Wisdom Journal
Leadership Acumen
George W. Casey, Jr., General, U.S. Army Retired:
"The impression a leader makes on others contributes to success in getting people to follow. This impression is the sum of a leader’s outward appearance, demeanor, actions and words and the inward character and intellect of the leader. Presence entails the projection of military and professional bearing, holistic fitness, confidence and resilience. Strong presence is important as a touchstone for subordinates, especially under duress."
"Courage isn't the absence of fear, but the recognition that something else is more important than fear...In the military we say that there are two kinds of plans; those that might work and those that won't work... Sun Tzu, the great Chinese strategist, said that enlightened leaders make decisions with a clear mind and a pure heart. [with that sentiment] I could build a conviction that the plan might work and that gave me the courage to act in very VUCA environments. In today's world, nothing good happens without risk and it takes courage to act in the face of uncertainty and risk."
"Political and military actions must be mutually reinforcing, particularly when operating inside other sovereign countries ... I used the analogy of the two of us rowing a boat. If I pulled on the 'military' oar and he did not pull on the 'political' oar, the boat went around in circles. If he pulled on the 'political' oar and I did not pull on the 'military''oar, the boat went around in circles. If we both pulled together, the boat went forward."
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David C. Baker:
"Listen to Outsiders. They don't understand your world, but there are many things to learn from other worlds ... when it provides that rare applicable insight, it'll be absolutely golden."
"After looking at 1,340 examples of successful experts, the only consistent trait was that they were risk-takers. That means that they were wrong a lot — but that they were usually right about the important things.
It also means that they always made decisions. They weren’t so afraid of being wrong that they froze, unable to risk the consequences that come from making a decision and then being responsible for it. As a leader, your job is to make decisions! There are other things, too, but that is your main job. If you are going to create a successful firm that sells expertise, you’ll have to step out of your desire to always be right in your bent toward research and take some risks."
"All of us are afraid of making the wrong decisions, of course, but rest assured in knowing that there is greater long-term potential harm in not making decisions than there is in making wrong decisions. To be an effective leader, try to master the timing of your decisions rather than the criteria for your decisions."
"Evil leaders gain a foothold because they make decisions and not because of the decisions they make ... the two biggest dangers in decision making are not making enough decisions and then not correcting the bad ones.”
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James Kouzes and Barry Posner:
“Leadership is not about personality; it’s about behavior—an observable set of skills and abilities. The authors discovered that when leaders experience their personal best, they display five core practices:
The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership® framework:
Model the Way
Inspire a Shared Vision
Challenge the Process
Enable Others to Act
Encourage the Heart”
"The best kept secret of successful leaders is love. Staying in love with leading, with the people who do the work, with what their organizations provide... Leadership is not an affair of the head. Leadership is an affair of the heart."
“Becoming the best leader you can be means becoming the best self you can be. Therefore leadership development is fundamentally self-development."