.  As leaders we are the standard bearers of values.  Not all people come into the Army with these values.  They must be stressed at every opportunity, taught in our development courses and reinforced in organizations.  An organization can only be a values based if all members not only adhere to, but internalize the core values.

Next Post: Vision Casting