Colin Powell’s principles of leadership include the following:
Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off without really caring about the intensity but being able to convey the message loud & clear. Leaders should remember that they are not in popularity contests & have a mission to deliver consistently high quality results each time & every time.
The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems & concerns is the day you stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either which way is a sign is a failure of leadership.
Don’t be bullied by experts and elites. Experts often possess more data than judgment. Elites can become so inbred that they produce hemophiliacs who bleed to death as soon as they are nicked by the real world.
Never be afraid to challenge the so called “experts”, even in their own backyard.
Never ever neglect details. Keep the mind’s eye open. When everyone’s mind is dulled or distracted the leader must be doubly vigilant.
You really are not aware what you can get away with until you try.
Keep looking below surface appearances. Don’t shrink from doing so because you might not like what you find. Remember that the iceberg you see is 1/9 of the actual size. The problems always almost lie below a niggle.
Organization doesn’t really accomplish anything. Plans don’t accomplish anything, either. Theories of management don’t much matter. Endeavors succeed or fall because of the people involved. Only by attracting and making the best people will you accomplish great deeds.
Organization charts and fancy titles count for next to nothing.
Never let your ego gets so close to your position that when your position goes, your ego goes with it.
Fit no stereotypes. Don’t chase the latest management fads. The situation dictates which approach best accomplishes the team’s mission. Just because it is the in thing don’t grab the concept and try to apply it . be wise enough to customize it.
Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.
Powell’s Rules for Picking People: Look for intelligence and judgment, and most critically, a capacity to anticipate, to see around corners. Also look for loyalty, integrity, a high energy drive, a balanced ego, and the drive to get things done.
Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate and doubt, to offer a solution everybody can understand.
Part I: Use the formula P=40 to 70, in which P stands for the probability of success and the numbers indicate the percentage of information acquired. Part II: “Once the information is in the 40 to 70 range, go with your gut.
The commander in the field is always right and the rear echelon is wrong, unless proved otherwise.
Have fun in your command. Don’t always run at a breakneck pace. Take leave when you’ve earned it: Spend time with your families. Corollary: surround yourself with people who take their work seriously, but not themselves, those who work hard and play hard.
Command is very lonely.
