In the last post I talked about a book I read on leadership lessons from the Jesuit order.  You might find the previous post a bit odd in that I said the book was great but did not really tell you why in specific detail!  My thinking was that while I could give you my 2 page summary of the book, it is the kind of book that you should read for yourself and make your own conclusions / learning's! 

I guess you could call the Jesuits an army of sorts - albeit an army for good, which brings me to this post.  The local university MBA class had a leadership lecture from a very senior Army general and I was invited as a local business person as we recruit from this business studies department of the university.  I was also invited as I am ex-Army.  I brought my 16 year old son along to listen. 

I believe if you are responsible for leading projects then you can learn from his vast experience.  Here is a summary of what he had to say:

1. Leaders do the right thing.  Managers do things right.
2. Leaders must be visible - must be seen to be serving with the people they lead.
3. Leaders need to encourage and support - say THANKS more often.
4. Leaders need to have an aura of control, yet be calm and confident.
5. Leaders need to create a dream - a vision - and communicate same really well.
6. Leaders need to know themselves - be self-aware - they need to practice what they preach and never bluff.
7. Leaders need to have external awareness - and should be able to express: the joy of success, the pain of failure, and concern at slow progress.  In these honest expressions leaders should empathize with people and all such expressions should be in a calm and controlled manner.
8. Integrity is key for leaders.  Keep your promises and earn respect and then keep it.
9. Example - set the standard and set it high. Lead your life and work your work.
10. Team effort is the key for greater success.  Mistakes happen.  Get over them but learn from them always.
11. Communications is vital - listen and ask questions.
12. If you want to know what a person is really like - then give them a bit of authority!
13. Always be fair, firm yet friendly - the 3 F's.
14. People are really able for lots of change and will withstand anything if everyone gets fair treatment.
15. As a leader you now have weight; pull your weight; do not throw it around!
16. A piece of equipment may cost millions and we pay so much attention to it's care and maintenance; do we always do the same for a human being; what value do we put on humans beings?
17. Finally you if you are not the leader but a team member you need the courage to do the right thing.  Do you as a team member have the courage to:
• take responsibility given to you
• contribute to the team
• challenge the direction
• accept the team direction
• participate in the speed of life
• take moral actions

Now I know you may have seen lots of books and talks on leadership - but if you are managing people on projects then it is no harm to see more!  Feel free to spend 15 minutes reflecting on what this wise Army general talked about and do a self-evaluation on your own leadership.  A good leader is always open to learn from other leaders.