General John Michel | General Leadership

Jun 20 2013

Promoting Change Where it Matters Most: In Ourselves

Posted by General John Michel

“Change yourself, change your fortunes.”
Portuguese Proverb

When I was a squadron commander in Wichita, Kansas, a friend gave me a simple, framed quote that had been found written on the tomb of an Anglican Bishop in the crypts of Westminster Abbey in England. The words read:

When I was young and free and my imagination had no limits, I dreamed of changing the world. As I grew older and wiser, I discovered the world would not change, so I shortened my sights and decided to change only my country.

But it, too, seemed immovable. As I grew into my twilight years, in one last desperate attempt, I settled for changing only my family, those closest to me, but alas, they would have none of it.… Read the rest

Tags: Change

CONTINUE READING >

1 comment

Jun 14 2013

Change: Sailing into Uncharted Waters

Posted by General John Michel

“Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.”
Albert von Szent-Gyorgy

Lord Horatio Nelson was considered a brave and innovative leader who was entrusted with the main British battle fleet at the beginning of the seventeenth century. At a time when a nation’s military might and worldly prestige was largely measured by the strength of its navy, the widely respected admiral was charged with finding and destroying Britain’s chief rivals, the combined Spanish and French battle fleets.

This was no small task by any measure, as both nations possessed impressive capabilities and an equally strong desire to dominate the seas.… Read the rest

Tags: Change, opportunity, tactics

CONTINUE READING >

0 comments

May 26 2013

Character: Truth on Display

Posted by General John Michel

“Always do what is right and you won’t be sorry.”
Wilburn K. Ross
Recipient of the
Congressional Medal of Honor

It is interesting to note that on a typical construction site, cement crews often do their work very early in the morning, before the other workers arrive. They follow a plan, calculate what is needed, and begin to pour the material that will stabilize the entire effort. However, the final determination of the cement crew’s efforts will not be seen right away, but when the building settles. Only when the full weight of the structure is placed on the foundation will the true integrity of what they’ve built be tested.… Read the rest

Tags: character, Integrity, truth

CONTINUE READING >

1 comment

May 22 2013

The 12 Virtues of Leadership

Posted by General John Michel

“The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity.
Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower

Of the many timeless accomplishments of the ancient Greeks, perhaps none is as important as their documenting the significance of virtues: a basic moral guide to good living.

Virtues serve as the cornerstone of our ability to consistently bring out the best in ourselves as well as those around us. In fact, the great philosopher Aristotle’s first rule for being good is that there are no rules.… Read the rest

Tags: character, crucible, Leadership, virtue

CONTINUE READING >

2 comments

May 19 2013

Be A Leader Others Can Count On

Posted by General John Michel

“A man’s integrity is his greatest asset — without integrity, you have nothing.”
Louis R. Rocco
Vietnam War
Medal of Honor Recipient

In 1989, an earthquake in Armenia flattened the entire nation and killed over thirty thousand people in under four minutes. Moments after the ground quit shaking, a father raced to an elementary school to save his son. When he arrived, he saw that the school was gone. It had been reduced to a pile of rubble. Then he remembered a promise he had made to his child, “No matter what happens, you can count on me to be there for you.”… Read the rest

Tags: Integrity, values

CONTINUE READING >

2 comments

May 12 2013

Becoming Your Best You

Posted by General John Michel

“Leadership is a choice you make, not a place you sit.”
Robert F. Tucker

Neuroscientists studying the human brain confirm that behind everything we do is a thought. Every action is motivated by a belief, and every behavior prompted by our attitude. This straightforward understanding of how we choose to lead our lives is not new. In fact, long before psychologists, sociologists, and scientists understood this to be scientifically validated truth, it appeared in the Book of Proverbs. Over three thousand five hundred years ago we were told that people should “be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.”… Read the rest

Tags: becoming, Growth, Leadership

CONTINUE READING >

1 comment

Apr 25 2013

The Power of our Surroundings

Posted by General John Michel

“You cannot fly like an Eagle with wings of a Wren.”
William James

One day, a farmer who loved nature was walking in the woods near his farm and came across an injured baby eagle that had fallen far from her nest. Knowing it would very likely die unless something was done to help her, he gathered her carefully in his hands and took her home.

The farmer’s attentive nurturing and care quickly restored the baby eagle to health. Soon it began spending time in the barnyard with some of the farmer’s other animals, particularly the chickens and turkeys. These feathered friends ate together every day, and the eagle quickly grew to full size—complete with a fifteen-foot wingspan.… Read the rest

Tags: Challenge, Discover, mediocrity

CONTINUE READING >

0 comments

Apr 20 2013

Boston Strong

Posted by General John Michel

“Build for your team a feeling of oneness, of dependence on one another and of strength to be derived from unity.”
Vince Lombardi

Several years ago the U.S. Army unveiled its newest advertising campaign. You may remember it. The TV commercial showed a soldier running alone across the desert, carrying a backpack but no rifle. Helicopters swoop overhead. A squad of soldiers runs past, moving in the direction opposite of the lone runner. Voiceover: “Even though there are 1,045,690 soldiers like me, I am my own force. . . . The might of the U.S. Army doesn’t lie in numbers. It lies in me.… Read the rest

Tags: Boston, Team, Together, Unity

CONTINUE READING >

1 comment

Apr 19 2013

No One’s Immune from Pride

Posted by General John Michel

“Pride makes us artificial and humility makes us real.”
Thomas Merton

Thomas Merton, in his book, The Wisdom of the Desert, recounts a story of the early desert fathers. These were men who gave up everything to live a very simple monastic lifestyle focused on setting aside all elements of self in order to focus on building relationships of service toward others. However, even these pious, selfless men struggled with the battle between pride and humility.

Merton shares an example in which a certain brother was consistently praised by his contemporaries in the presence of Abbot Anthony, the leader of the community.… Read the rest

Tags: humility, pride, success

CONTINUE READING >

0 comments

Apr 14 2013

The Tale of the Tire: The Power of Honesty

Posted by General John Michel

“Honesty is the cornerstone of all success, without which confidence and ability to perform shall cease to exist.”
Mary Kay Ash

General John Handy, a 37-year Air Force veteran, shared the following story at a graduation of the Air Command and Staff College (an Air Force graduate school program) several years ago.

It was Friday afternoon and two college students from the University of Alabama were coming close to finishing finals week. Being good students who had already prepared for their final chemistry examination on Monday, they decided they wanted to celebrate a little early. So, they packed the car and headed north to the University of Tennessee for some good ole fashioned fun.… Read the rest

Tags: honesty, Integrity

CONTINUE READING >

0 comments

Apr 4 2013

5 Ways to Build Your Team: A Tale of Two Ships

Posted by General John Michel

On January 3, 1864, the Grafton, an English schooner piloted by Captain Thomas Musgrave, was destroyed by a hurricane that broke its anchor chains and sunk it on the rocky beach on the southern end of Auckland Island. The captain and his crew of four men made it to shore but not to safety. Auckland Island, after all, is one of the most inhospitable places on earth, with freezing rain, howling winds, and little to eat year round. On May 10th of the same year, the Invercauld, an Aberdeen clipper piloted by Captain George Dalgarno, was struck by a heavy gale and driven between two steep cliffs on the northern side of Auckland Island and sunk.… Read the rest

Tags: Communication, Leadership, Team

CONTINUE READING >

0 comments

Apr 1 2013

The American Dream

Posted by General John Michel

“The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.”
James Trunslow Adams

Deep down in the hearts of those who call themselves “American” exists a shared ideal that we commonly refer to as “the American Dream.” It is a dream that has shone brighly at times and has faded in others. It is a dream that reflects how things could be different if we choose to operate at our individual and collective best.

Have you ever stopped to define this dream for yourself?… Read the rest

Tags: Planning, Vision

CONTINUE READING >

1 comment

Mar 18 2013

Make Hope a Habit

Posted by General John Michel

Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence!

Helen Keller

A famous 50-year-long study of nuns produced a remarkable finding. Namely, the nuns who possessed a more hopeful, optimistic outlook on life lived on average, 10 years longer than those who had more pessimistic or negative outlook.

Several years later, Dr. Charles R. Snyder of the University of Kansas sought to examine the significance of hope in young people. Assessing 3,920 college students, he found that a freshman’s level of hope was a more accurate predictor of their college grades than either their SAT scores or their high school grade-point average.… Read the rest

CONTINUE READING >

1 comment

Feb 26 2013

The Simplest Way to Express Gratitude

Posted by General John Michel

I love the story of the young man with the bandaged hand who approached the clerk at the post office. “Sir, could you please address this post card for me?” The clerk, happy to help, agreed to write the message on the card.

Once complete, the postal clerk asked the young man if there was anything else he could do for him. The young man looked at the card and then said, “Yes. Would you please add a P.S., Please excuse the handwriting.”

As this tongue-in-cheek tale illuminates, gratitude is rarely our first response. For all the benefits of gratefulness, it’s just not a virtue we naturally put into practice.… Read the rest

Tags: Emotion

CONTINUE READING >

0 comments

Feb 20 2013

An Army of One

Posted by General John Michel

Many of you may remember seeing the following TV commercial several years ago: A soldier is running alone across the desert, carrying a backpack but no rifle. Helicopters swoop overhead. A squad of soldiers runs past, moving in the direction opposite of the lone runner. Voiceover: “Even though there are 1,045,690 soldiers like me, I am my own force. . . . The might of the U.S. Army doesn’t lie in numbers. It lies in me. I am an Army of One.”

For those of us serving in the military, this seemed a particularly odd recruiting slogan. With very few exceptions, the image of a warrior acting alone is far from the reality we either espouse or embrace.… Read the rest

Tags: Change, Team

CONTINUE READING >

1 comment

PREV 1 … 5 6 7 NEXT

Log-In or Register

All Rights Reserved
The General Leadership Foundation

The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the DoD or its components.

UA-38980885-1