First Person You Must Lead
This is my book report of a book entitled, "24/7 The First Person You Must Lead is You!"
Brigadier General Becky Halstead has written the bible for leadership. As the consummate overachiever she is, Becky gives the reader Ten Commandments, 19 BeAttitude, and one golden rule.
These 30 nuggets of wisdom apply not only to the aspiring young professional but to the well-seasoned leaders in the public sector, military, and private corporations as well. She labels them as "30 Leadership Principles" (10+19+1 ... stay with me) in context of her 5 Simple Truths.
The ideas in this blog are mine. This blog has not been reviewed or approved by Rebecca "Becky" Halstead. I apologize in advance for any inadvertant errors or disrespect. I love her book and what it did to my heart&head.
General Halstead graduated from US Military Academy in 1981 and became the first Solider in her graduating class and the first women in West Point history to be promoted to General officer. I’ll let you stew on that for a second.
#StudBabyHoss where I come from.
Becky (her preferred title) stands 5 foot nothin’ and by her own admission ain’t no rocket scientists. She’s a hard worker, compelling talker as well as Division 1 cross-country runner.
Her book isn’t for everyone … you gotta be a grinder, fighter, and someone with high expectations to relate to her stories, parables, and paradoxes. I suspect she didn’t/doesn’t suffer fools nor tolerate laziness.
I give her book a 4.5 Star rating and recommend it highly to folks who like thinking about leadership in big organizations in a complex world. She doesn’t get a 5 Star … and I’ll try to explain along the way. Let’s go to work.
Halstead was ultimately in charge of over 20k folks spread across hostile countries. She wasn’t at the bottom of the pecking order, and she wasn’t at the top. Her bosses were demanding and determined. Her staff needed training, standards, procedures, quality and absolute commitment to being successful. Failing meant people died. War is a serious and nasty business.
5 TRUTHS TO LEADERSHIP
This book is broken into two parts: 5 Truths & 30 Principals (Be Attitudes). My value add is that I’m gonna classify her Truths & Leadership Principles into:
- The Golden Rule
- #BeAttitudes
- Ten Commandments
Sorta like King James back around 1611AD with the translation into English language, embellishments for relatability and compliance, and the mass distribution capacity of the printing press.
Maybe not a perfect alignment, but directionally correct. It illuminates both the nuance and inter-relationship of these “must do’s” if you wanna be a great leader.
Truth 1: Start with Yourself – Be the leader you wished you had growing up and hope you will always be until the sunset of your career. There has to be alignment between your “vision” of a good leader, and your expectations of yourself. Frankly, all the Be Attitudes & Commandments fit into Truth 1 wisdom.
#1 Heart & Mind Struggle, #2 Integrity, #3 Be Trustworthy, #4 Be Positive #5 Be Tenacious, #6 Be Your Best, #7 Be Authentic, #8 Be Disciplined, #9 Be Accountable, #10 Be Courageous, #11 Be Selfless, #12 Be Prepared, #13 Shit Happens, #14 Be the Change, #15 Be Demanding, Not Demeaning, #16 Be Calm, #17 Define Success, #18 Pace Matters, #19 Do 3 C’s, #20 Be Reflective, #21 Be Team First, #22 Trust Differences, #23 Build Bridges Not Walls, #24 Invest Yourself in Team, #25 Be Human, #26 Invest in Relationships, #27 Be Caring, #28 Legacy Matters, #29 Purpose Matters, #30 Be Significant
Truth 2: It’s Your Choice Pal – You gotta eat your leadership vegetables if you wanna do the job of leading. No short cuts, no laziness, no blame game, you gotta own it. It’s your life. Your choice. #BeAllYouCanBe with these #BeAttitudes
#1 Heart & Mind Struggle, #3 Be Trustworthy, #4 Be Positive #5 Be Tenacious, #6 Be Your Best, #7 Be Authentic, #8 Be Disciplined, #Be Accountable, #10 Be Courageous, #11 Be Selfless, #12 Be Prepared, #14 Be Change, #15 Be Demanding, Not Demeaning, #16 Be Calm, #20 Be Reflective, #21 Be Team First, #23 Be Impactful, #25 Be Human, #27 Be Caring, #30 Be Significant
Truth 3: Fit Matters – When you lead … there are human characteristics in both the leader and the led. For optimal professional development, we gotta have the right folks, using the right training tools/methods, using the learning settings/situations … rinse & repeat. You gotta know your own assets and liabilities when it comes to dealing and aligning with folks’ growth. The goal is increasing the odds of success and reducinghte risk of failing. This truth is more about how you “do” stuff and less about what you “are” mentally, physically, and spiritually.
#1 Heart & Mind Struggle, #13 Shit Happens, #17 Define Success, #18 Pace Matters, #19 Do 3 C’s, #22 Trust Differences, #24 Invest Yourself in Team, #26 Invest in Relationships, #28 Legacy Matters, #29 Purpose Matters
Truth 4: Build Your Strengths – Take your gifts and build skills that leverage them. Understand your weaknesses … and figure out how to reduce the risks. Once you’ve done your best … go help your teammates and team do the same. I can’t “select” your strengths and can’t imagine your weaknesses. BUT I suspect it’s a good thing you have a HEAD & HEART between your two hands. For every characteristic of a human, on one hand it’s a strength and on the other hand it’s a weakness. So, you better use your smarts and instincts to prioritize, triage, and focus on YOUR areas of improvement.
#1 Heart & Mind Struggle
Truth 5: Again, Start with Yourself - Who don’t love “a better me, is a better we?” The singular goal of a leader is to help the team reach its’ full potential. Becky started with herself and amplified the excellence of over 20k soldiers. That’s an amazing leader. Now would be a good time to reflect on all her 30 Leadership Principles.
WHY IS THIS BOOK SO IMPORTANT?
To call this book the “Bible” of Leadership is high praise, and I meant it. Not only did I read the book, but I also got to hear Becky speak at our annual conference at West Point. She was fabulous. Actually, everything I would hope a military leader would be: disciplined, smart, quick witted, honest, human, kind, respectful, determined, fit, and willing to help.
There was absolutely NO sense of “Yes Man” or blind loyalty. She would have no trouble holding her own against Jack Nickleson in a “Few Good Men.” IMHO, her moral compass was pointing directly due North with very little wiggle.
From my quick observation, she built her character and capacity as a leader from the stories and experiences described in her book and has the wisdom/judgement/patience to face some really difficult decisions … that many of us are facing in our day-to-day lives TODAY! Strap in.
“I will not lie, cheat or steal, nor tolerate those who do.” ~ Cadet Honor Code, USMA, West Point
Throughout our nation’s history, how has the US Army’s top brass dealt with a Commander-In-Chief who was a compulsive liar and well-documented cheater? These 5 Truths & 30 Principles will prepare future Army leadership and their soldiers to have the courage and integrity to do the “right thing” when being ordered to be revengeful, dishonest, and not behave honorably.
“It is never too late to give up your prejudices.” ~ Henry David Thoreau
When growing up in the South during the 1960s, I remember good Christian men of European descent talking about why girls, colored men, and god-forbid homosexuals should not be allowed in the Armed Forces. As carefully and respectfully described in her book, Halstead alluded to the fact the US Military was designed, developed, and protected by men for men at the exclusion of other US citizens.
The justifications and rationale are as outdated, illogical, and completely ignorant to this fact: 50% of US Fighter Pilots should be women. If we believe the best and brightest should get the job, and we KNOW 50% of the country’s population is female … basic statistics demand that ½ the time an honest coin will land heads.
At this point, only 7% of US pilots are women. This is because of prejudices, bias, and cowardness of leaders who are protecting jobs for men who are NOT as smart/capable as the women who are going to take those high-flying jobs.
For all you hell-bent on destroying DEIB efforts to level the playing field for women, BIPOC+, and LGBQT+ citizens in higher ed, military, and corporate America … man up.
“Courage is doing what’s right even when it’s hard” ~ Brigadier General Becky Halstead
The biggest take away from this book is leadership is hard, messy, and nuanced. Today, as much as ever in history, doing what is right never comes in simple black and white decisions. Doing what’s right is full of struggle, tension, tradeoffs, and irony. Who wants to be an outright hypocrite? How do we "walk the talk" when the pressure is coming from all directions?
This book helps build guard rails for holding yourself accountable as a leader in private/public sector, military/church, and in our local communities.
- Our “One Nation Under God” proudly holds a bible in one hand and a rifle in the other. IMHO, Thou Shalt Not Kill is pretty clear and doesn’t really provide clarity during dinner table discussions of the Middle East conflict, school shootings, and the death of George Floyd. #Liberty4AllFolksLikeUs #CafeteriaChristain
- Dropping nuke bombs in WWI (110,000 killed … many children), agent orange in Vietnam (84k children killed), and Gaza (12k children this year). Honor, integrity, discipline, character, compassion, trust-worthiness, intellect, respect, faith, responsibility … you name it. The struggle is real!
Fox reports statistics were wrong ... it wasn't 14k kids ... it was only 7k children deaths caused by Israel bombings in Gaza. Is that supposed to make my heart feel better? My brain is saying ... what if this happened in Cleveland, OH? Imagine the outrage and protests on Universities and Colleges across America?
WE MUST LEAD WITH OUR HEARTS & MINDS
As a leader … it all gets tested and held to the standard of “doing the right thing” not only today but forever in the history books. Well at least until we stand by and allow them to be burned or re-written.
Don’t forget the two most dangerous words when we try to justify our inaction, “yeah, but.”
Thank you Becky … what a wonderful text and opportunity to reflect on yet another great national leader’s wisdom: “With freedom comes great responsibility.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
Editing/Pic/Vid Cred @KelliDarlin
Here's Today's Vid-Clip: Start at 5:35 … the Hiding Place is one of my most favorite and influential books I’ve read. My mom gave me the book in the 7th grade, and I’ve given it to several graduates over my lifetime. Agreed, inspiring.
Tony McLean Brown
A Western NC hillbilly through and through, Tony McLean Brown was born in the small town of Enka-Candler outside of Asheville. His parents re-named him when he was 3 years old to Tony (a nickname provided by his grandfather) McLean (middle name of his Uncle Michael) while retaining his legal surname Brown.
Throughout his career, Tony McLean Brown worked as a farmer, computer programmer, and management consultant – in his adventurous years – author, song-writer, bass player, poet, pilot, mountaineer, certified scuba diver, and competitor in professional bull riding, NASCAR late model racing, Toughman boxing, Crossfit Open, Ironman, pole vaulting, marathon and ultra-marathon running, as well as parenting.
www.HappyGuidetoaShortLife.com has been leveraged to help charities and non-profits across the globe, USA, NC, and Lake Norman area. If you, your family, school, church, or charity has been supported, please take the time to share, like, subscribe, comment, and provide a 5 star review!