Lee Ellis's Blog, page 181

Leading with Honor Wisdom for Today, April 5, 2019

 

“The biggest challenge in team unity and performance is usually one or more insecure people who are not able to operate transparently and be genuine.” – Lee Ellis

 

 

 

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Three facts about Leadership Resilience

 

Check out the full infographic on this topic – The Resilience Checklist

 

 

 

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A Leading with Honor FAQ on Mental Stamina

A Leading with Honor FAQ: “When you look at some of the stamina that developed in the camp from you and others who had to endure a lot of hardship, what was your mental outlook that kept you focused and hopeful?”

Lee’s Answer:

I think some of that is my personality and a lot of if was the leadership around me. I tend to be a positive person and have never been a worrier, which has been a blessing. I did worry some in those early months in not knowing what was going to happen. My initial thought was, if I can make it six months, President Johnson will have to win this war to get re-elected. And he is a politician so he will end the war and we will be home by the summer of 1968 and I will make the Mexico Olympics. Well he tricked me and decided not to run. So we sat there and after six months, I said I could make it one more year. After that I said I could make it two more years and I did, but it was more like three and a half.

You have to keep setting goals where you can mentally and emotionally handle it. Then you set another goal and meet that goal and pretty soon you are walking yourself one day at a time into the future and toward a goal. We also had personal development goals. For instance, I learned differential calculus with a piece of broken red roof tile writing on a concrete floor in the corner of the room. A fellow who majored in math from the Naval Academy taught me differential calculus. Then I memorized Spanish words sitting and walking around the cell and started speaking Spanish every day and when I came home I was pretty fluent in Spanish.

We did those kinds of things to keep us busy. I learned to stay occupied and move toward some goals. We also had these great leaders who really made a difference and they were positive also. Leaders give people hope in difficult situations and they gave us hope and built a culture around the belief that we would someday go back home. We had to do our duty and we were going to have to suffer, but in the end we were going to be victorious and walk out of there and go home. They built the culture and set the example. We had no reason not to believe that we weren’t going to go home at some point.

Read more FAQs in this section of the Leading with Honor website.

 

 

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Biography Video Clip – Susan B Anthony

More than a face on a coin, Susan B Anthony is a very interesting leader in recent history. Do you know her full story? Check out the short clip below and post your comments too – thank you

 

 

 

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Your Free Look at Leadership Behavior DNA – See Inside

Do you want a free 1-page snapshot of the full Leadership Behavior DNA (LBDNA) Report that we use everyday in training and team development? It’s one of the only assessments in the world that specifically assesses and interprets natural leadership behavior.

Please take 10 minutes to download your free report and let us know what you think – thank you  

 

 

 

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On This Day in Leadership History, March 31st

On this day in leadership history in 1776, Abigail Adams wrote to her husband John that women were “determined to foment a rebellion” if the new Declaration of Independence failed to guarantee their rights. Even though it was drafted in July of that year, it would 143 years later before women were even given the right to vote.

What’s the leadership lesson? Even if you don’t see results in your lifetime, are you willing to affect honorable change for future generations? Honorable leaders must think long-term.

Abigail Adams – Wikipedia

 

 

 

 

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Leading with Honor Wisdom for Today, March 29, 2019

“When you are offended at anyone’s fault, turn to yourself and study your own failings.  By attending to them, you will forget your anger and learn to live wisely.” – Marcus Aurelius

 

 

 

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Today is National Vietnam Vets Day – See Enclosed

We wanted to highlight and remember that today, March 29th, is National Vietnam War Veterans Day as a way to thank and honor our nation’s Vietnam veterans and their families for their service and sacrifice.

There are 5 objectives with this Vietnam Commemoration and the other four are:

Highlight the service of our Armed Forces and support organizations during the war
Pay tribute to wartime contributions at home by American citizens
Highlight technology, science and medical advances made during the war
Recognize contributions by our Allies.

 

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The Latest Recommendation from Lee’s Bookshelf – “Struggle Well”

The Latest Recommendation from Lee’s Bookshelf – “Struggle Well: Thriving in the Aftermath of Trauma by Ken Falke and Josh Goldberg”. Your struggle may come in different forms, and be given one of many different names, such as anxiety, depression, addiction, and/or PTSD.

By embracing the struggle, rather than fighting it, you can stop surviving and start thriving. Through Ken and Josh’s work, thousands have transformed struggle into profound strength and lifelong growth.

Learn more about this book on the Good Reads website.

And if you’ve read this book, please post your comments below – thank you

 

 

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2 Communication Clarity Tips for Leaders

Need some quick advice on gaining greater clarity in communication and leadership? It works with your family, friends, or colleagues! Here are 2 important tips based on my experience:

(1) Don’t assume that everyone hears (and visualizes) your message.

We have a natural tendency to assume that if it’s clear to us, why would it not be clear to others?  Sports teams usually have set plays, and they rehearse them in practice for weeks in class and on the field—both verbally and visually and even physically—before they execute them in the game. Hours and hours are spent getting everyone executing their assignment for each situation. At work this is usually not the case. For most situations there is no playbook, so when the leader calls the play, team members create their own individual mental diagrams/pictures of what it’s supposed to look like. We must over-communicate the message and get feedback to make sure everyone understands expectations and why those expectations are in place.

(2) Regularly and publicly clarify standards and expectations.

At the top of the organization most of these expectations may be at the 100,000- foot level.  As we move down the organization, the clarity gets more granular as standards are interpreted more specifically to the environment and tasks. There are several issues of human nature working against us here. First, it’s hard work because it takes mental discipline, time, and energy to clarify what is expected and what level of detail is required. Second, as the leader, if you set, clarify, and emphasize high standards, then you have to live up to them also – and what if you fail? I’ve actually seen many leaders resist clarifying expectations because it seemed easier and much less threatening to retain flexibility and interpret standards on the spot. That way they could avoid having to confront themselves with their shortcomings.

In the Tongue and Quill, the Air Force handbook for writing and speaking there was one idea that stayed with me: to get better, you have to “fight for feedback.” Fight for clarity and then you will be more successful when you’re communicating with others.

Please also post your comments and experience below, too – thank you

You can also read the entire article on this topic in the blog – “Behavioral Differences in Communicating with Clarity”

 

 

 

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