Teamwork

As a leader, always think in terms of us — we.  Think in terms of the team.  It’s that whole idea that two minds are better than one.  And when it comes to teamwork, there's hardly any better coach, any better leader, in my mind, than the late General Colin Powell.  A leader of the highest order.

He saw leadership as the ability to put a group of people in an environment where they want to do what you need done.  They believe in you, and you believe in them.  It’s all about Trust and Integrity, and General Powell knew exactly the importance of both.

Look, he grew up in South Bronx, the son of a shipping clerk father and a seamstress mother.  He graduated from college, fought in Vietnam, became a career Soldier.  He worked for four American Presidents, four American Presidents.  He was our nation's National Security Adviser, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Secretary of State.  He traveled the globe and worked with some of the world's greatest minds.  In the process, he became a great mind himself.

He told people all the time in different presentations, that they always need to keep their eyes, their ears, their hearts, open to counter views.  That is the way to become an empathic leader, a team player, and a transformational person.  You learn how to work with other people.  We all must work with other people.

It takes a village to make anything important come to be.  You give people goals and direction.  You emphasize skills, not rules.  You keep people informed, not in the dark.  You ask them for their advice, and let them know you want them to play an important part in the mission at hand.  And you use your ears and your mind, to absorb and to understand, what they’re saying.  You seek to understand, before you're ever really understood.  Then from your actions and your words, as Colin Powell says, you challenge the people around you to do their best, like a well-trained team before a big game.  They want to play their best, and win, for you.

To General Powell, that is what leadership is… Human Interaction.  He was a giant of a man, a grand gentleman, a servant leader, and the embodiment of the American dream.  I marvel at his legacy of leadership.  We all can learn from these Heroes, Models, and Mentors, in our life.  Have a great week.