Eisenhower's Leadership: A Lesson In Going from Manager to Leader
Takeaways for dealing with personalities and embracing empathy
Hi all, thanks for reading this week. In this week’s newsletter:
2 Quotes to help you grow as a leader
Leadership Lesson from Eisenhower
Key Takeaways
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Two Quotes to Grow Your Leadership:
“If you can dream it, you can do it.”
—Walt Disney
“Luck is where opportunity meets preparation.”
—Seneca
From Logistics to Leadership
In 1943, Dwight Eisenhower was selected as the Supreme Allied Commander during World War II. His rise to the top of the Allied war effort was an example of pure leadership.
Eisenhower’s abilities to plan and organize earned him the opportunity to lead the invasion of North Africa and Italy. He was the quintessential manager. But more was to be asked of him.
A master of planning and logistics. His subsequent efforts required a monumental effort to not only plan but coordinate the D-Day Invasion that led to the liberation of Europe from the Nazis.
He had to deal not only with the day-to-day but the personalities and egos surrounding him: think Bernard Montgomery.
Eisenhower would become Army Chief of Staff and eventually reside in the White House for eight years.
Eisenhower is a case study of how a true manager of operations and military logistics became a true leader.
As a manager, you’ve successfully done the technical aspects. You developed your knowledge and skills. You are an organizer, an operational whiz, and like Eisenhower, you manage your logistics with style.
Now you need to lead. You need to get others to do the work. How you transition from the organizational chieftain to the leader of people is the task before you.
This is where balancing your technical and soft skills meet. This is why you earn what you earn. But the trap that exists is how you transition.
Leaders cannot treat their individual employees and overall teams as a line item on their list of to-dos or like lines of code on a screen.
That’s not leadership.
Work gets managed, and people are led. Eisenhower didn’t win WWII alone. He had a team of leaders. A team of individually talented people committed to the same goal.
He also had bosses: George C. Marshall and Franklin Roosevelt.
Eisenhower led through example and effort. He set the model for others to learn from. Good leaders are recognized for their example.
Anyone or anything (think AI) can accomplish a list of work items. How you approach others in your leadership capacity is about your tone, demeanor, and authenticity.
These “soft skills” are the personal product that you provide. The ability to employ your emotional intelligence and relate to other humans is also the key to future-proofing your career.
Tech may advance and change the work that is done and the way work is done, but people are people.
Key Takeaways:
Be relatable. Eisenhower, Lincoln, and leaders of all levels need to understand that people are people. No matter the responsibilities, or their own personalities. Leaders have to learn to adapt to those they lead. Eisenhower was able to get others to move in the direction he needed them to go by balancing personalities.
Be aware of the challenges others face. World War II was a unique challenge (understatement of the last two centuries.) But challenges are just opportunities to move forward and improve.
Embrace change. Leaders need to embrace the changes they see and the changes they don’t see. If you develop your adaptability and resilience, then others will follow.
Show empathy. An empathetic leader is an effective leader. It’s that simple. This applies to any leadership role, even in more linear organizational structures.
Eisenhower gives us an example to build on in our leadership. Whether it’s logistics, manufacturing, or tech, the field doesn’t matter. It’s the people building the product or providing the service.
That’s a wrap for this week.
P.S.
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Eisenhower showed us how to lead with empathy, not just logistics. His legacy is a lesson for today's managers in a tech-heavy world. Great post!