“ …I Should Have Laughed and Smiled More …”
General Robin Rand , USAF-retired - “…The traits desired in leaders, include:
- Ability to communicate effectively
- Adherence to corporate standards
- Humility and treatment of people with dignity and respect
There are two ways to learn, Rand opined, and those are:
- Personal experience. This is “hard knocks, learning the hard way,” he said
- Through the transfer of knowledge, including mentoring, coaching, teaching, learning from others. Rand said his goal was to share the latter in lessons drawn from his career. Some of those lessons include:
- “I’d Have Been More Thick-Skinned … “
- “I Should Have Led More Boldly …”
- “I Should Have Emphasized More Our Organizational Core Values …”
- “And Done More To Ensure Our People “Fit In” And Felt Like They “Belonged” …”
- “I Should Have Been a Better Wingman…”
- “I Should Have Accepted Feedback Better. Our Subordinates Have Our Back…”
- “I’d Have Been more Vulnerable…”
- “I Should Have Communicated Better…I Should Have Listened More…”
- “I Should Have Laughed and Smiled More …”
- “I’d Have Been More Mindful of ‘My Way’…”
- “I Should Have Always Remembered What’s Most Important…”
…“So many of you are busy people,” Rand told his audience. “You carry the burden of your organization and the people you serve with. One of the areas where I fell short was in keeping the right work/life balance. Organizations will suck the life out of your marrow, if you allow it, so you have to be the ones who turn the meter on or off. Your family deserves this, and your organization will be better for it if your life is properly balanced.
- Would Do It Again
Despite all the challenges and time away from his family, Rand said, “I still have my uniform hanging in the closet and if they called me back, I’d do it all over again. I’d just try to do it better. I’ll close as I started, thank you leaders and stay great.” … “
Geospatial Imagery Analyst at CACI.
2moOne of the biggest things Ive seen in my current role concerning toxic leadership is that the leader thinks they havent done anything wrong. Its always good to see articles like this, keeps things in mind for me of what not to do. And Im learning what not to do by watching others make those toxic mistakes lol.