Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

It’s Only Common Sense: Leaders Really Care

Continuing our series about leadership this week, I went to my library to find a book on the topic. Perusing one of those books, I came across the book 212° The Extra Degree: Extraordinary Results Begin With One Small Change by Sam Parker and Mac Anderson. Then, I read a story about General Earl Hailston, the commanding general of Marine Forces Central Command.

General Hailston served in the Marines from 1967 to 2003. At that time, Hailston was the only general in the armed forces who enlisted and came up through the ranks. He was known for his humble and caring attitude. Hailston was interviewed by Charlie Gibson, who was with him near Iraq, while he and his troops were a few miles off the border of Iraq and ready to go into battle.

When Gibson asked him if he had any hobbies outside of work, the general said, “Yes, I love photography, especially taking photos of my men.” He shared that while he had been waiting for the past few days, he would take photos of his men, and at night, he would email the photos with a brief note to their mothers back in the United States.

Gibson asked if he could see a sample of a letter, and Hailston walked into his tent and turned on his computer. Here is the letter he showed Gibson:

Dear Mrs. Johnson,

I thought you might enjoy seeing this picture of your son. He is doing great. I also wanted you to know that you did a wonderful job of raising him.

You must be very proud. I can certainly tell you that I’m honored to serve with him in the U.S. Marines.

— General Earl Hailston

I think this story says it all. The book speaks to the fact that if you just do a little more, you will be successful. Water boils at 212°F, not at 210°F or 211°F, but exactly at 212 degrees. Thomas Edison said it best: “Many of life’s failures are men who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” Yogi Berra, another great sage, once said, “You give 100% in the first half of the game, and if that isn’t enough, in the second half, you give what’s left.”

But the first thing we have to do is the work. As leaders, we must work harder than anyone. We have to set the example. And most importantly, we must find opportunities to demonstrate our loyalty to the people who work for us.

Then, we have to hire the right people who not only have the skill to do the job but also the passion. You can teach about a product, but you can’t teach passion. A team is really a partnership that members have with one another. They know that if they work together as a team, they can accomplish so much more than if they work as prima donnas.

Wilt Chamberlain is known for being the only basketball player to score 100 points in a single game. Frankly, I think what that record indicates is terrible. Good for Wilt, but what was the rest of the team doing? Guess how many NBA championships he has?

Bill Russell—his arch enemy on the court and, interestingly enough, his best friend off the court—is considered the best defensive player of all time. He has 11 NBA rings. Michael Jordan, another all-time great team player, has six. Oh, and Wilt the Stilt? He has two. In all of the great career with all of those high scoring records, he has a measly two NBA rings.

Now, if that is not a great example of the power of leaders and teams, then nothing will.

Here are five things that great leaders always do. Great team leaders:

1. Lead by example: They never expect their team members do anything they would not do themselves.
2. Encourage: They encourage their team members to be the best they can be.
3. Inspire: They are creatively inspiring, always finding new ways to get their teams inspired to go one more inch, one more foot, or one more mile.
4. Are secure enough to look for and hire people who are smarter, more skilled, more driven, more talented, and more passionate than they are: They seek out people who are just plain better than they are.
5. See the entire team as one working unit: They choose people who might be mediocre on another team but have a certain ability that will make them shine as an integral part of their team.

And one more, because you should always underpromise and overdeliver. Leaders believe in their team and its ability to succeed. They never quit. No matter what the odds are, they keep moving forward. They realize that people don’t fail; they just stop trying.

It’s only common sense.

Dan Beaulieu is president of D.B. Management Group.