Lee Ellis's Blog, page 54
July 13, 2023
Thank you Dr Nolly!
Thank you to retired pilot and podcaster, Dr George Nolly, for your kind words about ���Captured by Love��� ��� we���re grateful that these 20 stories are connecting with so many people around the world. Get your copy.
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July 12, 2023
Tips for Allow Your Independent Spirit to Rely on Others
As a leader (or just as a person), you must believe in yourself and have a degree of independence. Others cannot manage your life. You must take ownership of the good, the bad, and the ugly and focus on growing the good while minimizing the bad and the ugly.
At the same time, you must operate with a mindset of interdependence. Without the work and support of others, you will not be successful. Pause for a moment and ask yourself, ���How aware am I of this concept of independence and interdependence?��� The analogy that I���ve often used is the feature that we have on our TVs and other electronic devices called ���picture in picture���. You can make one channel large and the other small so that you can watch both at the same time and switch them with the push of a button.
It���s a convenient feature to have on your TV, but it���s even more important in your role as a leader at work and at home.
Believe in Yourself and Others
You must believe in yourself, be independent, and act responsibly as a person and leader. But you are also dependent on others for success. Great leaders value and celebrate the talents and styles of their people, and they also give them responsibility and freedom to do things independently.
And if you reflect on this concept, you will see that respect and trust are essential for a healthy independent and interdependent relationship.
Read the entire article on this topic – “How to Be Independently Interdependent”
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July 11, 2023
Gaining courage in Challenging Conversations ��� Free Tool
Have you seen examples where people have had trouble communicating with each other lately? How do you gain courage for those challenging conversations without withdrawing or dominating? The key is to stay engaged and communicate with respect, love, confidence, yet humility.
Leading with Honor has the perfect tool to help you called the Courage Challenge Card. Download your free copy or purchase copies for your entire team ��� check it out with our compliments – leadingwithhonor.com/courage��
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July 10, 2023
#1 in Military Families on Amazon!
We���re so grateful that so many couples are being encouraged by these stories.
Get your copy on Amazon or powromance.com ��� and please share! ��
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July 9, 2023
Historical Highlight for July 9, 2023
Historical Highlight for July 9, 2023 ��� ���It���s Time to Go Public��� – here’s a short historical fact from the history of the Vietnam war and the POW experience shared in the new Captured by Love book. In each of these nuggets of history are personal and professional lessons that can be applied today:
���In early 1969, it became clear that the incoming Nixon administration would stand beside the POW/MIA wives who were stepping up and speaking out. By March the new Secretary of Defense, Melvin Laird, began addressing the POW/MIA issue. President Nixon joined in and very shortly our government began working on initiatives to encourage the wives and families and to hold the North Vietnamese accountable for their non-compliance with the Geneva Conventions.
Within a few weeks Laird���s staff was meeting with the POW/MIA wives to hear their concerns. And by late spring he and his team held a press conference to clarify a new DOD and State Department position regarding POW/MIA treatment.
There was a new game in town���to the delight of the wives and families, it was no longer unofficially ���Keep Quiet.��� It was now officially called ���Go Public.���
Dr. Roger Shields was appointed Chairman of the DOD POW/MIA Task Group, and he immediately developed a strong bond with the National League of POW/MIA Families. His leadership contributed greatly to the success of the Go Public efforts to get awareness and support for our cause.
As the Paris Peace negotiations dragged along so did the war, but by 1972, US troop strength was down from 535,000 to just 25,000. At this point, the wives and families had a mounting concern that the war might end without their men coming home.
So, in 1972 when the negotiations stalled, Sybil Stockdale, Phyllis Galanti, and MIA wife Maureen Dunn met again with the president to reinforce the need for POW/MIA release to be one of the highest priorities in any negotiations.
Fortunately, President Nixon listened and agreed. When negotiations did not work, he launched the Christmas bombing campaign of 1972���and 11 days later the communists agreed to end the war and release the POWs.���
Purchase your copy of Captured by Love on the powromance.com.
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July 7, 2023
Leading with Honor Wisdom for Today, July 7, 2023
“You must believe in yourself and have a degree of independence. At the same time, you must operate with a mindset of interdependence with others.” ��� Lee Ellis
#courage #leadership #accountability #employeeengagement #leadershipbehavior #teamdevelopment #buildingculture #CapturedbyLove
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July 4, 2023
Happy Independence Day
Happy Independence Day from Lee Ellis and the Leading with Honor Team ��� remembering past leaders and sacrifices they made to enjoy the freedom that we have today.
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July 2, 2023
Historical Highlight for July 2, 2023
Historical Highlight for July 2, 2023 ��� ���The Escape, the Torture & the Miracle��� – here’s a short historical fact from the history of the Vietnam war and the POW experience shared in the new ‘Captured by Love’ book. In each of these nuggets of history are personal and professional lessons that can be applied today:
���In May of 1969, there was an escape at the Zoo camp in Hanoi. The two bold men were captured within 48 hours, and all hell broke loose. They were tortured severely���one of them to death���and the North Vietnamese immediately began a torture campaign in all the camps.
At the same time the communists were feeling increasing pressure from the US and from many previously neutral countries around the world. They were criticized for not following the Geneva Conventions, which require humane treatment of POWs. With the negative press gaining momentum, the communists wanted to counter that bad PR. Their response was as insane as it was cruel. Their goal was to get the POWs to sign statements saying that we had received ���lenient and humane treatment.��� Their strategy was to torture us into signing those statements! When we confronted them with the fact that we could not sign a statement with a lie, they responded ���No, not so. The truth is that which most benefits the Party.��� In other words, the end justifies the means. (A major difference between True Democracy and Communism.)
The heinous treatment continued until September of 1969 when their leader, Ho Chi Minh, died. In October when the new leaders took over, they stopped the torture for the most part. And life in the camps for our final three years became more live-and-let-live. We assumed this change was tied solely to Ho Chi Minh���s death, because we had no awareness of the National League of POW/MIA Families and their powerful impact. But their efforts seriously rattled the communists, which led to our improved living conditions. This allowed us to strengthen our physical, mental, and emotional selves���and this helped us to not only return home, but to return with honor.���
Purchase your copy of Captured by Love
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June 30, 2023
Coaching Blog – How to Be Independently Interdependent
The concept of being ���independently interdependent��� may sound like a tongue twister, but it���s worth the effort in learning how to say it, because it���s the best way to live as a leader and a nation. We���ll discover the leadership benefits, but first, let���s celebrate our national independence!
On our July 4th holiday, typically our minds are focused on having a day off, heading to the pool, and participating in a family or neighborhood barbecue. But let���s pause for a moment and remember what the Declaration of Independence meant.
Our History of Independence
The fighting to resist the exploitation of the American colonies by the British began in 1775, and ultimately it led to the passing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The war lasted six years ending when the British surrendered at Yorktown in 1781. The peace agreement was finally signed in Paris in 1783.
Independence enabled us to break free from the exploitation of England and become a new nation focused on freedom. Soon the colonies became connected in a Confederation and before long the Constitution was signed, thus making us the United States of America. If you go back and read the Articles of the Constitution, it���s interesting to see how the thirteen colonies were given guaranteed independence as thirteen states while also having a strong interdependence on each other as a nation. The central government had power, but so did the states. This idea is the personal leadership concept I want to briefly explore further.
“You must believe in yourself and have a degree of independence. At the same time, you must operate with a mindset of interdependence with others.” [Tweet This]
Personal Leadership Independence
As a leader (or just as a person), you must believe in yourself and have a degree of independence. Others cannot manage your life. You must take ownership of the good, the bad, and the ugly and focus on growing the good while minimizing the bad and the ugly.
At the same time, you must operate with a mindset of interdependence. Without the work and support of others, you will not be successful. Pause for a moment and ask yourself, ���How aware am I of this concept of independence and interdependence?��� The analogy that I���ve often used is the feature that we have on our TVs and other electronic devices called ���picture in picture���. You can make one channel large and the other small so that you can watch both at the same time and switch them with the push of a button.
It���s a convenient feature to have on your TV, but it���s even more important in your role as a leader at work and at home.
My brief coaching clip this month goes deeper on this topic. Please watch, and then continue reading the blog below ���
An Independently Interdependent Couple
In our new bestselling book, Captured by Love: Inspiring True Romance Stories from Vietnam POWs, one of the twenty couples��� stories is entitled ���Independently Interdependent���. Air Force Maj. Elmo ���Mo��� Baker was one of the most decorated fighter pilots of the Vietnam War. When he came home after more than five years in the prison camps of Hanoi, he learned that his wife wanted a divorce. Mo had a hint this was coming, so he handled it well and two months later he met a lovely fighter pilot widow. They have now been happily married for 49 years.
Pictured: Mo and Honey Baker
As they shared their story with my co-author Greg Godek and me, it was clear that they were both very independent. We mentioned that and they agreed, but responded, ���Yes, but we are both interdependent.��� Then they shared some examples of how this mindset had enabled them to have a great marriage and family.
As Greg and I reviewed and edited the stories in the book, it became clear that this relationship perspective was evident in most of our twenty stories. We know that to be successful in life (at home and at work), you must work toward balancing mission and people (results and relationships) by engaging in strength and love. The more that you can show your relationships how valuable they are, how much you appreciate them, (how much you love them), the healthier your relationship will be and the more they will work to help you and them succeed.
Focusing on a results and relationships mindset is the perfect way to value being independently interdependent.
Believe in Yourself and Others
You must believe in yourself, be independent, and act responsibly as a person and leader. But you are also dependent on others for success. Great leaders value and celebrate the talents and styles of their people, and they also give them responsibility and freedom to do things independently.
And if you reflect on this concept, you will see that respect and trust are essential for a healthy independent and interdependent relationship.
LE [Tweet this Article]
Amazon Bestseller! 20 Top Gun Romance Stories
Captured by Love��shares the real love stories of 20 Vietnam War POWs. Some had wives who started a movement that changed American foreign policy. Others came home and had to start over, while five single men met the loves of their lives.
Former POW Lee Ellis and love expert Greg Godek take you on a dramatic journey of faithfulness, passion, excitement, resilience, and practical love lessons from these couples.
New Amazon Bestseller in the Military Families and Survival Biographies & Memoirs
Order Your Copy on Amazon.comRead some sample stories
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Leading with Honor Wisdom for Today, June 30, 2023
���Most of us aren���t defeated in one decisive battle. We are defeated one tiny, seemingly insignificant surrender at a time that chips away at who we should really be.��� ��� Jocko Willink
#courage #leadership #accountability #employeeengagement #leadershipbehavior #teamdevelopment #buildingculture
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