Throughout my military career, I have had the pleasure of attending dozens of retirement ceremonies for senior officers. Although their stories were different, a common theme seemed to emerge. Many of the officers lost their family along the way or, at the very least, did not spend as much time with their family throughout the years as they could have or should have. This is evident because their remarks during their ceremonies were filled with lament and phrases such as, “I’m sorry for not being there,” or “Your mom did a great job...
Center for Leadership Essays
The “On Leadership” section at the front of Army Magazine is designed to stimulate thought and discussion on how to build and lead effective, cohesive, and honorable teams across the Total Army.
These essays were previously published in ARMY magazine.
Just over 30 years ago, one of the U.S. Army’s most renowned and distinguished combat leaders passed away. Yet Maj. Gen. Aubrey “Red” Newman lives on in the numerous professional articles he penned, including 172 columns for ARMY magazine. Newman, who died in January 1994 at age 90, stayed closely involved with the Army until his last years. I learned much from him and his “The Forward Edge” leadership columns in ARMY, which spanned more than 21 years, ending in 1988. Three of his lessons have particularly stuck with me. Army leaders...
Though hundreds of meters away, the catastrophic explosion sent a powerful shock wave through the operations center. As the battle staff watched the aerostat monitors in horror, injured civilians staggered away, covered in dust and blood, while shattered bodies littered the street. Burning and charred vehicles stood everywhere as soldiers, thrown to the ground behind concrete barriers, struggled to their feet. The commander shot a quick glance at the sergeant major, who sprinted out the door to alert the tactical command post to get...
Retired Gen. Colin Powell provided thoughts on the importance of meetings in his 2012 book with Tony Koltz, It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership. Although not explicit in his musings about the connection of the conduct of meetings with leadership, his meaning is pertinent and emphatic: Meetings have a special importance. He implies that properly conducted, meetings are key to successful execution of missions, resolution of issues, settlement of disputes, expression of views and so forth. They also can be an effective leadership...
In developing great units, the most important and impactful responsibility a leader has is creating and continuously fostering a positive leadership climate. This is important and impactful for both short- and long-term reasons. In the short term, it has the single greatest impact on the individual and collective performance of units. In the long run, it determines the types of soldiers and leaders you are developing for their next assignments and beyond. U.S. Army culture is embedded in things like the military ethic, Army Values and...
I crouched in the concrete foxhole and anxiously awaited the tower’s commands. As a freshman ROTC cadet on my first Leadership Lab weekend, I was eager to try out my marksmanship with the M16A1 rifle I clutched in my sweaty hands. “Do you have any questions?” a voice asked gently. I glanced up to see the most fearsome soldier I had ever laid eyes on. His spit-shined jump boots sparkled like mirrors, and his olive drab uniform was starched and crisp. A well-worn green beret rested just above his steely dark eyes. I had just met the man...
Most people assume followership to be the act of following a leader’s orders. Though followership requires a commitment to achieving organizational goals by following a leader’s instructions, it is not about mindlessly conforming to the influence of whoever is in charge. Instead, followership is the art of adapting and applying the values and principles of the organization while responding to a leader’s influence. Discussing followership is relevant to leadership. Recognizing effective followers and cultivating followership is as...
Every major achievement in my life over the past half-century-plus can be attributed to the leadership lessons learned during my service in the U.S. Army. The Noncommissioned Officer Candidate Course during the Vietnam War was dubbed the “Shake ‘N’ Bake” school. It provided truly outstanding leadership training and allowed me to become a staff sergeant less than 10 months after being drafted at age 24. The skills taught to me and my fellow “Shake ‘N’ Bakes” by awesome, demanding NCOs were validated in Vietnam a few months later, and...
Born and raised in Puerto Rico, I enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve before joining the University of Puerto Rico’s ROTC program to become an officer. There, the cadre, staff, students and our families all played critical roles in my mentoring experience. I graduated at the top of my class. I was selected to join the Regular Army in military intelligence, serving at home and around the world, including in Germany and Southwest Asia during the First Gulf War. Ultimately, I was the first Puerto Rican woman to attain the rank of general...
After being commissioned as a second lieutenant in the South Korean army in 1981, I had a short leadership position as the leader of a rifle platoon. I then spent three years as an aide-de-camp to the chairman of the Republic of Korea, which is highly unusual for a lieutenant. South Korea in the early 1980s was different than it is now. The country enforced a curfew from midnight to 4 a.m. each day. Anyone moving around during this time would end up in jail under suspicion of sabotage or criminal intent. North Korean armed...