Lee Ellis's Blog, page 9
May 18, 2025
Leadership History Lesson for May 18th
On this day in leadership history in 1860, Abraham Lincoln’s nomination for the U.S. presidency occurred. At the Republican National Convention in Chicago on May 18, 1860, Abraham Lincoln secured the party’s nomination for the U.S. presidency. Though initially considered a lesser-known candidate compared to frontrunner William H. Seward, Lincoln’s moderate stance on slavery and compelling speeches garnered widespread support. His nomination set the stage for his eventual election and leadership during the Civil War.
What���s the leadership lesson? Honorable leaders that seek to fulfill their purpose and destiny are more powerful than the odds. Nothing that can stop a leader who wants to lead honorably.
U.S. Presidential Election – Wikipedia
#courage #leadership #accountability #employeeengagement #resilience #teamdevelopment #buildingculture
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May 16, 2025
A Testimony on the Power of Resilience
Few voices speak more powerfully on resilience than my late friend and brother, Tom McNish���a fellow former POW whose hard-won wisdom helped shape my understanding of true strength: ��
���As you well know, many Vietnam vets suffered terribly from PTSD, depression and other maladies after the war. I know it sounds crazy to say that we POWs were lucky, but it some ways it���s true. While we endured many years of harrowing treatment, we also spent years locked up with teammates who had endured worse conditions, and we had time to adjust and decompress with them. Through that unique experience we learned profound lessons in resilience, camaraderie and faith. We emerged stronger and more mature than when we entered. This contributed to our very low incidence of PTSD after returning home. The foot soldiers didn���t have these benefits.���
Read he and his wife Yona���s full story at www.POWRomance.com. ���Captured by Love��� is an Amazon Bestseller in Military Families and Survival Biographies & Memoirs
#Romance #Lovestory #Military #marriagegoals #Resilience #VietnamPOW #Courage #Passion #CapturedbyLove #LoveLessons
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May 15, 2025
You Can���t Lead Clearly with 47 Tabs Open
Great experiential advice from friend and colleague, Tim Huff, on the cost of extra ���noise��� in our daily routine. It���s worth the battle to focus and simplify.
Check out his blog article on the Turknett Leadership Group website, and then post your wisdom and comments, too.
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May 14, 2025
Coaching Clip – The Secret Tactics for Long-Term Leadership Resilience
In this month���s 5-minute coaching clip, Lee offers some quick examples and tactics for leadership resilience that can last a lifetime. If you���re in the midst of a challenge, this advice can be a lifeline to you and your team as you repeatedly bounce back.����������
You can also read the entire coaching blog on this topic – “Bounce Back Stronger: Resilience Principles from the POW Experience”
SAVE 30% on the Honor 2-Book Package as Graduation Gifts!
Purchase these award-winning books from Lee Ellis and FreedomStar Media in one package. Leading with Honor outlines the 14 leadership lessons learned in the POW camps of Vietnam. And, then Engage with Honor applies many of the original leadership lessons into a practical Courageous Accountability Model.
Purchase your package in the Leading with Honor Online Store
Purchase your package on Amazon.com
#courage #leadership #accountability #employeeengagement #leadershipbehavior #teamdevelopment #buildingculture #keynotespeaker
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May 13, 2025
Follow the 4Cs
Follow the 4Cs to build a positive accountability culture as a leader.
#courage #character #collaboration #leadership #clarity #leadingwithhonor
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May 11, 2025
Happy Mother’s Day
Happy Mother���s Day from Lee Ellis and the Leading with Honor Team! Thank you for your love and leadership���we honor you today.
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May 9, 2025
Leading with Honor Wisdom for Today, April 9, 2025
���Lean into the pain of your doubts and fears to do what you know is right, even when it doesn���t feel natural or safe.��� ��� Lee Ellis
#courage #leadership #accountability #employeeengagement #resilience #teamdevelopment #buildingculture #keynotespeaker
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May 6, 2025
Coaching Blog – Bounce Back Stronger: Resilience Principles from the POW Experience
It is said that true resilience isn���t about avoiding hardship���it���s about rising each time we fall, stronger and wiser than before. Setbacks are setups in disguise; every challenge faced is a step closer to who you���re meant to become.
One critical element of a leadership resilience mindset and spirit is the tenacity to bounce back (repeatedly and often if needed). This gives every leader the capacity to endure tough times whether they include physical, mental, or emotional challenges.
This coaching clip expands on this idea. Please watch, and then continue reading the blog below ���
How the POWs Bounced Back
As I mentioned in our previous Resilience Series coaching blogs, most of the POWs who were held by the North Vietnamese communists endured five to eight years. Our lives were highlighted in the early years of incarceration by suffering, torture, isolation, and sorrow. But after our release in 1973, we returned home healthy and happy.
52 years later, the data shows that we are outliving our peers and have very successful lives*���so much so that several psychologists have done studies to determine why and how we were so resilient.
The reality is that life is always a battle on some level, and everyone is going to get ���knocked down��� and must bounce back. Most of the Vietnam POWs were shot down and captured by the enemy, and fortunately our prison camp culture became resilient.
The Principles of Bouncing Back
Here are some values, beliefs and behaviors that nurtured and sustained our resilience ���
COURAGE ��� To keep your commitments that are foundations of resilience, you must have courage. Some people have more courage in some areas than others, but you must do your best. It���s absolutely crucial to live up to the challenges of life and stay positive, which is essential to being resilient and bounce back. Download our free Courage Card that highlights this Courage Challenge:
���Lean into the pain of your doubts and fears to do what you know is right, even when it doesn���t feel natural or safe.��� [Tweet This]
COMMITMENT����� Keep your commitments to your character, your duty, and to others. We were committed to the Military Code of Conduct which has six items that are focused on being faithful to our country, resisting our enemy, leading or following as appropriate, and staying faithful to our fellow POWs. We suffered to do our best to live up to this code. This was a commitment that brought suffering in the short term but has been a blessing to all over the long term because it helped us believe in ourselves and bounce back.
COMMUNITY ��� Stay connected to others. That was so important that we would risk torture to reach out to the POWs in isolation. When you are connected with others to encourage them, you send rays of love to the heart and the emotions. That���s powerful for resilience when they are suffering and facing tough times.
STAY POSITIVE ��� Almost all the POWs believed that someday we would go home. Even when times were very tough, we kept our mind on the many blessings of returning to our country and family and friends. When you are negative, it undermines your mental health and even your physical health.
One of the research papers about the Vietnam POWs concluded that the most important attribute for our survival and return so healthy was that we stayed positive.
BOUNCE BACK ��� The four items above (and our faith) gave us determination to live up to our mission to serve honorably and bounce back again and again. Download a free copy of the chapter on Bouncing Back from my book, Leading with Honor.
At the core of bouncing back is still the foundation of believing in yourself. Life is pretty much like the the famous Henry Ford once said:
���Whether you think you can or think you can���t, you���re right.��� [Tweet This]��
*The average of those who were POWs 5-8 years is 86 and 25% of them are age 90 or older.
LE [Tweet This]
SAVE 30% on the Honor 2-Book Package as Graduation Gifts!
Purchase these award-winning books from Lee Ellis and FreedomStar Media in one package. Leading with Honor outlines the 14 leadership lessons learned in the POW camps of Vietnam. And, then Engage with Honor applies many of the original leadership lessons into a practical Courageous Accountability Model.
Purchase your package in the Leading with Honor Online Store
Purchase your package on Amazon.com
The post Coaching Blog – Bounce Back Stronger: Resilience Principles from the POW Experience appeared first on Leading With Honor��.
560th Freedom Flyer Reunion 2025
What a great time at our annual 560th Freedom Flyer Reunion in San Antonio TX. I���ve had personal and professional friendships with these men for over 40 years. They worked under my command as instructor pilots who taught others how to become instructors. These are just a few of them, and I wish they could all have been there with us.
You���ll also see photos from our Dining Out Banquet where our wives joined us. For those who don���t know, a Dining Out is where the members that are active duty and specific guests can invite their wives or someone to come with him. A Dining Inn is attended only by the members of the unit.
Also pictured is Brigadier General Chris Amrhein and his wife Cathy at the Dining Out Banquet. He is the commander of the Air Force recruiting command headquartered at Randolph Air Force Base.
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May 2, 2025
Captured by Love Wisdom for Today, May 2, 2025
Captured by Love Quote ��� ���Know-it-alls don���t learn from experience, nor are they able to act on good advice when it���s given. You have to be open and trusting to learn from others who are wiser than you.��� ��� Dick & Alice Stratton
Purchase Your Copy at POWRomance.com
#Romance #Lovestory #Military #marriagegoals #Resilience #VietnamPOW #Courage #Passion #CapturedbyLove #LoveLessons
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