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Great Examples Show Us How to be a Leader
Learning to lead is always easiest when you have a great example to follow.
Do you know how to be a leader?
Find a Great Example
Mike Pulliam was my first battalion commander who proved to be a great role model.
He showed us how to be a leader by his example, demonstrating so many leadership traits and living our corporate values of Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, Personal Courage (L-D-R-S-H-I-P) ... and more.
Mike appreciated the importance of people and it showed.
Despite his vast responsibilities and the constant personnel turnover involved with one year rotating assignments, he made the effort to learn our names and something about us.
His interest was genuine, and as a consequence of how he treated us, his soldiers would follow him anywhere.
Realize the Importance of People
Mike was in charge of a battalion of 600+ soldiers dispersed within 4 companies that were geographically hours apart. As part of one company of about 150 people, I felt I “knew” most of the members of my unit.
Shortly after departing this unit to work directly on Mike’s staff, we were visiting my old company and he was greeting people as we walked -- by name, every one of them.
He was genuinely interested in how they were and I was embarrassed that he knew more about the people in my old unit than I did, and I had seen them daily for the last ten months!
Mike did this in each of the four units we visited, causing me to wonder how it was possible he could know the names of 600 people, especially when 50 or more would leave each month only to be replaced by 50 new faces.
When I had the opportunity to ask him his secret, I learned perhaps the most valuable lesson of my career. He told me it was as simple as consciously remembering each person's name and something about them. After a while, it just came to him naturally.
Mike demonstrated that when leaders make an effort to know someone's name and care enough to learn about them as individuals, people appreciate the genuine interest and they will respond with added effort.
A good leader provides the team value in so many ways. When you are in their presence, you strive to do your best, and Mike's example demonstrated the leadership traits that became part of my definition of leadership.
Leadership is a journey and there is much to learn along the way. It takes some work, but it is worth every bit of effort if you can inspire others the way Mike did.
As you proceed on your journey, find good examples of how to be a leader that will help you develop your own, increasingly effective leadership style.
Some basic attributes of a good leader you will want to explore in your search are:
Authority vs. Responsibility
Retaining responsibility is one of the necessary qualities of a leader.
Management vs. Leadership
There is a difference. How you act and treat people determines whether you will be seen as a leader or a manager.
Leadership Styles
People are different and different situations require different leadership styles. Know when to change.
Empowering Others Empowering employees and delegating is the path to freedom, success, and greater teamwork in the workplace.
